by Jennifer Jonassen
Well true to my word and my ongoing quest to find my inner clown, I
have indeed been taking some classes here in the land of la. And
believe you me, this is the biggest challenge I have had as a performer
to date! There is something so inexplicably terrifying to me about
comedy. Perhaps it is that sink or swim element to clowning that
particularly sets the stakes up super high as a performer. And let's
face it, it can be daunting when thrown up onstage alone with the
expectation of not just entertaining an audience (as my teacher Stefan
Haves points out) but causing an audience to erupt with laughter. That
is your job as a clown. You are also challenged to create your entire
world onstage as much of clowning and improvisational comedy is
unscripted. However, when you do hit it right and the audience combusts
then all the fear and pain involved becomes worth it. I experienced
such a night at the Getty Center where I got to perform in my first
cirque like show! I have to say that I count this performance as what
Joseph Campbell described as a "peak experience."
I felt an immeasurable sense of accomplishment for pushing past my
fears and stepping way the heck out of my comfort zone. This was the
most fun I have enjoyed in quite sometime! Also quite a great workout I
might add! (I tell you if you want to get into shape then might I
seriously suggest you becoming a clown!) I think the very physical
nature of clowning is what I love the most about it. Throughout the
evening there was such an amazing sense of freedom and above all a
tremendous feeling of joy to be performing in this kind of show and not
to mention alongside side such incredibly gifted artists. The show was
called "Stefan Haves Presents Master Pieces Theater" and showcased many
incredible acts including ball walkers, aerialists, contortionists and
acrobatic jugglers (I even got to hand them their juggling pins!) At
the height of the show Stefan performed his famous "Back Man" routine
and scored a standing ovation from our sold out house! It doesn't get
better than that let me tell you! Part of clowning is the ability to
interact with the audience, and though I was intimidated at the idea at
first I decided to try it so I could really test out the things we have
been working on in class. I am happy to report that it was such a
positive experience, very liberating and afterward many of the audience
even went out of their way to hug me!
My experiences in clown class and at the Getty Center have spurred me
on to continue exploring and strengthening my comic chops. Last month,
I took some incredible workshops at iO West which is a great place to
see some great up and comers of the comedy world as well as a place to
take classes in all kinds of comedy. My favorite workshop had to be
with Mo Collins from Mad TV who is one of my all time favorite
comediennes. And guess what! I was the odd man out when we all
partnered up for our improvisational scenes and so I got to work with
Mo Collins herself as my scene partner! Our scene went so well and I am
still floating around on a Hollywood high from that class let me tell
you!
Mo's workshop centered around creating characters through
improvisation. She emphasized the importance of becoming a
"mockingbird". If imitation is the highest form of flattery then we
were all in luck because the first thing she had us do was introduce
ourselves so she could mirror back to us our very own characteristics
that we could magnify and bring out in the characters we create
onstage. She even shared with us how she came to create the character
of Doreen Larkin aka Stuart's mother! I found her workshop to be not
only incredibly informative but also incredibly empowering as well. She
talked about the importance of facing these kinds of fears and how it
is "a gift to yourself (no matter what the outcome)" when you do. I
completely agree with this statement and urge all of you to go out and
do something that makes you a little (or a lot) uncomfortable but that
you are secretly dying to do. Maybe it is a tap dance class, a Kung Fu
class or hang gliding- but whatever it is I say dive in! Or wade in.
But get in the water and test it out because you never know...And as a
matter of fact, I just got cast in my first improv-comedy show called
The Big Audition that will be running this month at Next stage. I hope
to see you all there! (for info on the show:
www.berubians.com)
Photos of the Getty show by Thomas Rihs
