hey all
i'm a theatre artist/designer based in toronto, with a grand idea about getting a group of people together on a regular basis to do what i call a parade of fools. i would like this to have elements of commedia in it, as well as circus, modern dance, and hardcore "performance art".
so there would be performers/dancers dressed up in otherworldy & stylized costumes, clowns, and stylized characters (not necessarily from the commedia stock, but with that kind of comedic grotesque absurdity). there would be stiltwalkers, musicians (like a marching band, they would wear their instruments). i picture this troupe roaming and doing contact improv & purely improvised dance. then they would be able to stop and have little "scenes" where two or more performers would play; i am interested here in engaging in oral and physical, BUT nonverbal play. so no text & no language, but sound and movement. i see this as being a way for each performer to express something truthful from inside, something that can't come out in the restricted form of textual dialogue.
this idea came from seeing the white procession at burning man in 04, at dawn by the temple, where two of them were playing... one with a parrot puppet and the other with an umbrella, both of them creating music via beatboxing & vocally/physically improv'ing together.
does anyone get what i'm talking about? can anyone suggest how to use commedia dell'arte characters, style, or history to make this idea happen? does anyone already have this idea or have a group actually doing it?
cheers, thanks,
amira
i'm a theatre artist/designer based in toronto, with a grand idea about getting a group of people together on a regular basis to do what i call a parade of fools. i would like this to have elements of commedia in it, as well as circus, modern dance, and hardcore "performance art".
so there would be performers/dancers dressed up in otherworldy & stylized costumes, clowns, and stylized characters (not necessarily from the commedia stock, but with that kind of comedic grotesque absurdity). there would be stiltwalkers, musicians (like a marching band, they would wear their instruments). i picture this troupe roaming and doing contact improv & purely improvised dance. then they would be able to stop and have little "scenes" where two or more performers would play; i am interested here in engaging in oral and physical, BUT nonverbal play. so no text & no language, but sound and movement. i see this as being a way for each performer to express something truthful from inside, something that can't come out in the restricted form of textual dialogue.
this idea came from seeing the white procession at burning man in 04, at dawn by the temple, where two of them were playing... one with a parrot puppet and the other with an umbrella, both of them creating music via beatboxing & vocally/physically improv'ing together.
does anyone get what i'm talking about? can anyone suggest how to use commedia dell'arte characters, style, or history to make this idea happen? does anyone already have this idea or have a group actually doing it?
cheers, thanks,
amira
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Re: modern roving circus/commedia troupe idea
Fri, September 23, 2005 - 11:18 AMyou already have such a clear groundwork in your mind, a vision with specific boundaries that facilitate the environment you want to create. maybe i just totally dig your idea, but all you need in my book are the people to flesh out "the band." it does help if they have at least a rudimentary understanding of Commedia, but as you said, that's just a rough guideline, a leaping off point. just putting on a mask is sometimes enough to get a person out of themselves and into another character, and i find the artistry of commedia masks incredibly beneficial in that transition. they're just so rich and precise and...well, creepy.
on non-language interaction: the performance bit that i do is entirely non-verbal. we interact with our audience on a purely behavioral, gestural level. it's amazing how successful it can be when you have an audience yearning to participate---and we create that yearning through our particularly discriminating audience interactions.
your post makes me wish me and about fifty other kids i know out here lived in Toronto. i would love to be a part of a raucous, discordian chaos parade...and so would they.
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Re: modern roving circus/commedia troupe idea
Sat, September 24, 2005 - 9:56 AMthanks... you know, i'm suspecting there are people like us everywhere, i just need to get them to jump out of the bushes (with their pants down)...
re: masks. indeed, they are an amazing tool for turning one's inside to the outside. i've done a tiny teeny bit of pochinko clown training, and they call the nose "the smallest mask".
any suggestions for actually starting a practise session? what things to do to get people into playing mode? what kind of setup or format do you do to interact with an audience? -
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Re: modern roving circus/commedia troupe idea
Wed, September 28, 2005 - 1:23 AM
i love commedia masks! i've been searching in vain for blank ones that i can decorate or color myself. ever heard of such a thing?
for our show, the setting is very simple: a patch of ground bordered by a length of thick rope to create a boundary, with a few benches placed at somewhat random intervals around the circle. it's great for our particular show, because it creates a distinct separation between us and our audience. we cross freely over that line, but (most of the time) the audience remains on the side they think of as "theirs." the power dynamic that results is pretty intense.
but a parade takes every and any street it wishes; a space in any park, any plaza...
i love using music as a means to enter a performance headspace. creating music. or just noise. percussion work. turning anything and everything you have into some sort of chime, bell, or drum. music is a fantastic way of conveying intent, character, and mannerism when your situational boundary is specific to non-verbal communication. a friend of mine once toyed with the idea of using a slide whistle as his sole means of communication to his audience---which i still think is a great idea...
it's hard to engage in practice for an event so dependent upon an unknown group or audience's reaction and acceptance of you. for myself, plain old experience works best. i learn so much more interacting with outsiders than i do practicing with my group. it is the fastest way to evolve one's show, since you're catering to the reactions of those you intend to perform for from the outset...
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Re: modern roving circus/commedia troupe idea
Fri, December 30, 2005 - 8:56 PMI love the slide whistle idea. Pure comedy.
I want to try a stilters playing really small instruments (like my mandolin) and then claiming they are something bigger (like a guitar), but they're just so far away they seem small.
I'm not sure how you want to play with boundaries. It's nice to have a portable backdrop or a few sparse props to establish that your space in a performance space but I don't know if your parade idea needs that. How od you engage the audience? How much (and how best) to cross the line between the perform-ing and the performed-to?
Garbage instruments would be ideal I think. Lots of easy percussion stuff that can be made with tin cans and dry beans. Add one or two loud drums ot hold the beat and a ffew loud instuments to make a melody, and I think you'd be on your way. It would be nice to have some that are more visually appealing, and others that are cheap/give-away-able to let your audience join in.
Since my commute to Toronto is right outside my door, consider me signed on, Ms. Amira, with Salem's loft at your disposal for rehersal or rehersal for disposal or whatever else have you.
As for the rest of you wish you were in town, drop me a note if you're making to the northern side of the border.
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hey clowns
Fri, November 4, 2005 - 6:01 AMuuuummm i want to know is there a clownarchy group , where are you located , how many times do you go out???? i want to go to san fran. soon any idealds about living and such???? -
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Unsu...
Re: hey clowns
Tue, November 8, 2005 - 12:24 AMthere's no group, at this point this tribe is all there is. there's pleanty going on though, i suggest checking out www.craigslist.com if you're looking for living arrangements... -
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Re: hey clowns
Sun, November 27, 2005 - 1:35 PMBaby klown here lookin for klown trouble in SF -- anybody wanna help me find it? Amira's idea sorta rocks -- that commute to Toronto is a killer, tho... -
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Re: hey clowns
Sat, March 11, 2006 - 9:29 PMAmira and North... I will play with you. guerrilla clown theatre! let's do it! spring is coming and the clowns can freely roam without freezing their noses off.
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Re: hey clowns
Sun, March 12, 2006 - 3:02 PMHey there, we have a group called the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, I helped start it 2.5 yrs ago in the UK, now we've got a group in the Bay, getting ready for the big march this Saturday,
check out Clownarmy.org! -
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Re: hey clowns
Thu, March 16, 2006 - 4:37 PMcolonel:
fucking HOT
do you know if this is spreading? heard of any divisions in north america?
i want to be in the Beautification Battalion of the Insurgent Clown Army.
to specify for others to easy access this stuff:
link here to clown army training:
www.clownarmy.org/rebelclow.../brct.html
and techniques:
www.clownarmy.org/rebelclow.../main.html
fantasic. i have to put this on my blog and into my intention field. {manifest, manifest!!!}
thank you.
i have been associating with some dancers lately, behaving in generally extraordinary ways together in dansetheatre. sometime they're posting footage on their website, the series:
www.performancearttv.com
is the clown army active these days?
~yippee~ -
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Re: hey clowns
Fri, March 31, 2006 - 5:30 PMHey Amira!
Sorry for the delay in reply, I was back in NY. Yes! There's a fledgling CIRCA group we've started in the Bay Area, and we also had a group in NYC for the RNC, which has morphed into the Bike Lane Liberation Front, which clownishly swarms those nasty SUVs who block the bike lanes and give them a foolish talking to and honking on the nose....
Beautification Battalion!! A righteous addition to the rednosed resistance!
Glad you found our website!! There is so much amazing footage on the performance art tv website!
You don't by any chance plan on shlepping over to the anarchist theatre festival in Montreal in May, do you? I'll be doing a show there...
Yippeeeeee!!!!!
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