"Every Time You Enter On Stage Your Costume Is Important. It's Your Costume! For Art! For The Stage!"

Today Philippe gave us all a brand new shiny red nose.

We started with a simple exercise in which one actor (who's in major) passes the ball to another actor (with a moment of complicité - look at your partner with a spark in your eye to say "it's your turn my friend") and then the actor with the ball turns to the audience to show their face and says "Yes!!"

"We need to see your pleasure."

We did this in groups of seven, dancing to music. When the ball is passed the music stops and it's the actor's time to make us love them. It's clear that the actor's pleasure is more important than what they do.

~

Then we did an exercise in which actors stand with their backs to the audience, and when Philippe bangs his drum the actors have to immediately turn around and try to scare the audience, and then show that they are happy to have scared us. We did this in groups of three and after each actor had gone Philippe assigned each one of us a costume for our clown.

"I say the costume, not the character."

"Many clowns don't know what a costume is. A friend says: 'With your body it would be good if you take the costume of boxing.' [And so he takes it]."

"You don't play the character. You don't know anything about the character."

It's like a five year old at a dress up party. You don't really know what a boxer is like. But you go for it anyway. 

"Every time you enter on stage your costume is important. It's your costume! For art! For the stage!"

"If you don't take care of your costume you're going to lose the idiot in his costume." (This means wash and iron it regularly - don't treat it like Pajamas)

"You have a trick...You do something idiot and you're sure everyone is convinced you're the character."

E.g. The clown's costume is Mae West. She knows that Mae West says something famous with the words "Are you happy to see me...", but she's forgotten the rest. Still, she uses that line to try to convince the audience she really is Mae West.

I was assigned Tintin...which I was 100% expecting.

~

We all had a go at entering on stage and circling around the stage to music. Soft on your feet! Smile to the audience (frown to Philippe). It helps to enter with the feeling of a bad student - often Philippe would tell you you're really bad and tell you to leave, and then to enter with that sensitive feeling. "With the feeling of the bad you try to find a walk."

"You have to try to enter in a strange way."

"It's really subtle when you enter – because you have to be loved immediately when you turn round the circus."

"Everybody has a special walk as a clown… In relationship to your body."

To help actors find a silly walk Philippe shouted orders: Bend your legs!... Jump!... Long strides!... Faster!...Move your shoulders like you're strong! Always something ridiculous.

...

 Then when the music stops the show has begun. You do something and we have to say "Ah! Fantastic!"

I went first, running very fast with long leaping strides whilst smiling to the audience. When the music stopped I pretended to search for Milou (the name of Tintin's dog in French). Philippe said what I did wasn't as good what the audience dreamed would come after my walk. So they were disappointed. I tried again, this time saying (in a kind of cute voice) "Je suis Tintin...Je suis en adventure!" and then I did a few adventure poses. Then I said "Attention! Il y a une grande dangerous!" I got some laughs, but Philippe stopped me saying "you know too much." i.e. My clown can't know that many details about Tintin! But the line "Je suis en adventure!" (which doesn't mean anything in French) and my silly poses were in a good direction. "Not extremely bad".

~

Mark was very funny pretending to be a boxer. He did a few fast punches in the air, and then naturally coughed (he has a permanent bad cough). It was hilarious! Poom! Poom! Poom! ... Cough! Cough! Cough!

"Every stupid thing you do, you think… Not bad… Something is coming"

"Conflict is funny. It's good to know how you solve the problem."

 e.g. Katie having to run around the circus forever because the music never stopped.

A clown says to his friend: "I have a contract to be pornographic...What can I do?" His friend tells him to say "take me". That's all he knows.

"With one idea you can do so many beautiful things. With two ideas you are already a wanker."

Philippe said that clowns don't apologise or doubt. They know the stage is their place. "I am an idiot BUT I am a star in my speciality."

"It's a great quality of a clown. He is so idiot…But I laugh."

"We have to say… My god… So idiot... And the guy… He is happy… And we love him."

"You need to have something naïve."

"You have to have an accent."

"You need a name."

~

And here is a list of the costumes we were given today:

Liz (England): Baby

Mark (England): Boxer (with socks instead of real boxing gloves, a fake black eye, and bicycle helmet for head gear)

Nicko (Australia): Dracula

Tessa (Australia): Tomboy

Kat (England): Biker Girl (with pimples)

Guy (NZ): Tintin

Jonathan (England): Goofy

Katy (Ireland): Punk

Steph (Canada): Mae West

Michael (England): Basketball Player ("You have to show your legs"...he's very tall)

Michaela (Germany/Austria): Neanderthal Woman

Hannah (England): Snow White

Miluka (Spain): Spanish Primary School Teacher during Franco time

Paula (Brazil): Virgin Mary

Sophie (England): Madame King Kong

Yun Yun (Taiwan): Minnie Mouse

Connor (Canada): Chief Boy Scout

Boris (France): King Kong

Miwa (Japan): Bridgitte Bardot

Simone (Italy): Chief of Mafia (with impeccable costume)

Rosemary (Canada): Alpinist / Hiker

I suppose Philippe's method for choosing is based on the way the actor looks and the shape of their body. He chooses something to highlight the ridiculousness of each individual actor.

Philippe said nobody is changing their costumes. If we're not happy, he doesn't care. And if we have personal pain because we've been given the costume of a Police Officer, and a Police Officer killed our father, then we have to prove it. In other words, we're stuck with what we've got!