“Bad Or Good Doesn’t Mean Anything. It’s [The] Laugh [That Counts].”

We continued with the auto-course showings from Friday today.

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Jonathan and Connor did something small and nothing happened. “What is funny?”

“We don’t think you are happy when you enter.”

One of Philippe’s problems was that they were playing the same thing. “We need contrast in a clown couple.” Opposites.

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Jonathan also showed a solo number he’d been working on in which he came on stage with a ‘body’ in a bag and lay a sheet over it, trying to get us to not look at him by saying “Close your eyes! I’m not here!” and then tried to convince us he was the police.

Philippe said we don’t understand what he’s doing and that he was acting too much. We need to see his idiot, and we see this when Jonathan smiles, without any character on top.

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Miwa did a solo number in which she came out like Bridgitte Bardot and said “What a beautiful day!” several times. It was “awful”. Not funny at all. Philippe then got her to say “Philippe it doesn’t work” every time what she did didn’t receive a laugh. At first nothing changed because she was being too normal, but when she started to yell “Philippe it doesn’t work!!!” we started to see her idiot and it was funny.

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Simone and I performed our number which we’d worked on in bursts last week. Our interpretation of the play about the woman drowning in a lake in Gibraltar included us pretending to swim whilst holding a blue yoga mat in front of us, and then Simone playing a lifeguard and me playing a drowning woman. 

We got some laughs (not riotous, but consistent) and I had a nice game talking as if I had water in my mouth. I was also working on doing something, and then breaking out of it and smiling to the audience, and generally practicing looking/listening the audience as well as my scene partner. So it was a good step for me. After a while Philippe banged his drum (to the “ohhhs” of some people) and he said there’s no conflict between us. We were basically doing the same thing. I asked if we can be friends on stage, and he said yes but it’s not so good for a number. It works for a passage though - which we tried, crossing from one side of the stage to the other whilst pretending to swim with very small gestures. Philippe said it could be funny if Monsieur Loyal had said “No blue mats!” to these two idiots, and every time they cross the stage they naughtily use the blue mat anyway, thinking they are hilarious.

At one point he asked us whose idea it was to use the mat, and we both blamed each other as a joke, but weren’t really sure what to do. Philippe said “you don’t feel bad [and] we want to see you feeling bad.” From this an idiot may appear. I find this a bit confusing when he says clowns must not feel ashamed, but I guess they are different things. You can feel bad but happy at the same time I suppose. However not in Germany, (as Philippe says).

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Yung Yung and Michael did a number together, but they were playing the problem too much. “You don’t pretend there is a problem. We see the problem.” They looked good together as a couple though. Super small and super tall. Philippe said it would be funny if Yung Yung directs (badly) and Michael doesn’t have a clue what to do.

Yung Yung's costume is Minnie Mouse and Michael's is a basketball player.

When Philippe told them to leave the stage Yung Yung made a little hissy-fit of frustration privately to herself just as she left the stage, and we all laughed. She was ridiculous and cute. 

“When you are like this we love you. When you act we hate you.”

“It’s a problem of clown. People act - and they are awful when they act.”

Philippe said as an audience we are laughing at something private from Yung Yung, but she doesn’t want us to laugh at that. But as a clown you have to be happy to sell something ridiculous and vulnerable about yourself.

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“Your clown is a character, but he is a character from your teenager [...something very close to yourself]...something ridiculous here [in your soul].” This is why Philippe tries to embarrass us whilst we are on stage (such as asking about a lover). It’s to get us to show our ridiculous vulnerability.

“If you feel a bit ashamed because you are idiot you are not a clown.”

“You don’t believe you are good - you believe you are special.”

“Bad or good doesn’t mean anything. It’s [the] laugh [that counts].”

~

At the end of class a few people had a go at an exercise in which you had to try to make us believe there was something fantastic behind the curtain.

“You do whatever you want. You have to be funny.”

Nobody was particularly funny!

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Auto-course for next week:

You go to Café de la Poste in Belleville to speak to Monsieur Marcel. You tell him you want to do a play by Monsieur William Shakespeare. You can’t remember the name of the play, but it’s the story of a black general. Monsieur Marcel says “If you want to play Othello...you need a handkerchief!”

“Have fun with advice given to an idiot from another idiot.”