A Sad Romance

Last week, we performed our clowning routines and it went great! We had tricks, sound effects, and a plot twist that made our audience laugh and enjoy the show. I especially loved the humorous parts, like when I threw an armload of toys at Chris and he was nervous about approaching the girl (Hannah Chang) so he kind of threw them at her and ran back.
During rehearsal, I was worried that something might go wrong, or that we might forget a part. But as much as a clear performance is necessary, I also learned that it doesn't have to be perfect down to each second. Not all our sound cues were on time or on place, some of the transitions were not good at all, and we may have skipped over a trick but the point was that we exaggerated and acted and gave a performance in the parts we showed.
Because our clowning performance was purely of original devising, the audience had no idea what to expect only had our actions to go off of. What makes the audience laugh and enjoy a good clowning around is not the missing part of the performance, but how well the performance is given.
I especially liked that our routine had so much diversity in character: Chris, a sensitive, sad clown; Kayla, a boisterous, light hearted clown; Shari, a cool, chic dancing clown; and me, a silly, crazy minion. All the different dimensions of our clowns contributed toward the greater performance and worked in harmony together.
Watching the other group's clown performance, I found it so enjoyable and fun to see what kind of ideas they came up with and how each of their characters contributed to the clowning. We all assumed different identities and aliases for the performance; it was neat and fascinating to see that side of us coming out.

Clowning Around

We've finally started our clown rehearsals! Chris (Elisondo) had an idea of a storyline so we decided to run with it: he sees a pretty girl he likes in the audience and attempts to impress her. Each of us then would offer Chris a talent or trick he could use to impress her. I've decided to be a character clown. Initially, I chose the whiteface comedic clown, but then was inspired by the minions in Despicable Me that, in a way, act like clownish characters. In the process of getting Chris the girl, Kayla would teach him a magic trick or two, Shari would teach him dance moves, and I'd give him some toys (papoy's!) he can gift the girl. But of course, each talent would go awry somehow when he actually approaches the girl to try it out.
It's great fun trying out different tricks and physical humor we can use. For example, there's a part in which Chris tries to get a stuffed unicorn from me but my hands are attached, so he pushes against me hard and ends up falling on the floor. I'm really enjoying our rehearsal times. We get to goof around, but appropriately, and step out of our comfort zones and just explore ourselves and our inner sense of humor.
When you start to think about it, clowns are very unsocial characters. They break every possible social norm and somehow get away with it through entertainment. If someone were to walk down the street in baggy, mismatching clothing and blunder every step of the way, he/she would become outcast and stared at, judged by onlookers. But on stage, covered with make up and shone with a spotlight, people laugh at them not in a demeaning way, but an appreciative way. Antisocial behavior is used as entertainment. It's weird that purposeful antisocial behavior would trigger such a reaction but when it happens in real life, it's rude and awkward to laugh at.
This makes me question what about clowning it is that makes people enjoy themselves and feel better. Even though we were putting on antisocial acts, we're also enjoying our time acting out and doing tricks. To me, clowning feels so different from playing a role in a play like Medea where I'm a completely different character. When I'm a clown, that's still me, coming up with my own costume, my own make up, my own actions and lines (if any) that are all geared to resemble who I am. We still have bits to polish up and plan out for now, but I think our performance will turn out good; especially our audience participation!

How to be a Clown: Ringling Bros Edition

To get into our clowning unit, we saw a "How to be a Clown" video by the Ringling Brothers in class. They had created a video as a starting tutorial with tips and lessons from their actual school of clowning. It was like a real life textbook we were watching and learning from, which was more interactive than reading a text.

• Skills - One thing that the video emphasized was over exaggerating every movement. A clown has to make sure her actions are shown and everyone in the audience can clearly tell what is going on. Clown acts aren't like other theatre performances that the audience has to concentrate and interpret. Also, exaggerating a movement turns it comical. For example, slipping on something, but flailing your arms wildly and spinning to fanatically grab onto something makes the audience laugh that you are struggling so much with such a simple action. By stepping out of social norms, a clown is able to be laughed at and create entertainment for the audience.
• Costumes - What you were should resemble who you are. Another point that the Ringling Brothers in particular emphasized was that everyone has an inner clown that just needs to be drawn out. There are other clowns who disagree though, and say the clown character is created and is completely different than who you are. But I like the idea that I have an inner clown. Everyone has a quality that can be exaggerated to be clown like. Not all clowns are funny and silly; they can be sad, reflective, or even haughty. The clothing shouldn't just be oversized and mismatching, but should work with the actor and his/her body type. For example, a more pudgy clown can dress in polka dots that will accentuate the curve and exaggerate that into a comical aspect, just as the actions that are made. For a tall clown, he/she may dress in vertical stripes that will elongate the body's trait. Clown costumes also don't have a standard form to follow - I began to think of out-there, creative outfits I could create my mixing different colors, prints, and fabrics. Accessories can also add to a costume if used well. Just as I accessorize my outfits for school and plan to put certain items together, clown costumes are the same! Just with more vibrant, strong components. 
• Make Up - Wow... this was quite a process. I put on make up everyday in the morning, but this is make up to enhance my natural traits. Clown make up, on the other hand, creates a whole new face. The face is dressed up with different shapes and colors just as the body is; it's an extension of the costume. When this segment began, my mind raced to come up with an idea for my make up in our future performance. The make up is just so free; you can do anything. Depending on the type of clown one takes up though, some features would be different. Such as a red nose for an auguste clown, a white face for a classic clown, bright colors for a happy clown, teardrops or a frown for a sad clown. Even putting on the colors, I didn't know that the white had to be patted down just so and really packed in, or that you had to powder after each layer of colors. A point that the Ringling Brothers gave for this section though, was to keep the make up simple. When painting your face, a little bit can go a long way. There's no need to put sparkles or shapes and patterns everywhere. A slightly turned up lip, slightly more arched eyebrows, and red cheeks can go a long way. 

Theatre Week 1: Introductory Workshops

Theatre is finally back in session! These first two weeks we've been going through some theatre exercises to warm up; we have 2-3 newcoming juniors in our class so Ms. Ashley walked us through a couple exercises to get them out of their shell. Although theatre arts is so broad and fascinating with all its different facets, I think my favorite part of it would have to be the workshops. Devising a performance, writing/adapting scripts, designing costumes, and preparing for a role is immensely satisfying but there's nothing like having good old plain fun acting out of my usual boundaries and exercising theatre techniques at the same time. We get to bond with each other and see different sides come out. Here are some of the exercises we did in class:

• "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" - One person plays the "wolf" who lets the "sheep" out of their pen (a corner of the room). While they roam around, the sheep repeatedly ask Mr. Wolf "what time is it Mr. Wolf?" to which the wolf gives random, bogus times. At one point, the wolf answers "noon" or "lunchtime", giving the cue for the chase to start. The sheep must run back into the safety of the pen while the wolf chases after them, and whoever he/she tags has been "eaten" and step out. Rounds continue until their is a lone sheep or the wolf triumphs. It's a lot more fun when the wolf really gets into his/her role and prowls, hunched down, like a real predator. The acting stirred real fear and worry for me, that I might get "eaten".
• "Grandmother's footsteps" - One person stands at one side of the room, facing the wall away from the others. The rest stand at the opposite end of the room. The objective is for the group to reach the grandma and tap her/him without being caught. Grandma turns around at random times and the group must freeze, whatever pose they are in, and whoever moves and is caught by Grandma is caught. While playing, I realized the amount of focus the game called for, as you had to try and be silent as to not give away any hints. We soon realized that slower, more deliberate movements were less likely to get caught in unbalanced. Though the way to win is to get to the other side of the room, Grandma's surprise glances forced me to really think about every step and how I can keep my balance at all times. I had to be sure of my movements and ensure that I could control every part.