In a recent Clown Studies Course, I asked the question: What do clown teachers say and what do they do? (are they the same?) Here is a response by Fritz Alblas, which says just about all the things I (hope) I don’t say or do.
They say that clowning will turn you into a better, more loving
person, that it will make you more popular in any crowd, that you will be able
to connect in deeper ways than non-clown-humans will ever be able to do, it
will teach you to connect without words (very important, very incredible), it
will teach you to be in and enjoy 'the present moment' much more, that you have
found the key to happiness whenever you need it: just put on the nose and it
will wash you clean from all dark thoughts and bad feelings, like drugs but
cheaper, or hardly cheaper because you will have to depend on the teachers not
to loose this secret power of the nose, because somehow you keep unlearning it
without being spoon fed by them, but as long as you do, all of this is in your reach,
and it's also like meditation or yoga, but better, much better. From now on
everyone will find you hilarious for just showing your real self, as long as
you share the real stuff it will always be funny, but don't push it. We love
you when you're failing, but do do the exercise. They say that everyone can do
it if only they are willing to do enough of their workshops. Also there's no
real need to think or do research by yourself because the teacher has done all
that for you, it's included in the price. And anyway clowns don't think, they
just do and everything they do is naturally right because it comes from a childlike
place of innocence. The kind of naivety with which you should also blindly
trust everything they say. A clown is also obliged to reinforce the binary, or
else they're being morally bad 'gender betrayers'. Also, never believe the
other teachers, they got it all completely wrong. They are the teacher, they
naturally don't have to be any of these things by themselves, by means of their
superior status, they're just there to tell the student how to perform, act,
feel, think and live.
1 comment:
Everyone has a system and some answers, and its wonderful they have gone to the effort of formulating these for the greater good of humanity and no just to salve their engorged, er, performers ego but… it would be nice if that were less didactic in their teachings and be less offended when students just want to learn from them, and not accept their teachings like it’s a biblical or totalitarian workbook that must be obeyed unquestioningly.
I find it funny that the teachers who want this type of slavish devotion are often the ones who profess to have a deeply anti authoritarian and anarchic world view.
True clowns are funniest sometimes they don’t even realise they’re doing something very silly oh, and when they take themselves far too seriously
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