Hedwig, the wise old owl, sent me in this direction to see the BBC's photo article about
Clowns Without Borders.
It's beautiful and touching photo essay. Smiles are so infectious.
Out of the dark recesses of my past, I too was a clown. In college after I switched from Biology/Chemistry/Premed to Theatre I began to study with a gifted clown, Winston Inslee. The roots of my theatrical training and understanding come as much from the clown as it does from Shakespeare. Or perhaps my understanding of Shakespeare is enhanced by clearly seeing how much buffoonery is central to his work.
My senior project was a performance/play based on the clown character I developed - it helped me get into grad school (accepted into 2 different programs). During my MFA work I also worked on my clowning. I never did birthday parties or entertained at fast food restaurants, thank god, but I did my share of nursing homes and schools. When I shifted my focus from performing to playwrighting, it was the clown who gave me the most inspiration. My full length play, "Grimaldi: King Of The Clowns" got me my degree and after I left, was selected by SIU to perform in their main season. It also went to the American College Theater Festival. That was thrilling and terrifying in itself. (BTW - find Grimaldi's "autobiography" - it's edited by Boz - Charles Dickens - he basically wrote it himself).
After moving to Columbus and entering the business world (starting with nearly 2 years at Bell Labs) I continued clowning, mainly at festivals and some organized busking events (how can you have organized buskers?). I taught a class in clowning for OSU's adult education program for a couple of years - was even featured on the catalog cover. But OSU canceled their adult education and life got more complex with work and kids. I had to decide where to commit my artistic energies - writing won out.
There was also another thing that made me put away the red nose and grease paint - I got to that rare point where I was very good, good enough to see what it would take to be exceptional. I could also see that I didn't have the drive or talent to be what I expected of myself.
I also had/have a very narrow vision of what kind of clowning I like. Cirque Du Sole = wonderful. Bozo=scarry. Crusty the Clown = hilarious. Emmet Kelly=breathtaking (but now overdone, stealing the magic of what he was). I saw Red Skelton perform and when he wasn't being a ham and just plain goofy, he could be a wonderful clown.
You see, the clown is a very specific, very important theatrical form. When I see something like Clowns Without Borders I know it can work because the clown is a key human component - playing off the ridiculous. It is a counter to the Shaman, that claims spiritual authority and great dignity. The clown claims no such thing, and mocks those that do.
And what makes people strong? Laughing together. Theatre is a natural human occupation. Just as Pinker tells us "The mind is something the brain does" the theater is something that humans living together do. We tell stories. We repeat them. We formalize them. And the telling and watching make us feel better.
How brilliant of these people to know and act on this. "People told me that big international organisations give them clothes and food, but that nobody ever makes them smile."
