Somebody must have got the message, because today we worked entirely with Sophie Gazel, and what a pleasure it was!
Today was the Day of Yes. It was amazing to feel the pure and unbridled joy of celebrating this central facet of Clown, and to see how the learning we have done is buzzing along in the background, giving us the ability to bring ideas to life.
We played a nice storytelling game, that demonstrated how important is is to add something MORE to your partner's proposition, and not something ELSE. We sat in a circle, and the story begins, 'Once Upon a Time blah blah blah' and in turn each person adds a sentence that begins either 'Fortunately' or 'Unfortunately' (in turn). It is really clear when the story goes off track or gets too 'clever'.
She talked about Action/Reaction. The Action is the creativity and imagination, and The Reaction is the humanity. If all we see is action, then we don't really see anything at all - it becomes messy and boring. The reaction is what makes The Action come alive.
We played a game called Maribelle's Birthday. The script goes like this:
Clown 1: Hey! It is Maribelle's Birthday today!
Clown 2: Oh Yes! Maribelle's Birthday! We should get her a present!
Clown 1: Yes! A present! Let's get her a yellow shoe!
Clown 2: Yes! A yellow shoe! With holes on the top where we can put flowers!
Clown 1: Yes! A yellow shoe with holes in the top for flowers, and each time she takes a step the flowers open and close!
Clown 2: Yes!...
EVERYTHING you say is BRILLIANT! Even if your idea is totally shit, your partner is going to LOVE IT! And build on it!
What FREEDOM! To go with your impulse, without worrying whether it is a good idea, and freedom also to follow - to know that you will love your partner's idea, and add a detail. The obligation to say Yes becomes funny in itself, especially in the moments when you can see the clown doesn't quite understand, or has already started a different proposal.
We played this game over and over again, each time with totally different proposals and outcomes - our imaginations are boundless.
Sophie developed the game so that instead of imagining a present, we imagined organising Maribelle's birthday party. The same principles applied, but this time, we worked even more with the body - acting out the things that we suggested together, spending time with these images, setting the scene, giving ourselves space. In the best improvisations, the clowns stayed with their first impulse, took time to set the scene, and then and built on it, adding details until it became completely absurd. One partnership just physically demonstrated all the different ways in which they were experts in organising parties. Experts in the front, in the back, on the roof, on the floor. Absurd and very funny. And because each clown has to physically imitate the other, natural problems arise. You don't have to look for problems. You don't have to be a 'Made in Hong Kong' Clown.
We completely transformed the space with our imaginations.
When Sophie worked with Pallapupas, they did this exercise in hospital all day.
I know that in lots of ways this is Clowning 101 - We know about YES. But this UBER YES day was so liberating and a great, and a timely reminder.
Hasta Manana, Zapatitos x
Today was the Day of Yes. It was amazing to feel the pure and unbridled joy of celebrating this central facet of Clown, and to see how the learning we have done is buzzing along in the background, giving us the ability to bring ideas to life.
We played a nice storytelling game, that demonstrated how important is is to add something MORE to your partner's proposition, and not something ELSE. We sat in a circle, and the story begins, 'Once Upon a Time blah blah blah' and in turn each person adds a sentence that begins either 'Fortunately' or 'Unfortunately' (in turn). It is really clear when the story goes off track or gets too 'clever'.
She talked about Action/Reaction. The Action is the creativity and imagination, and The Reaction is the humanity. If all we see is action, then we don't really see anything at all - it becomes messy and boring. The reaction is what makes The Action come alive.
We played a game called Maribelle's Birthday. The script goes like this:
Clown 1: Hey! It is Maribelle's Birthday today!
Clown 2: Oh Yes! Maribelle's Birthday! We should get her a present!
Clown 1: Yes! A present! Let's get her a yellow shoe!
Clown 2: Yes! A yellow shoe! With holes on the top where we can put flowers!
Clown 1: Yes! A yellow shoe with holes in the top for flowers, and each time she takes a step the flowers open and close!
Clown 2: Yes!...
EVERYTHING you say is BRILLIANT! Even if your idea is totally shit, your partner is going to LOVE IT! And build on it!
What FREEDOM! To go with your impulse, without worrying whether it is a good idea, and freedom also to follow - to know that you will love your partner's idea, and add a detail. The obligation to say Yes becomes funny in itself, especially in the moments when you can see the clown doesn't quite understand, or has already started a different proposal.
We played this game over and over again, each time with totally different proposals and outcomes - our imaginations are boundless.
Sophie developed the game so that instead of imagining a present, we imagined organising Maribelle's birthday party. The same principles applied, but this time, we worked even more with the body - acting out the things that we suggested together, spending time with these images, setting the scene, giving ourselves space. In the best improvisations, the clowns stayed with their first impulse, took time to set the scene, and then and built on it, adding details until it became completely absurd. One partnership just physically demonstrated all the different ways in which they were experts in organising parties. Experts in the front, in the back, on the roof, on the floor. Absurd and very funny. And because each clown has to physically imitate the other, natural problems arise. You don't have to look for problems. You don't have to be a 'Made in Hong Kong' Clown.
We completely transformed the space with our imaginations.
When Sophie worked with Pallapupas, they did this exercise in hospital all day.
I know that in lots of ways this is Clowning 101 - We know about YES. But this UBER YES day was so liberating and a great, and a timely reminder.
Hasta Manana, Zapatitos x