A Clown Writes a Book About Improv

My very first Substack post

Welcome, clowns! 

A small confession of failure to start. My plan was to post in the first week of September. I wanted to start strong, so I wrote and rewrote and rewrote…

Perfection is always a trap.

I always tell my clown students not to overvalue their ideas. Why labor over what might work, when you can just commit to your dumbest and most joyful impulses? You can teach a thousand clown classes. Do a thousand clown shows. You will still always have a little voice that steers you away from imagined disasters.

I am hoping this Substack — in conjunction with my podcast — helps me finish my book on the intersection of clown and improvisation. 

It’s a little scary to proclaim that goal. This is a project I’ve started and abandoned a number of times (like this post). When I teach a clown class, one of the most exciting parts is seeing how exercises produce vastly different outcomes. It’s a unique conversation between myself and that collection of students. The best instruction has no loyalty to lesson plans.

A book seems so antithetical to the spirit of clown. A one-way lecture into the void. How can there be a right way to perform an action that values failure as much as success? Instruction manuals are literal applications of authority. If a clown reads a book about clown work, shouldn’t their immediate impulse be to dismantle that system and expose the fraud who created it?

Only a true clown would attempt something so dumb.

A quick disclaimer about my work:

I am not a traditional circus clown. Those performers work hard to develop those skills and should be recognized for them. I’ve taken my share of classes, but never attended a formal program or expensive conservatory. 

I am part of an exciting movement of artists (many of which are located in Los Angeles) who seek to honor the work, while stripping it down to its fundamentals. We all come from different backgrounds, but we share a desire to create clown work that lives in the present, instead of being a nostalgic homage to the past.

I respect clowns of all kinds, but I don’t like how some of my peers create barriers for entry. I don’t believe in gatekeepers, pedagogies or traditions that require expensive training and prefer tradition over innovation. 

A real clown challenges all institutions — including those that govern themselves.

That’s why I’m so interested in the intersection between clown and improvisation. It’s a fast and cheap way to generate work.  I want clowns getting up and failing as quickly and as often as they can. Also, what better way to see what’s possible than to start with nothing? 

This approach does require clowns to be comfortable presenting clumsy and disjointed work. Performers without polish learning on the job, experimenting in front of skeptical audiences. I’m not talking about works in progress or open rehearsals — but full-fledged improvised shows that make promises they cannot keep.

For artists that speak so fondly of failure, clowns love to train and rehearse. But we can get reps in those protected spaces, while also testing our mettle in the wild. We can invade improv and sketch nights; stand-up and variety shows; performance art venues or even just the backroom of a bowling alley. The more work we create and clowns we recruit, the better chance we have of discovering something unexpected. 

There isn’t a right way to go about improvising clown. No system will serve all situations and variations. But I’m hoping to write a book that can point artists in the right direction. A set of guiding principles that someone can not only follow, but also challenge and subvert. No two clown’s paths should look identical. We need to promote unity and community, while never forgetting to celebrate the individual.

I’d also love to hear from you! I’m sure this journey will provide me with lots of insight, but will also lead to detours and missteps.  Please share any well-intentioned thoughts, observations or criticisms. And spread the word if you know any artists who might like this Substack.

Until then, keep on clowning.

OTHER CLOWN STUFF

LISTEN TO STAND UP AND CLOWN (THE PODCAST) is where Chad interviews artists who either identify as clowns or use elements of clown in their work. There are also solo pods, where Chad breaks down specific parts of the work. 

APPLE PODCASTS: shorturl.at/DFKR5

SPOTIFY: shorturl.at/HPQ18 

STAND UP AND CLOWN (THE SHOW) takes place last Mondays (unless there’s a holiday) at 930pm at The Elysian Theater. We’ve got a huge one coming up on September 25th with Michael Longfellow (SNL), Danny Jolles, Liam Cullagh, Danielle Perez, Dylan Adler, Kyle Mizono AND SURPRISE GUESTS!

9/25: http://tinyurl.com/ypsk378u

---