Sunday, January 27
 |
| Emmet Kelly |
Good Morning Jacob…
I've heard it said recently that the words we use are often
disguise. It is our body language and
behavior that give us away. Who would
know this better than the clown? We each
have our own buffoonish moments, performed best when it is totally unintended. It is for the clown to recognize our act for
what it is, find the emotional motivation within himself, then play it back to
us in grotesque pantomime so we’re sure to get the point – and laugh.
 |
| Alfred E. Neuman |
The whole world doesn’t love a clown. They can be quite disturbing, especially
close up. After all, it is their nature
to be confrontational. They demand your
attention. You can’t help but look their
way, study their movements and feel vaguely uncomfortable. At some point most of us begin to laugh. We probably laugh hardest when we recognize
something of ourselves portrayed in them.
Surely I don’t appear that way to others. But, then again… Oh, my God!
 |
| Fellini Clown |
You don’t need elaborate circus get up to look like a
clown. A simple red bulb on the end of
your nose will give a hilarious context to all your normal everyday
behavior. Just eating a sandwich becomes
ridiculous. Chances are, though, you
don’t have a clown nose lying about the house.
In that case, a single item of clothing may do. Maybe it’s a hat bought on vacation or a loud
pair of shorts two sizes too small. Try
wearing your glasses upside down. It’s
important, though, to go about your normal routine oblivious to your humorous
appearance. Keep in mind that being a
clown requires we don’t see ourselves as funny.
We only get laughs when our absurdity is first discovered by others.
 |
| Krusty the Clown |
Our best clowns don’t require any props to be funny. They focus on the curious things you and I do
each day just to get by. Life routinely
provides us moments of confusion, enabling us to better describe who it is we
really are, fumbling in befuddlement.
The humor depicted may be too small or seemingly so normal as to go
unnoticed. The clown picks up on our
vulnerability because he so readily recognizes it in himself.
 |
| Giulietta Masina |
Take a look at Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate or Robert De Niro in Meeting the Parents. Why are
they funny? It’s not the words they
speak. They wear nothing that especially
draws attention to itself. Placed in
everyday, but stressful situations, they reveal with their face, body language
and behavior more than what they intend.
Their discomfort is that they've become unscripted. They have only themselves as resource and
that risks being made ridiculous. We
recognize this. We've all been there. It’s humiliating, and it can be terribly
funny when portrayed by others – with the hurt gone. It’s the role of the clown to safely show the
clown within each of us. He presents
himself as a total goof so that he can mimic our behavior without our feeling
insulted. It’s OK to appear stupid with
a red bulb fastened to your nose. Give
it a try. It works.
Love,
Dad
 |
| Red Skelton |
No comments:
Post a Comment