Book Report: "The Clown In You" by Caroline Dream

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If you perform as a clown, variety artist, physical comedian — whatever you want to call it! — you've no doubt taught workshops. Sometimes workshops are a more dependable source of income than performing. Such is life, but the result is that some teachers, and they may be excellent performers and instructors, never get beyond a few sure-fire hours of classroom material, guaranteed to entertain, and more often than not liberally borrowed  from their own favorite teachers.

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with this, I've done it myself, and the experience for the student can still be a valid one. There are, on the other hand, teachers who dedicate years, even decades, to developing their curriculum and their teaching sensibility. They are more poised to go deeper into the material and to offer full-length courses that cover far more ground and potentially bring the work closer to a performance level.

Caroline Dream is one such teacher. A transplanted Brit, she lives and works in Barcelona, and not so coincidentally is married to Alex Navarro, who writes the excellent Spanish-language blog, Clown Planet. They have often taught together, and no doubt bounced ideas around, much to our benefit. Caroline is very active as a performer — I've seen her and she's quite good — but she has also dedicated herself for many, many years to teaching, and now to writing about it.

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Unfortunately, there are still teachers who use physical or psychological abuse as part of their training method, believing that this profession is not for the weak spirited. That may be so, but having taught clowning for over a decade, I have come to believe that such abuse, albeit used as a means of releasing the clown in students, for many acts merely as a deterrent and for some can create lasting damage.

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Long story short, The Clown in You is a very useful book for the serious student of clowning (professionals included) as well as for beginners. It is, as the subtitle promises, "contemporary clowning," aka the "personal clown" or the "clown from the heart." There is very little on clown gags, no formulas for creating material. It really is about using your own innate joy, silliness and, yes, stupidity, to forge a clown character unique to you. As the old saying goes (no, I don't know who said it first), clowns characters aren't created, they are uncovered.

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We've built up civilizations, eradicated many threats to our survival, invented a myriad of objects to facilitate our existence. We have also created a cultural heritage, dominated natural resources, explored space, etc. But, even so, we have never ceased to be stupid.

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The first half of the book seeks to define the key attributes of the clown, drawing especially on the playfulness and imagination of the child, while also outlining the defense mechanisms that make it difficult for the would-be clown to surrender to all that frightening freedom. It's a book, and devoid of video examples, so this can get a bit theoretical, but in the second half Caroline walks us through a lot of clown exercises with very helpful examples, enriched considerably by the insightful side coaching she was doing as the exercise progressed. This is not intended to be a manual, there's no step-by-step do this, do that, but the actual classroom experiences are invaluable in understanding the work.

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I teach a three-step process that I call "absorbing failure." Absorbing failure begins with the recognition that something has failed; the clown then feels the failure internally (admitting vulnerability), before externalizing the feeling and playing with it.... 

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But don't take my word for it. Those of you who will be anywhere near the New York City area next weekend (Sept. 6th & 7th) should seriously consider taking advantage of Caroline's first-ever workshop in the Big Apple at the New York International Clown-Theatre Festival. The festival continues for three weeks with a stellar line-up of performers, plus more workshops by the likes of Eric Davis, René Bazinet, and Aitor Basauri. Don't say I didn't tell you!

You can purchase The Clown in You here.

Physical Comedy at the NY Clown-Theatre Festival

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Clown is to physical comedy as what is to what?

Yeah, I don't know either, but I think there's a reason we usually view clowns more in terms of moving than talking, and it's not just the association with the circus. Clowns are open and "naive" beings who wear their heart and their vulnerability on their sleeve. Everything is out there. Instead of hiding behind words, they sport these malleable bodies that glaringly reflect their aspirations and their downfalls. As the pioneering choreographer Martha Graham put it, "nothing is more revealing than movement."

And so it was at this year's seventh-annual, best-ever New York Clown-Theatre Festival, again ably directed by the hard-working Audrey Crabtree and Robert Honeywell. I probably caught "only" half of the more than thirty shows staged in Williamsburg's vibrant Brick Theatre, but came away with a rich sampling of movement styles. I didn't go as a critic and didn't take any notes, so I'm just going to highlight two productions for their physical comedy chops, with honorable mentions to everyone else for strong work and some inspired moments.

The Dingbat Show

This is a bawdy and brash cabaret show out of L.A., with enough raw energy to take command in the noisiest bar setting. Not surprisingly, you don't go to this show for subtle and sensitive clown characterizations. Indeed, some people find Dingbat's humor on the cheap and crass side, while others absolutely love it and keep coming back. To my eye, some parts work brilliantly, others are flat and undeveloped, but if you're in the mood for some raucous fun, not to mention some gratuitous near-nudity (and sometimes I am), this is your show.

I'm singling out these dingbats not just because of their originality and their use of circus skills, but because they make broad knockabout comedy work for a "hip" audience. The troupe (Matthew Morgan, Tina Groff, Guilford Adams, Brandon Breault) has some Ringling clown experience, and they take slapstick that in the circus might come across as stale and tame and make it fresh and delightfully anarchistic. Offbeat characters — a heavily made-up circus clown, an artsy Shakespearean actor, an aggressive m.c. in a baggy suit, and a spunky young lady forever vying to hold her own with them — all slapping the hell out of one another. And did I mention the strip tease group club juggling finale? Drop a club, drop an item of clothing!

The videos below give a rough approximation of what I'm talking about, but for the full effect catch their act if you can.





Click here for the Dingbat Show web site.



Moving Stationery

"Take an object.  Do something to it.  Do something else to it."  — credo of artist Jasper Johns

This solo piece by the Lecoq-trained New Zealander Thom Monckton was for me the most imaginative show in the festival, which is saying a lot. Sigmund, a schlep of a guy, shows up for a new office job and his first day at work turns into a non-stop battle with the everyday objects that surround him and conspire to do him in. The show is endlessly inventive — you can readily envision Thom having spent hundreds of hours just experimenting with inanimate objects — but the resulting material is more than mere workshop improvisation. Everything works together seamlessly: his nervous character, his amazingly supple body, and the magical physical world he creates.

Here are a few samplers, but again don't miss seeing the whole show live if it comes your way!








Thom's work grows out of his collaboration with Kallo Collective, and he also performs in their three-person piece, Members of our Limbs. I only saw an excerpt of it at the festival, but it too was quite strong. Click here for more info.
Click here for the Moving Stationery web site.
Click here for a Jim Moore photo essay on Thom.

The New York Clown-Theatre Festival 2012

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After more than three months abroad, where work and travel left no time for blogging, I'm finally back in New York. With a whirlwind of physical comedy performance coming up this month, there should be a lot to report on.

First up is the seventh year of the Brick Theatre's admirably ambitious New York Clown-Theatre Festival, with performers and teachers from Finland, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, France, Wales, Ireland, Spain, Brooklyn and, yes, even the United States.

The sheer variety of styles and interpretations of clowning is impressive and should lead many a spectator to marvel "I didn't know you could do that!"

Instead of my listing all the shows and other events, I'll leave it to you to check out the festival web site here and their Facebook page here. But a few of my favorite pics from the program...

Clowns Making Films — Part 2 of 3

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Last month I posted a preview of the Clowns on Film evening at the NYC Clown-Theatre Festival, perhaps a shameless piece of self-promotion since I was co-hosting the event with Audrey Crabtree. I wrote that the work that evening would be great, since Audrey (festival co-director ) had told me so and I believed her, though honestly I hadn't seen most of the films before stepping on stage. Of course my hidden agenda was to try to fill the voluminous Brick Theater to the rafters. If you've never been there, think Radio City Music Hall. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

As luck would have it, we actually did sell out, the movies were truly excellent, and the audience had a helluva fun time. Plus we bribed them with free prizes.

I can't replicate the evening for you since for that special night all of the filmmakers were in the audience and three of the movies were accompanied by live performance. And need I mention the charm, wit and acrobatic partnerings of the aforementioned co-hosts? However, I can now show you more than I could in that previous post, because three of the movies have since been put online. So... "let's go to the videotape."

Behind the Nose
Another confession. This one was already on YouTube but I didn't mention that in my previous post so I could lure unsuspecting patrons to the live screening and separate them from $15 of their accumulated wealth. Also, I knew it would be a hoot for everyone to watch this short film sitting in an audience of fellow clowns, all of whom struggle with the popular perception of clowning prevalent in America and, in this case, in Canada. Funny stuff, but still sadly true. The movie is the work of those fantastically spunky Toronto clowns, Morro & Jasp, who an hour earlier had just finished performing live their latest show, Morro & Jasp Gone Wild.



Check out Morro & Jasp's web site here.

Isaac Littlejohn Eddy
Isaac is not only a performer in the New York edition of Blue Man Group, but he also has the coolest name of us all — though Zea is a close second! Isaac is at least a double threat, a performer but also a cartoonist / animator whose work has been seen in the New Yorker and Time Magazine. His festival piece was an updated version of the poor guy trying to choose between the advice of his good angel on one shoulder, his demon on the other, with Isaac performing live as the tormented soul while his would-be spiritual advisors appeared onscreen in the form of 2D animation. A very well-received piece, but Isaac says it's still a work-in-progress and he wants to use it in future live performances, so he's not posting it online just yet. You can, however, see plenty of his other work simply by clicking here.



Zea Barker
Zea, aka Bony Lil, is yet another performer-animator dynamo, the star and mastermind behind two films about "the extreme opposite ends of the creative process." The first is Distraction, everything that prevents us from getting rolling, and the second is Creation, that happy time when all the juices are flowing. Both movies are silent, in black & white, and come with soundtracks, but at the festival they were presented accompanied by two live musicians plus Zea and her director, Michael Pope, doing sound effects on a variety of ingenious devices. Highly original pieces that display strong talent and a heckuva lot of work.

Distraction




Creation



You can see more video, animation and art work at Zea's web site and you can view her performance reel here.


A Day's Messing
Jeff Seal's A Day's Messing is unusual in that it is a modern-day silent film that stylistically emulates the films of the 1920s. This is easier said than done, but in this case the experiment works quite well indeed. Story, cinematography, and physical comedy are all right on target, and its world premiere at the festival received enthusiastic and sustained applause from the live audience. Now that it's been posted on Vimeo, you too can watch it. Enjoy!



And check out Jeff's monthly Dead Herring variety show in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) on Facebook!


Congratulations to all, and thanks for your excellent work!

These aren't the only clowns making films, so stay tuned for Part 3, a future post on more clowns exploring filmmaking possibilities......

"Flocked" at the NY Clown-Theatre Festival

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Okay, let's be honest, it would be pretty bogus of me to pretend to be objective while reviewing a show (Flocked) that stars two friends of mine (Audrey Crabtree & Gabriela Muñoz) and is directed by a third (Hilary Chaplain), now wouldn't it? On the other hand, I did swear on the Blogopedia Bible to report on all interesting physical comedy in the known universe, so I would risk being consigned to eternal Blog Purgatory were I not to mention the show at all.

Luckily there is a thin razor line of a solution: submit a straight factual report devoid of opinion or human emotion. No problem.

Background:
• Audrey lives in New York City, Gabriela in Mexico City.
• Audrey is tall, or at least taller than Gabriela.
• They met at last year's NYC clown-theatre festival.
• They worked together this spring for a month in Mexico, which you can read more about  here.
• They are planning a Mexico City clown-theatre festival for March 2012.
• A hurricane delayed Gabriela's arrival in NYC.
• Hilary worked with them 29 hours a day since Gaby's arrival.

Photo by Joann Jovinelly

Photo by Joann Jovinelly

Storyline:
Flocked takes the form of a loud and raucous but non-verbal confrontation between two bird-like characters, one sweet and friendly, the other territorial and stand-offish. They communicate through an extensive vocabulary of movement and chirping, sometimes competing with each other through elaborate dances, sometimes through direct or indirect physical contact, in a relationship that continually evolves over the course of the 45-minute piece.

Audience Reaction:

Photo by Joann Jovinelly

Audience laughter was frequent, loud, and sustained. Post-mortem chit-chat was quite positive. Some old guy in the third row especially laughed a lot. This gentleman was heard to comment that when he saw the entertaining 10-minute preview in the opening night cabaret he had wondered if they had enough material for a full-length piece. He was happy to find that it worked even better as a full show because the context was clearer and the character development made it a much richer piece. He was hoping more people would get to see the show before it closes this Sunday (Sept. 11), and said he wished he had a blog or something so he could tell more people about it.

Links:
Another blogger reviews the show
Gabriela's web site.
Audrey's web site.
Hilary's web site.
New York Clown-Theatre Festival
 Joann Jovinelly Flickr album
Jim Moore photos

The New York Clown-Theatre Festival Opens!

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I just got back from the opening night of this century's 6th NY Clown-Theatre Festival, a cabaret hilariously hosted by the Leroy Sisters (Aimee German & Jenny Sargent) and featuring excerpts from most of the performers we'll be seeing in the festival. If this preview was any indication, it's a strong and varied lineup.

Since this is a physical comedy blog, I should hazard a guess as to which shows are the most movement oriented. From what I've seen, my predictions are Flocked (Audrey Crabtree & Gabriela Muñoz), I Have Never Done This Before (Joel Jeske), Wing-Man (Mark Gindick), and Neon Lights (Chris Manley & Jeff Seal). Also worth mentioning, at least from my jaded perspective, is that on September 16th Audrey and I will be co-hosting a series of short clown films. Come see some good work and say hello! And finally, let me recommend the clown workshop, Touching the Space, being conducted by the delightfully funny Mexican clown Gabriela Muñoz on September 12th and 13th.

Neon Lights

Wing-Man

The festival, once again directed by that multi-tasking, hyperactive duo, Robert Honeywell and Audrey Crabtree, runs through September 25th at Williamsburg's Brick Theater, just two subway stops into Brooklyn, and tickets are only $15.

For more info, go to http://bricktheater.com/ and then click on Amuse Bouche.

For some great opening night photos, see this post on Jim Moore's VaudeVisuals blog, as well as this Flickr album by Joann Jovinelly.

Update (Sept. 11, 2011):  Here's a nicely edited video piece on opening night just posted on the LocalTheatreNY.com web site:



Update (Sept. 13): A review of opening night in Brooklyn Exposed by the one and same Joann Jovinelly.

2010 Festival Calendar

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Last updated: February 22, 2010

Even with YouTube, Facebook, and the blogosphere, nothing beats live performance. For my first post of 2010, let's look forward to some exciting performing and viewing opportunities.

No one can get to it all, but festivals at least make it possible to see a lot of cool stuff in the same place in a small amount of time, attend workshops and seminars, and meet other practitioners in the field. Thus this post, the first draft of an attempt to provide a calendar and links to performance festivals where you're likely to see a fair amount of physical comedy: clown, mime, and circus festivals, of course, but also overlapping genres such as dance, movement theatre, and street performance.

I'm limiting myself to festivals because I just don't have the time to compile a list of individual shows by the hundreds (thousands?) of physical comedy performers out there doing great work. Hopefully I can manage a festival calendar... with your help. I will update this list as new info comes in, and will set up a prominent link to it in the sidebar to make it easy to check back for updates. You can help out by e-mailing me with any info you come across.

So here we go... just click on the links (festival name) for the latest info.


January

London International Mime Festival
January 13 – January 31
London, UK
Started in 1977, it's now a bit of a misnomer to still call this a mime festival, given the wide variety of physical performance offered. Perhaps more accurate is this line from their web site: "Eye-popping visual theatre for the digital age."


34th International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo
January 14 – January 24
Monte Carlo, Monaco
I've never been, but this is the famous one. Maybe when I retire...


World Buskers Festival
January 21 — January 31
Christchurch, New Zealand
This year is the 17th and it advertises "44 of the world's best acts" performing no fewer than 450 amazing live shows. Seth Bloom writes me that it is "one of the best street theatre festivals in the world. Well organized, excellent acts, classic street — tall unicycles and straightjacket escape acts — as well as brilliant mime, physical comedy, bizarre stunts, and more 'artsy stuff'."


Slapstick 2010
January 21—January 24
Bristol, UK
In its sixth year, this 4-day event showcases not just classic slapstick films, but some rare finds and some live performance. This year Michael Palin is a featured guest.


Western Australia Circus Festival
January 23 – January 25
Karridale, Western Australia
A jam-packed weekend of circus-related performance.



International Circus Festival of Budapest
January 21— January 25
Budapest, Hungary
In their eighth year, this festival presents two showcases comprising 30 acts from 17 different countries, plus a "non-competing exhibit show" of local performers.


Le Cirque de Demain
(Circus of Tomorrow)
January 28 — January 31
Paris, France
Also dating from 1977, this short festival brings together new and innovative circus acts from all over the world in two separate showcases.




March

International Festival of Live Art
March 2 —March 21
Glasgow, Scotland
An avant-garde festival with tons of provocative stuff, including some physical work. You can download a pdf of the schedule
from their site.


Festival 'Pistes de Lancement' — 11e Edition
International Festival of Contemporary Circus
March 6 – March 21
Brussels, Belgium



April

City of Wings
April 3 — April 4
Ypres, Belgium
An international promotional festival for street theatre. Seth Bloom writes: "An agent festival in Belgium. You have to be accepted with work that is new and has not been seen in Belgium. They get nice crowds and hopefully agents like your work and they pick you up for summer festivals in Europe. We went in 2009 and got a few gigs out of it."



May

Toronto International Circus Festival
May 22 — May 24
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Here's a festival with a message: Make an IMPACT! Speak your mind, move your body; explore how you can harness your impact on the world. An exploration of the impact made through creative expression and invention; best highlighted by the visual and physical impact of the TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CIRCUS FESTIVAL!



Chuncheon International Mime Festival
May 23 – May 30
Chuncheon, South Korea
This one began as the Korea Mime Festival in 1989.



June

Toronto Festival of Clowns
June 3 — June 6
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"The Toronto Festival of Clowns aims to bring together clowns and physical theatre artists of all disciplines and backgrounds and provide a common space to showcase their work. Now entering our 5th year, the festival continues to encourage the risk and exploration of the clown, hosting new and established works that inspire and delight." I'm not finding any information yet on their web site, but they have a Facebook group, and you can e-mail them at: festival@torontoclown.com


Artisti in Piazza
International Buskers Festival
June 17 — June 20
Pennabilli, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
A four-day festival in a beautiful medieval town, now entering its 14th year: "Street art (in this case art has the medieval meaning of skill) is an ancient deep-rooted practice. Street art was a custom in the past but in Italy with a fascist law this cultural practice was considered begging ’till some years ago. In 1997 the municipality of Pennabilli (following other italian cities: e.g. Certaldo, Colmurano, San Giovanni in Persiceto) decided to issue regulations on purpose and to allow street performing. Since 1999, roadsigns at the entrances of the town welcome artists and remember this friendly permission."



July

Festival d'Avignon Off
July 7 — July 27
Avignon, France
They've been doing the Avignon festival for an incredible 64 years, and it's huge. The mainstage portion is the "In Festival" and the fringe is the "Off Festival." All kinds of performance, with tons of listings for clown, circus, and mime.


Slapsticon
July 15–18
Arlington, Virginia, USA
Begun in 2003, this four-day film festival features screenings of rarely-seen movies from the silent and early sound era, with a focus on physical humor.



Festival Transnational des Artistes de la Rue
July 21 — July 25
Chalon-sur-Saône, France
The French government actively supports live performance, to the great benefit of circus and street art. In fact, this street art festival is already in its 23rd year. Click here for a lot of videos from the 2009 festival.


Olala: Strassentheater Festival Lienz
2009 dates were: July 28 — August 2
Lienz, Austria
This street festival's 18 years old. I visited for a few days in 2007 when Drew Richardson and Avner Eisenberg were both performing there and had a great time. Tons of performance, much of it geared toward physical comedy, and the town (not to be confused with the large Austrian city of Linz) is charming, nestled in a breathtaking Alpine valley. Take the ski lift to the top and hike amongst the cows!

August

Mimos, Festival de Mime
August 2 — August 8
Periguex, France
This festival has been going on since 1982 (I attended in 1990), and offers a wide variety of movement theatre, as well as workshops.


Edinburgh Festival Fringe
August 6 — August 30
Edinburgh, Scotland
This self-proclaimed largest arts festival in the world has all kinds of stuff, but with 2009 featuring 34,265 performances of over 2,200 shows in 256 different venues you're bound to find some physical comedy, right?












September

New York Clown-Theatre Festival
September 3 – September 26
Brick Theatre, Brooklyn, NY, USA
This will make four out of five years that the Brick Theatre in the persons of Robert Honeywell, Eric Davis, Audrey Crabtree and gang, have been staging this very welcome event in Williamsburg. Count on three weeks of shows from all over the world, plus forums, workshops, and more. Here's their recent press release:

New York Clown Theatre Festival is an annual celebration of the art of clown. Every fall the Brick Theatre presents the very best of clown performance from around the globe as well as hosting classes and workshops by world-renowned teachers. We host a bevy of outrageous events, including a massive pie fight, clown parade, and a clown funeral. The festival enters its 5th year this fall. We look for full shows, cabaret pieces and shorter (20-minute) pieces, and film. We do a mix of new and established work and focus on presenting a wide range of clown-theatre and building our international community. Last year we scaled the festival back to "Amuse Bouche," a small number of invited shows and will stick with this format every other year. We are gearing up for the full-scale festival September 3-26th, 2010. Let the application process begin! You can find information on the space, details about requirements, and the online application here: 
http://www.bricktheater.com/applications

 Deadline for applications: May 15, 2010.
Please email completed application, all supporting materials, and questions to:
 clown@bricktheater.com. Also let us know if you would like to volunteer or have a skill to share with the festival planning. Also join us on our new 2010 facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=293300703234


Fira Tàrrega
Tàrrega, Catalonia, Spain
September 9 — September 12
"FiraTàrrega is the international performing arts market held annually in Tàrrega. Founded in 1981, FiraTàrrega is a showcase for professional performing proposals that are mainly addressed at the agents who take part in production and buying as well as the large audiences who give it its festive and spontaneous character."


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Out There — International Festival of Street Arts and Circus
Great Yarmouth, UK
September 17—September 19
Last year's free festival showcased more than 30 professional acts, 90 performances and 600 performers.



October


Circo Circolo Circus Theatre Festival
October 15 — October 24 Liempde. Netherlands
"Circo Circolo is the festival in the Netherlands for Circus theatre, or in other words the New Circus.... the crossover between present-day theatre, dance, music, acrobatics and design."





November

Wuqiao International Circus Festival
Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China
2009 dates: October 31 — November 8
This is a competitive festival with over thirty acts from all over the world competing for top honors. It began in 1987 and it looks like it only happens in the odd-numbered years, but I include it here in case anyone wants to check it out for 2011. You can see videos of past winning acts here.



Cornella International Clown Festival
Barcelona, Spain
November 19 — November 28
"Born to pay homage to the Catalonian clown, Charlie Rivel, its main purpose is to demonstrate to the public the wide possibilities of a clown’s language : from the traditional circus clowns to the newest and most "experimental" shows, while also offering street performances." Alex Navarro, festival co-director, writes "I'm now looking at programming the festival and I'd like to receive DVDs of full shows for the theatre. The shows must be without words or if you speak must be a little and with the possibility to do it in Catalan or Spanish. Also I'm interested in videos of clown numbers for a circus ring. At least 2 entrances between 7 and 10 minutes (15 minutes between both entrances). If you have videos online, please send me the links." You can reach him at: festivaldepallassos@gmail.com


Clownfrauen / Clownin' — International Women's Clown Festival
Vienna, Austria
November 26th – December 4th
Co-produced by Theatre Supernova and Kosmos Theater since 2006. See Adam Gertsacov's Clownlink blog for more information.


And for all of 2010, Geneva, Switzerland is the International Capital of World Circus. Click here for their latest programming.

I keep adding more festivals on a regular basis. Please send me information on ones I don't know about!