What Happened to the Semester???

So my husband has been injured most of April, I have been not going to work out three days a week. Instead, I've been home doing stuff 'cause he can't. But today he was mended enough to go do a round of 10 reps each of the exercises I mentioned (way) earlier, and a hot tub soak. Oh, but I have been taking several bike rides down and back up the big hill between my house and the grocery store.

And some of us found the Godot Waiting Area. So. See you tomorrow.   ~Prof. Jenn

So..... my workouts that i forgot to post :(

So the past couple of weeks I have forgotten to post what I have done for my work out log. I've been running when I can, playing some volleyball, as well as doing some crunches. When I havent been able to do much activity, i'll resort to climbing up and down stairs with heavy weight on me, as well as walking everywhere I can.

Rough Clips from Today

See You in Class!

Seussian Rehearsals

Text Clues Cheat Sheet

Here are my "Oral Interp Clues" that I talked about in class yesterday, for your Seuss use and amusement.   ~Prof. Jenn

Checklist: Oral Interpretation Clues

·      Italics, bold, underline

·      ALL CAPS

·      Different fonts

·      Paragraph / line / page breaks

·      Repetition

·      Punctuation!?

·      Illustration

·      Dialogue / Characters / POV

·      “stage directions”

clownin'!

This was so much fun and I learned a lot about physical comedy as well as clowning. The first group was the clown race. This was so cute and hilarious! The music choices were great and everyone really got their body involved in the comedy. There were specific characters and I liked the costume choices. They had some really specifc cute moments like with the candy bar, and tripping each other to win the race. It was a good length as well, not to long but just long enough. I though it was a pretty neat idea, I don't think I could have thought it up. The next group was black swan. Aside from not realizing it was supposed to be ice dancing, it was quite hilarious. Some of the movements could have been cleaner and more specific, but overall it was really great to watch to fight between the two ladies. Matt being stuck in the middle was really funny. This was another good one to showcase full body comedy. You can't only ben half active and have this kind of thing work out. The way they coordinated with the music was really nice too. My group was the tightrope walkers. Ours took a little time to get it up on it's feet, but once we got going there were a lot of great ideas. I think we could have tried playing with a taped line on the floor to really be specifc with our walking. I know it's a not an olympic sport, but clowns would definiely have this in their olympics. I really liked the different characters we came up with. Christae being the scared and over cautious one, me being the dumb kind of flitty one, Zak being the kind of el-capitano one, and Jenn being the level headed one. It gave us good dynamics to play off of each other with. I think if we did it again we could try having some music. We thought about having some but then decided it would work without it. It could add a nice element. Overall this unit was really fun and I feel like I learned some great new stuff!

WORK OUT!

I have completely forgotten to keep up with a log, but I have been going to the gym every week (trying to get there at least 3 times which is pathetic but its all I've been able to do lately) and I usually hit the bike for 20-30 mins of cardio (woot! sweaty!) and then I usually alternate upper-body work-out one day with lower-body so that each time I go its different. I just got a gym membership so I'm trying to get into the swing of things.

Clown-lympics!

BLACK SWAN

I thought this idea was very fun and I absolutely LOVED watching it. The performance was well-executed and went very well with the music, I didn't know it was supposed to be figure skating so I thought it was a "ballet". I thought the feathers were really cute and I was reminded of the fantasia scene with the ballet animals. I do think, however, that it could have been possible for stronger clown personalities to show through with actual clown-hats, then we would have known "oh hey, those clowns are trying to do Black Swan!" I was, however, incredibly amused and I liked this performance better than the movie. I also really appreciated Matt's squawking . . . that added a lot of vocal humor with a really simple sound, and it was awesome.

TIGHT ROPE

I thought this presentation was the best in terms of clown personalities, tricks, facials, falling, etc. It looked SO professional, I was really impressed. Every clown had a DISTINCT physicality and personality and the hats really did shine through the entire character. Each character was very different and stuck to their role throughout the entire tightrope walk. I like how Christae had a fuzzy, bear-like hat so she made her character the scaredy/schlumpy type which completely worked, and Jen's hat was floppy so she had a physicality to match and so on, everyone did a great job matching their hat. Also, the clown tricks were very clear which I think the other pieces lacked a little bit of the clown-trick precision that was so clear and well-executed in this piece.

PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT

This being my group, I will say that I thought the idea for speed-walking was super. However, I think if all of us had been there every week it would have been more polished, so we had some extra challenges with catching people up. I felt especially like I could have contributed more had I not missed the class in which we learned to fall, so I decided to make my character "the tortoise" of the race. I thought everybody really put a lot of effort into their costume and character, we were going for a more slapstick effect and I think with more rehearsal that would have been a little tighter.

I think the biggest challenge for us was the music. I had a hell of a time finding the Push It to the Limit song (the right version) on Itunes, so Rachel ended up playing it on her iphone and I played chariots of fire on my laptop, neither of which were really loud enough. Also, at the very end slo-mo fall I had trouble getting the music to play, so its always an adventure with a live performance. But overall I thought we had some really unique ideas and character choices and I enjoyed the schticks that the clowns played on one another in order to get ahead, that seemed very Looney Tunes to me.

Like Roberto, I also feel like I want to keep clowning around all over the place. It's a fun break from reality and an art that requires a lot of skill that I want to keep learning. Jen should teach a class all about clowning . . . please?

By blood a king, in heart a clown.

Walking on Sunshine:
WOW! I absolutely appreciated the detail that you guys paid attention to in terms of costumes and very specific choices. You were all very well rehearsed and I was impressed with the strides you guys made in creating a smooth overall understanding of the story by simply using a few chairs and music. Your physical gestures were really specific, especially the tripping and the 'Chariots of Fire' moment where nearly everyone ate shit. Loved it! I wish we could have heard the music a bit better, but over all it was really well executed.

(A few shades lighter than) Black Swan:
I loved the premise of you piece, and although it didn't exactly fit the criteria of creating your own original clownolympic story, I really appreciated the fact that you guys took a risk in recreating a dark story, which produced a very humorous affect. You didn’t have hats, which would have provided another option for variation, but I thought the feathers were awfully cute and nice touch to tie us into your story. You guys took a lot of time in syncing with your music which was an AWESOME effect, especially when Mallory first opened the curtain and lunged forward and was caught in the bar with the crashing music in the background. That was my FAVORITE moment. I felt this performance was more similar to what our Suess finals will be in recreating a story with our own flavor, which is definitely clowning process. Bravo!

A Very Thin Line:

I’m so proud of our group. We took a little bit of each of our ideas and incorporated it into the final product, which I loved. I thought our hats served us well and we all did a nice job of incorporating the character we created with some of the initial clowning exercises. I loved that we had Commedia- like stock characters, which are so endearing. I would say I specially loved Nicole’s hat and adorable physicality across the tightrope, Jenn was awesome to work with and provided my character a sort of ‘backboard ‘to work off of as the encouraging clown, which made my job easier. Zac was my favorite character of our group as the (not so) fearless leader. His physicality really enhanced our performance and helped give us lots of structure.

Great Job Everyone!

Review, etc.

Black Swan:
While this interpretation lacked the original glide effect we saw in rehearsals, the overall effect was fanfriggintabulous. This interpretation is a good example of the parodic aspect of clowning. The overly emphasized gestures and inelegant vocal elements did well to draw metaphorical mustache Aronofsky's masterwork. All clowning has an element of parody in it, but it's generally a less-specialized form and more universal. Seeing a direct parody in performance was refreshing. As far as mechanics, the choreography being set to music was inspired. I really loved the facial expressions going on during the entire performance, how each character took the dancing so very seriously. The best thing I can say for this group: You made it look easy. It must have been very taxing to create that illusion.

Tight Rope:
I am very jealous of Zak's ability to do the Homer Simpson scream. I loved the illusion of balance and lack thereof during the scene, the use of an unstable space-prop worked incredibly well. I was very impressed how quickly each character was established with their first steps out onto the rope - Zak's false bravado, Nicole's absolute lack of fear, Christae's timidness, and Jen's nonchalance. Each one was really clear, even in the way they were breathing. I loved the ending as well, the shaky take-a-bow was incredible body work.

Breakfast of Champions (Speed Walking):
I pitched this idea to the group based on this piece I saw years ago during the Olympics about the Mexican bad-boy of speed walking who was constantly getting into trouble for jogging. I've always wanted to do something with that concept. I'm really glad it paid off as well as it did. It was rough doing rehearsals the first two weeks without all four team members there, but I think we really did something we can be proud of.

Working a clowning scene was much different than most other scene creation I've worked with. I found that while talking about a plan was useful, it worked better to talk and move at the same time. Working out the logistics of a gag became much easier, and much more fluid, when we got on, off, and around our feet. It also really helped with characterization. The brainstorming was by far the best part, just pitching ideas and trying them out made it a really exciting and fun/funny experiment.

I really feel like part of me was made for clowning. I'd forgotten just how much I'd enjoyed playing the fool as a little kid, but now that I've got a taste for it again, I'm not sure I can keep away. I think we need to pull a flash mob out of this, possibly do some pratfalls out of nowhere on the sixteenth street mall. How cool would that be?

Clownlympics Review :)

The Great Race- This group of clowns was hilarious in how they moved and used their bodies to share a story with us. Each clown had their own distinct walk, and you could also tell from their walk, their personality and character. When they all walked up to the starting line, they all meant business and you could tell the differences between the competitive ones and the clowns that didnt take it so seriously. The rolls and the falls that they did were played into the storyline amazingly, especially when Roberto's character fell down and Rachel came up behind him and pushed him down on the ground even more. When Roberto was trying to swoon Sophie's character to regain the lead again, it was hilarious- how he was so charming, and then he just ran ahead of her leaving her. At the end, i loved how the music changed and how it was suddenly slow motion- it was very easy to follow it in my head as well as imagination too. Danielle's face was priceless!! How excited she was and how proud of herself she was as well showed, and the reactions from the others was great. I would have liked to see more angry or sad reaction from Sophie, as she was out of the picture towards the end, but other than that- I loved this group. :) The Black Swan Gone Crazy- Matt, Mallory and Taylor's group was amazing with what they did to recreate The Black Swan clown style. The music they picked out fit extremely well, along with how they timed certain things to it to make it really feel like we were watching professional clowns. When Mallory came out from behind the curtain and how she made her entrance coincide with the music was hilarious- especially when she was trying to get out from behind the bar. When she was finally able to get out and then when she was going after Matt and Taylor, the HONK and the SQUAWKING that each clown bird made was priceless. I would have liked to see more falls maybe incorporated into the piece, but I do think that Taylor made a very realistic and graceful fall when Mallory stabbed her. One of my favorite scenes in the pices was when Taylor and Mallory were dancing with each other and they grabbed one a nother's boob and then the timing to the music when they were looking around was perfect! You guys did a really great job- I always enjoy watching to see what you come up with!! The Tight Rope- This was the group that I was in and although we didnt have any music to go along with our sceen, we did have our noises that we could make with our mouths and body as well as facial expressions. When we first got together to figure out what we were going to do, we came up with the tight rope idea almost instantly, but had a few different ideas on how to do it. At first we were thinking that maybe we could walk up some stairs and then go across the tight rope, but it still being only about 3 feet up so we could jump off. Another ideas was that we would play into the skit that one of us would "fall " off the rope but would be hanging onto it above the ground. Finally we just decided that what would work best was that we would walk onto the stage following our leader, and then make our way across the rope. We all had different characters as well. Zak was our "fearless" leader, Nicole was the happy go lucky one, Christae was the scared one, and I was the one who doesnt get scared easily and wasnt afraid to jump off. When it came time to perfom, I thought that we had come a long way from when we began. I also thought that we did it very good job. We incorporated falls and locomotor movements that would fit in easily, and we also had to use our bodies a lot to tell a story. For me personally, this was the most animated I have been in the class, probably because I knew I had to and also because I knew that in order to be and act like a clown, I needed to embrace that side of me. Overall, I believe that we did a very good job and worked well together as a group to make a very funny and charming scene happen for our audience. I loved all three skits and thought that everyone did an awesome job!! I'm looking forward to the Suess Final :)

Seussian Collection

Only view this collection if you don't mind seeing what other classes and my troupe have done with these Seussian scripts in the past. If you'd rather keep your creative process unsullied by exposure to others' takes, don't press play! :) ~Prof. Jenn


Seuss Celebration from Jenn Zuko Boughn on Vimeo.

Clownolympics!!!

Demonic Black Swan Ice Capades -

I thought that this skit was interesting and very entertaining, but didn't think that it met the criteria for what was asked for this assignment. First, we were asked to get a hat that was then going to help us find a character and personality for out skits. This was supposed to be different for each person. All that they used was a feather and they all had one, which brought no unique personalities to the table. And, in my book, a feather in your hair is not a hat. The performance wasn't unique as well. They just copied Black Swan and did a funny improvisation of it. I am having a hard time seeing the clowning aspects of it. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I just didn't see the true assignment come out.

On the Tightrope -

I thought that this skit was adorable. I loved how they pretty much mimed everything (a clowning characteristic) and how all of their body language was very loose and silly. It was very vaudville-ish which gave it that typical "clown" feel. I was trying to see the different personalities with the different hats and couldn't see definite ones except Zak's. His hat gave him a persona of fear and he played along with it the whole time. I also loved how it was a total group effort to get from one place to the other and how they told the story of how they helped each other along. I thought that was very creative. I really would have liked some music in this skit though.

Speed-walking -

Our group had a lot of fun trying to figure out the concept of our event. I loved how my group was very supportive on the ideas other brought to the table. It is so nice to be able to work with people that are so easy to be around. We had an issue with the music and the internet access in the building but we overcame it and made it a part of our show which I thought was great. We had a lot of timing issues that needed to be worked on more. Knowing where to be on the track and at what time the "tricks" were supposed to happen is difficult with four people. Keeping the right pace was a big contributor to that problem. Everyone goes at a different pace and it just seemed to change all the time, but that is probably because we are human :) We incorporated the "rule of three" with our personalities and tricks that went along with them. Roberto, Sophia and I were the 3 "bad" guys and Danielle was the good guy who end up winning because the three of us were so focused on each other and not the finish line. I thought we had very strong personalities. I was the one trying to act all cool and cocky, Roberto was the one that was taking everything WAY too seriously, Sophia was very nonchalant about things and very "cool" and Danielle was kind of an old person who was goofy in her own way but was the one that kept focus on the final goal... the finish line. We also made sure that we incorporated our walking, skipping, galloping, running and other movements we worked on at the beginning of the semester. I feel that overall, we did a pretty good job and our music choices were "cool" thanks to Roberto and Dani :)

Great Job Everyone!!!

Clownlympics!

Nice work, clowns!

News re: Bill Irwin

http://www.theatermania.com/san-francisco/news/04-2011/klea-blackhurst-david-cale-marga-gomez-bill-irwin_35953.html

Workout log.

I walked all over creation this week. Also I've been doing falling practice, which is working my inside leg muscles like a mofo (I'm doing more in a given exercise period, but damn, it usually leaves me sore the next day). Today, in particular, I walked all over down town and then from Alameda and Broadway to the 16th St. Mall. It was fun.

No Homework?

Oh yeah, huh. Just the coloring book pages. And I didn't work out this week at all (besides walking and biking all over creation, er, Boulder). Okay, so here's another picture of me in the early '90s playing a clowning role. Please to enjoy...   ~Prof. Jenn

Look at that little boy in the close background! It's like, the coolest, most magical thing that has ever happened to him...

Reading Response (late) :(

So sorry this is getting posted so late- my week has literally been non-stop until this evening. When I was reading the Movement for Actors book, and the section about the Dell'Arte School, it hit me as to how much movement on the stage is really not a spur of the moment deal. There is a ton of thought and character that goes into each step and next move the character/person is going to take that you have to train your body to show that, especially when you have an audience that gains the most from seeing and hearing. I was also surprised to hear that physical theatre wasnt as high up in the list or totem pole in theatre to obtain a degree for. When reading the Smallest Mask section, i liked the quote "the clowns role is to keep the people in touch with everyday reality while fulfilling the need for a connectionto the sacred." I liked it because when i read that, it made sense to me. clowning is funny and it does mock the smallest problems they are presented with, but at the same time, people are always presented with a problem in life that they need to wrok out throuh. Clowns just do it the funny way. I also like that they said that "at the heart of clown work is the acceptance and celebration of human imperfection", that it views or limitations and the fact that we can see them as humorous. Clowns are very simple yet in a way smart characters- as they come onto the scene with no past, but they know how to grab and hold the audiences attention and keep them watching and laughing and having a good time as well. There truely is a lot that goes into being a great clown, and i'm starting to have a new found respect for it as well. :) I have heard of Chaplin and Keaton before, but i didnt know that they were considered to be commedians in their time. I knew that they were some of the bigger stars in the silent film industry as well. When they were talking about body shape on a person, i realized that it made sense- that the eyes are more drawn towards the hands or feet and that the movement is different than other people. Im interested in looking up some of their movies as well, so that i may have a better understanding of their movie careers.

Workout log over break

Over spring break, my workouts consisted of sit-ups, running, and some yoga. I did the workouts every other day. I also did little things such as parked farther away from places i went to, as well as took the stairs whenever i could.

Hey Clowns

Great work today--you guys rehearsed hard on two separate projects, and learned hat tricks to boot! For those of you who posted or printed your Clown Research Projects without a Works Cited or in-text citations, please correct this before next class or your grades will not make you happy. (in-text citations may not work on a blog post--at least have a Works Cited list). And...scene. Have a good week!   ~Prof. Jenn

Hi guys

Hi family...

I just wanted to apologize for my absence today. I know this class really counts on working as a team and I feel as if I let down my group today.

But after rehearsal ended yesterday I started to notice my right knee was swelling but I didn't pay much attention to it..I figured it was one of the usual aches and pains of rehearsal

Then I got home and my knee got worse...My husband went out to get me some epsom salt so I could soak it and all it did was get bigger.

I gave it some serious thought and I know I had to stay at home, alert my Dad to the problem and see if it got any worse...

No progression either way as of right now, but I will keep you posted.

Thank you for understanding and I will return next week.

Matt and Mallory - I will be available to rehearse during the week for our clowning unit - and even if there happens to be a serious problem with my knee we can work it into the act.

Good Night and God Bless

Christae Evanson

Clowning Paper

Professor Boughn

April 2, 2011

My earliest memories of the late great Red Skelton are of watching “The Best of Red Skelton” PBS special with my Grandma while eating grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup when I was about 8. I remember my Grandma and Mom always being such a fan of his physical comedy and family friendly humor. So I definitely decided he was the clown for me to research.

Although there is some controversy regarding his age, he was said to have been born July 18, 1913. His father, Joe who passed away before he was born was said to have been a clown with Hagenbeck & Wallace Circus. At age 10 Ed Wynn discovered him peddling newspapers outside the Pantheon Theatre in Vincennes Illinois. By the time Red was 15, he was working full time in all sorts of traveling acts such as vaudeville and showboats, including the Hagenbeck & Wallace Circus which his father had been a part of.

Around 1930 he had a vaudeville act with Edna Stillwell, who later became his wife. They ended up divorcing later. Red became very fortunate in having a successful career in both film and radio, and Broadway. In 1938, Red made his film debut in “Having a wonderful time”. Between the 1940’s-1950’s, Red had a very successful career with MGM doing nearly 30 films.

His radio show ran from 1941-1953. Aptly named, “The Red Skelton” show, Red had his own very specifically unique style of clowning. His most famous characters were “Clem Kadiddlehopper, the country bumpkin, Willy Lump Lump, a drunken sot, Cauliflower McPugg, a punch-drunk boxer, The Mean Widdle Kid, who's most famous expression, "I Dood It," became a national slogan, San Fernando Red, a likable rogue and con man, and his famous cross-eyed seagulls, Gertrude and Heathcliffe.” (Red Skelton Biography)

He married his second wife Georgia Davis in 1945. He had two children, one of which was killed by Leukemia. That tragedy taking such a toll on the family, Red divorced Georgia in 1972.

In 1951, Red had his own T.V. show, which received extremely high ratings in its first year, and only grew in popularity thereafter. His most famous character was the loveable tramp clown Freddy the Freeloader.

Red won the Emmy in 1953 for Best comedy show. His show moved from NBC to CBS and won a subsequent Emmy in 1961 for Outstanding Writing Achievement.
One of his most famous phrases was his sign off of “Good Night and God Bless”. A phrase I always loved hearing and found very comforting. Unfortunately in 1970, CBS cancelled the show due to rising production cost and because they felt the material they show cased needed to appeal to a more mature demographic. This blow deeply hurt Red and it seemed as though he never recovered from than cancellation. A very memorable moment was in 1986, when Red was presented the Governor's Award of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at the Emmy Awards Show when he stated,” "I want to thank you for sitting down, I thought you were pulling a CBS and walking out on me" after receiving a standing ovation.

His show was reinstated in 1970, but it didn’t have the success of his former show and was cancelled a year later.

He spent some time reverting back to live performances touring all over, including Carnegie Hall. He also continued to pursue another passion of his, painting making additional income.

Red paid homage to his late son by donating money and establishing The Red Skelton Foundation in his hometown to help needy children.

One of his greatest statements found on the Funny Faces video regarding his character is this:

"I get asked all the time; where did you get the idea for Freddie the Freeloader, and who is Freddie really? Well, I guess you might say that Freddie the Freeloader is a little bit of you, and a little bit of me, a little bit of all of us, you know. He found out what love means. He knows the value of time. He knows that time is a glutton. We say we don't have time to do this or do that. There's plenty of time. The trick is to apply it. The greatest disease in the world today is procrastination. And Freddie knows about all these things. And so do you. He doesn't ask anybody to provide for him, because it would be taken away from you. He doesn't ask for equal rights if it's going to give up some of yours. And he knows one thing ... that patriotism is more powerful than guns. He ís nice to everybody because he was taught that man is made in God’s image. He’s never met God in person and the next fella just might be him. I would say that Freddie is a little bit of all of us." (Red Skelton Biography)

I love that Red’s performances and ideals appeal to both children and adults. His working has so many varying ideas and levels. He didn’t care about was politically correct or socially correct, but cared deeply about imparting his beliefs through performance.

In 1989 he was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame.

Red died of pneumonia in his home in Rancho Mirage, California.

Works Cited

"Bibliography." OFFICIAL Red Skelton Web Site. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. .

"Red Skelton Biography - Good Night and May God Bless | Clown Ministry | History | Red Skelton." Clown Ministry. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. .

Some of my Favorite Clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al2xOOTMmLo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZBTyTWOZCM

Amy Sedaris

First of all, I would like to say that this came out to 2 pages on my word processing program . . . .

Danielle Hawkins

Clown Research Project

 Amy Sedaris

The author, comedian, business-owner and baker, Amy Sedaris, is probably best known for her slew of crazy characters and antics that she has come up with over the years and is one of the few modern examples of a female physical comedian. In his book of essays Me Talk Pretty One Day, Amy’s brother, David Sedaris, describes her penchant for dressing up in strange costumes, assuming a completely different character, and pulling pranks on a routine basis, “Her fondness for transformation began at an early age . . . for Christmases and birthdays she requested wigs and makeup, hospital gowns and uniforms.” (134,135) 

It was David who encouraged Amy to go to Chicago where she joined the comedy troupe Second City. There she met Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello, with whom she went on to create Strangers With Candy, a television show on Comedy Central starring Amy as Jerri Blank, a 46 year old drop-out/drug addict who is trying to get her life together by starting over as a high-school freshman. The show is a great example of how Amy uses costumes and physical comedy to create character. From her success on Strangers With Candy, Amy has continued to appear in film and television doing quirky skits and dressing up as strange characters.

Although an attractive woman, part of Amy’s physical comedy is dressing “down”, “I like playing ugly people that think they’re attractive,” (tv interview, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight). In response to her father’s concern for his daughter’s appearance and weight, Amy chose to wear a fat suit to Christmas and have herself made up to look like she had been beaten in a fight for a magazine photo shoot, “When it was her turn at the styling table, Amy said ‘I want to look like someone has beaten the shit out of me”. ( David Sedaris, 140)

“I tend to live my life like a deaf person. I communicate with my actions: the way I dress, the way my home is decorated, and the gifts I give all speak for me.” (Amy Sedaris, 5) In recent years, Amy has turned her comedic gifts toward her fondness for baking, crafts and entertaining. She brings her bizarre characters and ideas to the pages of her books I Like You, and Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People in which she not-so-seriously provides 
recipes, craft-tips and advice. She is certainly not your average “Susie home-maker”. Amy frequently appears on talk shows such as the David Letterman show and Chelsea Lately, where she promotes her books by showing the host some of her recent crafts, like a lamp shade with tassels made of hair swatches or a marshmallow stuck full of sparkly toothpicks, (Wendy Williams Show).

Bibliography

Amy Sedaris: International Movie Data Base. 2011. 1 April. 2011. 

Sedaris, David. Me Talk Pretty One Day. New York, Hachette, 2000.

Sedaris, Amy. Interview. George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight. CBC. Toronto. 6

          Dec. 2010.

Sedaris, Amy. Interview. The Wendy Williams Show. BET. New York. 3 Nov. 2010

Sedaris, Amy. I Like You. New York: Hachette, 2006.

this is a link to a funny tooth fairy thing Amy did:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCUfM0Z0mxU


here's another one:

Biography: Jackie Chan

Edit: Not sure why this isn't formatting the paragraphs correctly. But here it is.

Roberto Martinez

Professor Boughn

THE 3220

2 April 2011

Biography: Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan is one of the most skilled clowns of the modern era. Unlike his peers, Chan is able to blend an appearance of martial arts prowess with the typical clowning traits of over-complicated problems seamlessly into a unique mix of traits. Where other people have to choose between being the comic relief or the brave hero, Chan does both with equal effectiveness. While others such as Sammo Hung and Stephen Chow have had success following in his footsteps, Jackie Chan was the foremost pioneer mixing Hong Kong action and clowning (Wiki).

Jakie Chan, originally called “Kong-sang” Chan (literally “Born in Hong Kong”) was born in 1954 to a poor couple, Charles and Lee Lee Chan. Charles and Lee Lee worked for the French embassy working as a cook and house cleaner respectively, and although they did not earn much it was a very steady job. Charles began teaching Jackie martial arts at a young age in order to try and add some structure and discipline to his life. When Jackie began attending school, he began using his training in school yard fights, which in turn were punished by his father (a plot element seen in the Drunken Master movies).

Jackie failed his first year of school just as his father earned a new, much more lucrative position as head cook for the American embassy in Australia. The family decided that it would be better to keep Jackie in Hong Kong and enrolled him in the China Drama Academy, a Peking opera school. During this time, Jackie’s training was expanded to incorporate acting, singing, acrobatics, and tumbling as well as continuing his martial arts schooling. Jackie prospered in this field and also met two of his closest collaborators, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. The three would eventually go on to be called the “Three Brothers” in Hong Kong cinema. Jackie began work as a stunt man in a pair of Bruce Lee films, Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon (Chuck Norris also worked as a stunt man on the film).

After this initial set of successes, the Hong Kong cinema industry went through a period of bust following Bruce Lee’s death. As a result, Jackie emigrated to Australia to live with his parents. Because the China Drama Academy didn’t teach reading or writing, Jackie was only qualified for unskilled labor. He started working restaurant and construction jobs. This is where he first got the name “Jackie” as his co-workers had trouble pronouncing his given name. Jackie had a distaste for the jobs as he found them “difficult and boring” (Biography). Thankfully, Chan soon started getting offers from Hong Kong again thanks to his previous work and his physical similarity to Bruce Lee.

Trying to capitalize on his looks, movie producers attempted to make Jackie into an action hero starting with New Fist of Fury. The film and its subsequent attempts to make Jackie the new Bruce met with failure, partly because Jackie studied different techniques than Bruce. However, when a director decided to let Jackie contribute ideas in Snake in Eagle’s Shadow, which allowed him to infuse humor into the action of the movie, which was well-received. Jackie became a sensation for bringing physical comedy to the kung fu genre. After branching from China to Japan, it would take a few years before Jackie took a swing at the American market with the film Cannon Ball Run (the inclusion of bloopers during the credit reel became a staple of Jackie’s films after seeing how well it worked for this film). Jackie became frustrated with Hollywood, however, and wouldn’t attempt to make another movie in the country until Rumble in the Bronx in the early 90s, which lead to him becoming a sensation in the United States.

Jackie’s stardom continues to accumulate. In 2008 he was one of the torch-bearers for the Beijing Olympics, continuing his film work, as well as serving an ambassador to UNICEF and UNAIDS. Jackie’s son, Jaycee Chan has started a career as a successful singer in China, a skill Jackie shares but is not widely known for outside of the People’s Republic. If all goes well, Jackie will continue to delight the world with his blend of action and comedy for decades to come.

Works Cited

"Biography." The Official Website of Jackie Chan. Web. 01 Apr. 2011.

"Jackie Chan." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 01 Apr. 2011.

Ehhhhh...... What's up Doc?

Zak Wziontka
Bugs Bunny
Born on July 27, 1940 Bugs Bunny was born into the film life. His parents Tex Avery and Robert McKimson were proud to release him into the world with his debut role in A Wild Hare. After this his career took off staring in over 220 movies and television shows and also appeared in his own comic book series from 1952 to 1692. He dazzled audiences with comedic roles where in he incorporated various styles of clowning, dancing, singing, as well as drag. What makes his clowning abilities exceptional to others is his ability to negate and manipulate the rules of time and space; he is not constrained by the laws of physics.
His favorite snack is carrots; his most consistent stalker is Elmer Fudd; his partner in crime as well as greatest rival, Daffy Duck. He could not be as successful as he is today if it were not for help from his partners, but he also received help from other outside sources. Born a mute a film career was difficult to maintain if it were not for Mel Blanc, who voiced Bugs for almost five decades until his untimely death in 1989. Although Bugs took the death hard, he was able to pick back up with Jeff Burgman. There have also been various other people Bugs has worked with such as Greg Burson, Billy West, Joe Alaskey, Samuel Vincent, and Noel Blanc.
Bugs matured over the years from his first showing to his most recent film career. In the 1940’s the majority of his roles were immature and spontaneous. Being an entertainer during the conflicts of World War II, he made Warner Brothers into the most profitable cartoon studios of the time because audiences enjoyed his easy going laid back attitude. In the 1950’s Bugs became less sporadic even though he kept up his clowning art.
One important trait of Bugs is that as a protagonist he always acts violently in self-defense. Although there was a time where Bugs enjoyed a bit of revenge on Donald Duck when he received god-like powers and becomes the animator of the world Donald is living in. Yet even though he is not always the instigator of the conflict presented to him, he is generally the one who finishes it. Except for him cameo role in Family Guy where Elmer Fudd shoots him in the stomach and Bugs sees a temporary demise.
Compared to all of the early aged cartoon characters who are still around to this day, most but all of them cannot hold a candle to Bugs Bunny. He always has been and always will be apart of our lives, there to give us comfort, make us laugh and sometime cry, and will always be a funny bunny.

I'll Bust your Keaton.

First of all, I have to disagree about the spontaneity thing. While there's a 1,000 hours of prep work that goes into acting, into movement, into everything that is art, it's nothing without spontaneity. Improv in particular has to have that at its core, and to say that no good art is spontaneous is insulting to me. Plus, there's what Christy talks about in direction - 95% of the time when you pull something out of your butt, it's crap. But 5% it's totally brilliant. This is not to downplay the importance of prep work and artistry, but man, to say that no good art is spontaneous? Nahhhh.

As for the rest - interesting understanding the thinking behind the three second game. I can dig it. But if I hadn't taken improv already, it would have put me more in my head, I think. As is, it did give me a couple seconds to center myself and stop letting my brain dictate. So that was cool.

The analysis on Chaplin and Keaton, though, that is pure gold. I particularly liked the interjection of training Robert Downy Jr. I love that biopic, his performance in it was so damned amazing with the physical comedy that I had to go back and watch as much Chaplin as I could (and since this was before the days of the Internet, that was like, five movies available at the library.) I kind of wish he'd talked about Harold Lloyd a little more, the guy was a genius as well - not as good as Keaton and Chaplin, but he was amazing in his own right. He's notable, too, being one of the few slapstick clowns who turned a profit with talkies. Mad Wednesday is one of my favorite films because of him.

Right. Workout log: I went dancing for the first time in ages, and not only did I need less alcohol to start dancing, but it felt so much more natural this go 'round. I wasn't in my head and I had a really good time. My muscles hurt all over the next day, but it was totally worth it. Also did some sit-ups over the course of the break, and I'm getting some really good core strengthening as a result.

Clowning with the best

Stephen Hawking!!!!
I know I am 5 minutes late, but I needed to do something for yesterday,
April Fools!!!!

Mr. Bean!!!

Funny, Funny Rowan Atkinson

When I was growing up, I had a friend, Dara, that was from Scotland and she introduced me to the popular British show, “Mr. Bean.” Every weekend during the summer we would stay up all night and watch episode after episode. We just couldn’t get enough of it and would end up watching reruns but we did not mind. It was still just as funny as the first time we watched it. Little did I know that twenty years later, I would be writing a paper on the infamous Rowan Atkinson and wishing I were young again and watching him for the first time.

Rowan Atkinson was born on January 6, 1955 in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, United Kingdom. He grew up on a farm with two older brothers which probably explains his comedic demeanor. When you are the youngest in the family, you really struggle to stand out and be individual. He probably was a funny person even back then so he could get his older brothers’ approval. He eventually made it to college and attended Newcastle University and Oxford University. He has his degrees in electrical engineering which is very interesting. I would never have expected him to be educated in that field of work. During his time at school, he met a screenwriter named Richard Curtis. The both of them wrote and performed comedy revues and the rest of his career just skyrocketed (IMDB).

Rowan Atkinson began appearing in movies around 1976. He was in “Pleasure at Her Majesty’s,” “Dead on Time,” “Never Say Never Again,” “The Tall Guy,” “The Black Adder” and Funny Business.” He also appeared and wrote “Not the Nine O’Clock News” which won him a 1979 international Emmy Award and a British Academy Award for “Best Light Entertainment Program of 1980. He eventually was also given the “BBC Personality of the Year” award for this show. He was also in the Musical, “Oliver” in the West End but had to quit the show because he had a hernia and needed surgery on it (IMDB).

He married in 1990 to Sunetra Sastry and they have two children, Benjamin and Lily. His favorite thing to do is to race fast cars. He collects older fast cars but also has some newer cars such as his MacLaren F1, a supercar valued at more than $1,000,000 . Too bad he crashed it into the back of a stationary Mini Metro. Good thing the damages were not all that big. But that is not the only car he has crashed. He also crashed his Aston Martins DB7 Vantage in the Aston Martins Owners Club series. That was after the same car was featured in his recent film, “Johnny English.” He is also notorious for riding go-karts around his tennis courts instead of playing tennis. In addition to the driving of his cars, he writes about cars as well. He is a frequent author for the British car magazine, CAR (IMDB).

Rowan Atkinson is also very active in politics. “In June 2005, he and many other famous actors went to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of a Bill which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts” (Wiki). His passion for the arts also made him sympathetic to his fellow co-workers, especially those who were homosexual. “In 2009, he criticized homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free speech clause in an anti-gay hate law” (Wiki). His involvement in politics has inspired others to come forth and speak their minds.

Other fun facts about Rowan Atkinson is that he was the voice of Zazu in the Disney animated motion picture “The Lion King” and made appearances in American films such as, “Rat Race,” “Love Actually,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” and “Scooby-Doo.” This is all great but Rowan Atkinson is most famous for his physical comedy that can be found in none other than one of my favorite shows growing up... “Mr. Bean!” He does not talk and some would consider that his style is mime influenced. He is very “visually” based. His facial expressions are unforgettable and unbelievable. The physicality that he uses really puts him in the “clown” category and which made him the actor he is today. Without the use of these great tools, Rowan Atkinson would probably not be famous. It is amazing how a little clowning around can make you an icon in all of acting history!

Works Cited

"Rowan Atkinson." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 02 Apr. 2011.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_Atkinson>.

"Rowan Atkinson - Biography." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 02 Apr. 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000100/bio>.

Rowan Atkinson, “Mr. Bean” videos: (My Favorite!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWCSQm86UB4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZujYUcY5xc&feature=relmfu