"You Do Something Idiot And You Are Happy: It's The Secret Of Clown."

We began with a Grimace competition today. Pull a face, and then say some text with the face. 

Philippe selected a few clowns that were funny (because they were ridiculous) and that had pleasure. He then got them to repeat their grimace with text, and then he'd stop them, and congratulate them. "Wow! It's amazing! Really! Excellent! you are a great artist." It had the effect of bringing a sense of happiness and pride to the clown, which was totally adorable. It was bizarre seeing Philippe be so nice too!

"You do something idiot and you are happy: It's the secret of clown."

~

Afterwards, we did an exercise to "know our sensitivity". Like Tom-Tom's exercise last week: In groups of five. If you feel we love you you walk to us. If not, you walk backwards.

"You have to be a bit naughty." We loved Sophie immediately as she slid her feet along the floor like an idiot who thinks we don't know she's cheating.

Nobody laughed at Rosemary did. Ever."If she accepts to be bad and stays along the curtain she will progress."

When I got up I was really bad. I got some laughs and stepped forwards a few times, but I wasn't loved. I was playing a bit nervous and unsure which didn't help. And I didn't propose enough. I let others who were loved have all the time with the audience and I stood in the background. Also, when I did do things, they were one off random things like saying "You're a wizard Harry" and "What's wrong with me?" But they were pushed and there was no game. I couldn't continue with them. Whereas people that were good were simple, subtle, and playful. They had a little game - like Connor making bird calls and then acting as if he'd just heard a bird, or Boris continuing to get hair from his King Kong costume in his eyes - that they could just keep playing with. Philippe said "he doubts" and that I "didn't get the point." The first time I've been really really bad so far. It feels awful. Embarrassing. Especially in front of lots of new people. But it's what I have to go through to learn!

"You can do whatever you want to save the show...If you doubt it's a catastrophe."

~

"We have to see something naïve...If you imitate and you know too much you are not naïve."

"You need to have a tactic. It's good to play with your tactic." Try something. Push it a bit more. Try again. Push even more. Discover how far you can go with something (I imagine it's endless if you did it with sensitivity).

"We want to see your game and not your idea."

"Never you suggest your friend is bad. You have to admire your friend."

A clown says to another clown, "What should I do for Romeo & Juliet?" His friend tells him he needs a balcony, and before he can say anything else the first clown knows what to do. The whole show he is building a balcony. "Always it's advice given by an idiot to another idiot who understands differently."

"A clown doesn't succeed...or he succeeds by chance."

"It's always good: An idiot who starts by concentrating."

"It's a poetic world, Clown. It's a beautiful poetic world."

~

We need to decide on a name for our clown. Philippe suggested looking up names of race horses. He spoke about a group of clowns he knew of who decided to take the name of the train station in Paris: Montparnasse Bienvene. They figured the name is already famous, so if they had the same name they would become famous much faster!