All tagged clowning in theatre

Clown Musings - Part two of Clowning in Calgary

Clown Musings - Part two of Clowning in Calgary

Jennifer Roberts
Artist Perspectives, Behind the Scenes

I find there is an honesty demanded in clowning, a brutal honesty and a commitment to each fleeting moment- each fleeting impulse that drives the clown’s antics. You can’t lie in clown- well, I mean you can, but the audience will know, and they will not find you funny. They will not even find you sad. They will not connect with you, if you lie- you have only the truth, no matter how selfish, childish, ugly or hilarious the truth is. The clown is the soothsayer, the rune reader of the immediate moment and present company. I suspect that this is what makes Clowns both funny and scary.

Clowning in Calgary

Clowning in Calgary

Jennifer Roberts
Artist Perspectives, Behind the Scenes

“The clown’s come out when the world is ending”

As I consider these words and I look at the state of the world, it strikes me that the thing holding me together, that is currently keeping me from sliding off my kitchen chair and into a puddle of existential despair is this knowledge that the clowns are coming. When things go dark, someone somewhere finds a way to make you laugh. I mean the kind of laugh that makes your belly ache and tears flow and... well, you know, who hasn’t accidentally- you know, while laughing too hard?