I did a workshop/performance for a clown club in San Jose last night.
I have been telling people about this for a few days. I forget the concept of a clown club is foreign to most people. I'm not all that sure what clown clubs do. I like the idea.
The idea is to promote the art of clowning. A big chunk of the group never performs puts on make up or appears as a clown. I guess they are clown fans. It's flattering but throws me off. I have people that like me, laugh, hire me, question my life choices of being a clown. It's a bit odd to be looked at like I'm something special. Like I'm a celebrity.
There were a few people at the meeting last night that just hung on my words. They looked at me like I'm a movie star.
I wish they'd tell my children how special I am.
It was hard to do a workshop for this group, they meet in a Round Table Pizza. The place was very crowded and the Golden State Warriors are in the play offs and were playing on 22 screens We had to wait for the game to be done. It would have been hard to compete with all of that.
I mostly did a show.
What is always interesting for me is how to do my show for adults. I get such laughs from things like dropping my hat with kids. They laugh and laugh. Crickets from adults. The way I make my hat fall off has taken me forever to perfect. To adults it just looks like I messed up.
I don't like adults to pretend to be children, it's weird, they don't know how to do it. Also a bit creepy. So when I clown for adults I speak to them. I do what will make them laugh. I want them to just laugh. They are watching me because they like my style of comedy.
which is tricky.
When you are performing for a group you are not good at. For me adults. You have to listen to what they are laughing at. You have to be present, you have to pay attention. Drop jokes, routines that simply aren't going over.
It's what comedians do. I've watched watched Robin Williams do the dirtiest stories because that's the audience. Other times he told stories of his children a family friendly show. It's having enough material. Listening to the feedback (laughter. gasps of surprise) and following that path.
With children, I describe it as being in a rapid river and floating with the current. It's the same with any audience. Listen, if they are laughing, follow that current. If they don't, you're on a rock in the middle of the river not going forward nor backward. Get off the rock. It's a lot more interesting to go against the current or with it.
I ended up discussing a lot of theories after the show. That's my favorite thing. It didn't work as well as the performance.
But that's why they brought me in. So extending the metaphor. I was in an eddy going round and round, till I put my nose back on and did another routine, then they laughed. I jumped back into the current.
As a clown, you just never know how to deal with situations. And that's always funny.
I have been telling people about this for a few days. I forget the concept of a clown club is foreign to most people. I'm not all that sure what clown clubs do. I like the idea.
The idea is to promote the art of clowning. A big chunk of the group never performs puts on make up or appears as a clown. I guess they are clown fans. It's flattering but throws me off. I have people that like me, laugh, hire me, question my life choices of being a clown. It's a bit odd to be looked at like I'm something special. Like I'm a celebrity.
There were a few people at the meeting last night that just hung on my words. They looked at me like I'm a movie star.
I wish they'd tell my children how special I am.
It was hard to do a workshop for this group, they meet in a Round Table Pizza. The place was very crowded and the Golden State Warriors are in the play offs and were playing on 22 screens We had to wait for the game to be done. It would have been hard to compete with all of that.
I mostly did a show.
What is always interesting for me is how to do my show for adults. I get such laughs from things like dropping my hat with kids. They laugh and laugh. Crickets from adults. The way I make my hat fall off has taken me forever to perfect. To adults it just looks like I messed up.
I don't like adults to pretend to be children, it's weird, they don't know how to do it. Also a bit creepy. So when I clown for adults I speak to them. I do what will make them laugh. I want them to just laugh. They are watching me because they like my style of comedy.
which is tricky.
When you are performing for a group you are not good at. For me adults. You have to listen to what they are laughing at. You have to be present, you have to pay attention. Drop jokes, routines that simply aren't going over.
It's what comedians do. I've watched watched Robin Williams do the dirtiest stories because that's the audience. Other times he told stories of his children a family friendly show. It's having enough material. Listening to the feedback (laughter. gasps of surprise) and following that path.
With children, I describe it as being in a rapid river and floating with the current. It's the same with any audience. Listen, if they are laughing, follow that current. If they don't, you're on a rock in the middle of the river not going forward nor backward. Get off the rock. It's a lot more interesting to go against the current or with it.
I ended up discussing a lot of theories after the show. That's my favorite thing. It didn't work as well as the performance.
But that's why they brought me in. So extending the metaphor. I was in an eddy going round and round, till I put my nose back on and did another routine, then they laughed. I jumped back into the current.
As a clown, you just never know how to deal with situations. And that's always funny.
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