Devising a Clown Theater Piece
Here's to sacrifices and soul-filling worthwhiles!
Hello sweet friend!
These last two weeks, I have shared pieces of the story of how my clown, Olivia, came to be.
Part Three is en route. This week, we will take a slight detour while I work out how this last bit of the story will unfold for you!
In June 2019, nearly a year after Olivia came to be, I was invited to the bestower of her origin laugh’s birthday (see: part two). As life would have it, I had to miss the intimate, celebratory dinner at Belle’s lovely garden-laden abode in Malibu to take the opportunity to work out a piece on a grimy stage in Hollywood with a musician I hardly knew but had a hunch on.
That’s the life of a clown; one always prioritizes the work, and the work is usually in very odd nooks of the world among strangers and stage friends.
It’s a lonesome life that lacks socializing outside of work-tangential-opportunities, but if you’ve ever had a passion grab you, perhaps you can empathize with the drive.
The list of social sacrifices one accrues as an artist is long. Sometimes it feels devastating to forgo opportunities to develop friendships in lieu of developing one’s craft. Yet another reason intuition is so important in this work. Trusting one’s impulses and following them both on stage and off is vital. And to be practiced at quickly letting go of regret, for one naturally experiences bouts of distress when they choose to miss loved ones’ special days.
I had yet to work with Joshua before this show, but I had seen his accompaniment work elsewhere and felt there was something there for us to explore. So I found his contact, gave him a call, and was thrilled he was game to give it a go.
He has a fantastic sort of magic to his work, and I was seeking the right sounds for this devised bit of theater. I didn’t know what they would be, but I sought the sounds that would clarify the offering I was out to gift my audience. For both me and for them.
In devised theater, we build the work by trying things out.
devise (verb) [de·vise di-ˈvīz]
devised; devising
1 a: to form in the mind by new combinations or applications of ideas or principles : INVENT
b: archaic : CONCEIVE, IMAGINE
c: to plan to obtain or bring about: PLOT
2 law: to give (real estate) by will / compare BEQUEATH
I debuted this piece with a violin, I tried it out with a saxophone, in silence; each choice changed the tone, rhythm, and very soul of the piece. It was a vital component of the vignette to explore the change of, and those changes’ affects on the work’s gestalt.
If you’re creating something, I suggest trying different types of sounds and music to see what that does to the piece. Like a science experiment, it is wise to change a singular component and see what that does to the whole.
This is the only live taping of my Cupcake number, which I wanted to share with you today. Joshua and I found something special here that excited us, which we continued working on for a while before life took us in a different direction.
Typically, I let my work live solely in real life and do not often record Olivia and her goings-on.
This was the second to last time I’d perform Cupcake, as I geared up for my full-length show meant to debut in the Summer of 2020. As we all know, instead, the world would change forever.
As things go, I am glad I have this recording, experience, and memory.
Let me know what you think in the comments! Have you seen devised clown theater before? If so, what qualities stood out as needing work and what qualities stood out as gratifying? What kernels of relationship, story, or theme would you like to see developed? What would you toot your horn at, and what would you throw a tomato at?
If you haven’t seen any devised clown theater before, what did you expect versus what did you receive? Would you seek out more clown theater? How would you describe what you just experienced?
Cheers!
A hui ho,
Julia