Clowning is like entering an alternate reality. It started when I enrolled in a summer school clown workshop in Brisbane in 2003. Using a series of activities, the instructor helped us comprehend how truth can be represented via our physical bodies. One of these positions was dubbed “office worker” by him. The teacher asked us to imagine that we had a task to finish. We were instructed to keep little eye contact with the other participants as we moved about the room. The instructor told us to breathe quickly and deeply. I found that the physical posture of an “office worker” is very physically demanding to sustain for extended periods. A strong sense of internal discipline is required. We must force our bodies to `labour’ while being driven by an external goal.
`Emotional labour’ is the phrase that describes the way we discipline our emotions to conform to the workplace. Most front-line positions need employees to deliver “service with a smile.” Front-line employees must manage their true feelings. They need to align their emotional state with the goals and values of the organisation. Emotional labour is the socially acceptable mask we put on to fit in with society. Wearing a mask has certain advantages. A vulnerable person’s faith in the helping professions is damaged when they are treated poorly. A business will likely go bankrupt if its staff is rude or indifferent to customers’ needs. It makes sense to behave in a way that aligns with social norms or business principles. We incur a high cost to internalize the self-control needed to regulate our emotions. I discovered that being an “office worker” for extended periods is very taxing on the body. Not to mention exhausting.
Strolling down the Mall at the end of the day, I sat down to observe people as they were walking. I was in a very relaxed, open, and playful mood. I looked ahead and saw a group of men and women dressed in formal work clothes walking through the Mall. I felt excitement and joy– an epiphany – ‘they’re in office worker’! This was a transformative moment, a powerful realization that changed my perspective. I wasn’t making any personal judgments about the people walking through the Mall. An ordinary moment yielded a fantastic discovery. It was like watching a performance of street theatre. Like the little child in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” clowns, fools, and jesters have an “unsophisticated” perception. They “see things as they are” and not how we imagine them.
A clown philosophy
The clown’s red nose is the doorway to an alternative universe. In the clown’s universe, the standard rules of reality are suspended. The energy of the clown is an invitation to freedom. The freedom and joy we experienced as children. The clown is our imaginative, funny, and sometimes disruptive side. “Putting on a character” or “acting” is not what clowning entails. The consciousness arises from astonishment, spontaneity, and childlike wonderment. When we are young, everything seems brand-new and is constantly being discovered and learned. When I was younger, I pretended to have Superman abilities. I draped an ordinary sheet around my neck. Then, I jumped off the roof to soar into the sky. After several grazed knees, I discovered that the law of gravity was “kryptonite” to my fantasy of flying. As grown-ups, we are prone to overthink and create excuses not to be playful. Through the clown, we can rediscover the realm of imagination. In our imagination, anything is possible. It’s never too late for adults to re-experience child-like joy without the bruises!
In the world and not of the world.
While the clown is vulnerable, the fool or jester is quick-witted and provocative. The Fool or Jester lives alongside the Ruler’s court. Fools exist to deflate or puncture the ego of the King or Queen. They are a living contradiction – `to be in the world and not of the world.’ They use comic humor to soften the blow and say what no one is willing to speak out aloud. They are in the center of power. Still, they rise above the political intrigues of the power structures. This gives the fool enormous power and freedom. In life, the fool unmasks and makes explicit the socially polite games we play that we hide behind.
The ordinary is important
In the clown’s universe, the divine is waiting to be revealed in the day-to-day ordinariness of life. As a general principle of comedy, Fools, clowns, and jesters take the mundane and the ordinary. They pull it apart and elevate it to a higher level. A clown character goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He fumbles and loses the toothpaste cap. The clown becomes increasingly frustrated with trying to find the cap As the audience, we experience his frustration. We laugh at the absurdity of the clown as they try to resolve the problem with ‘clown logic’. It’s like letting your impulsive, child-like self act freely. You can be joyful without a watchful, critical adult standing over you. Clown logic looks for the most creative, silly and fun path to resolving a challenge. In clown logic, if you are failing, then strive to fail gloriously.
Do more and try harder
In trouble, the clown `doubles down’ by using the same approach with more intensity. This is the `Do More and Try Harder’ approach to life. Meanwhile, the clown is failing gloriously. As a mirror, the clown reflects our absurdities and follies to us. Despite our attempts at being `clever’ or `sophisticated, scratch the surface, and we are all clowns. We have our silly side, our weaknesses, and our vulnerabilities. An ordinary routine has become a story that entertains and provokes. At the moment, the clown disarms our natural defenses with comic absurdity. The clown provokes us to reflect on how we complicate our lives. We keep using the same failed approaches while hoping for a different outcome.
Failure is never the final act
Clowning is a joyous celebration of making mistakes. Clowns fail often. Audiences enjoy watching clown characters fail. Clowns are overwhelmed and never defeated. In the failure and struggle, clowns thrive and show resilience. In clown training, embracing the fear of failure easily translates into ordinary life. The clown invites us to ‘play with our fears’ and enter the ‘scary places’. Clowns, fools and jesters encourage us to let go and accept failure as a normal part of life. The wiser Fool learns from their mistakes. The clown’s innocence and the Jester’s provocation are a gift. They can help us see the obvious, take ourselves less seriously, and play different, more life-giving and enjoyable games. If life is a game, then clowns and jesters play a different game.
Foolish Times 