I found it amazing how much went into the construction of becoming a clown. I remember being a young child and thinking that all a clown had to do was put on some make up, a flamboyant costume, and drink an entire pot of coffee before going in front of people. Now I realize just how much goes into becoming a clown, it is pretty much just as much work becoming a clown that an actor becoming a character. The most interesting part of the reading was the break down of comedic bits such as playing the piano, the double take or the spit take (which I used in Major Barbara btw).
After watching the videos, i also realize that I have probably mistaken most clown these days to be comedic actors. Marcel Marceau is one of the clown i can mostly associate with clowning. That is frankly thanks to the makeup he is wearing along with the oh so very silly costume. Mr. Bean however is amazing in the fact that he can be a subtle clown. His bits always start out so small and just become these enormous spectacles of humor and comedy. Although after watching Bill Irwin it seems that this is a common formula for clowning around.
Although is there too much of a difference between the birthday clown to the professional clowns that we see in Cirque du Soleil, besides having advanced technique? I know that the level of experience is what differs one clown to another, but I guess I am just wondering if there is a difference in what a clown's ultimate goal is, or if the grounding for a clown is pretty much the same all across the board. Although we do have the Insane Clown Posse, one of the most god awful bands to come to existence in my opinion, even though I feel that way i guess its hard not to just accept them as clowns as I would Bill Irwin, because they are there to entertain.
Well I'd say the only reason the ICP would be considered clowns is because of their makeup. Although there is a certain sense of chaos that clowns do embody there as well.
ReplyDeleteCheck out some of my and Jeff's comments through these recent posts--IMO, at its simplest, clowning is a clown character showing a journey from problem to solution. But of course we've seen several clown bits, both from us and the videos, that are more than that. Or less. It's a magical experience, though, when you do see a high-quality clown performance.