Hi Lauren here – Below are my thoughts and feelings surrounding clown on film. There are a lot of different approaches to clown. In this blog, I am referring to my understanding and practice of Pochinko Clown practice, a form created by Richard Pochinko.

Clown on film

Clown on film, is it possible? Is it still clown?

Once you put a label on something, you limit its potential. For me, this is surrounding the notion that clown is only possible when in front of a live audience. Traditionally yes, that is how clown is practised and performed, and that is the way I originally learned this art form. But in this new world we live in where the audience has been moved online, how can we still pursue this artform? Is it even possible?

There are many strong opinions on this, and today I will be sharing my answer with you: YES.

Simply put, clown work is based on energy. What is energy? Energy is everything; it is emotion, impulse, the current circumstances and people around you. To put it simply, it’s everywhere, and it is the air we breathe. The most common form of energy discussed in clown training is the energy you feel when in front of a live audience. Having a live audience allows you to play for people and create a unique world for a limited time that only you and the audience share – the physical/magical space between performer and audience. But when there is no audience, how do you move forward through this first hurdle? How do you create your own space/magic?

Make your own audience.

What is an audience? Someone who is watching you, giving you energy and responses. The lack of an interactive audience is the most challenging thing for the clown to overcome when working on/in a two-dimensional format. I solved this by creating the same feeling with your imagination. I accomplished this by endowing objects or even the camera that I was using. You have to be open to the fact that this is a new way of working. If you try and apply all of the “rules” of clown when creating a film, it won’t work. Because the training wasn’t done for cinema, so trying to hold it to the film’s standard will only get you frustrated. You have to learn how to adapt and make new rules that work for you in this circumstance. No matter what the rules are, it won’t fail if you follow them with 100% commitment. It is impossible. BUT if you doubt the rules/the world you created, the clown won’t know what to do – it will be a disaster, your clown with collapse.

Have an outside eye.

This is incredibly useful. The ability to share your work with someone with no pretense is valuable. Ask if they understand/enjoy what you made. Asking for a person’s honest opinion takes a lot of courage, but I highly recommend it. Works can only get stronger from feedback (in my opinion). And if they don’t like or understand what you did – that is okay. Working on a film is a new skill to develop. Listen to what your outside eye experienced and figure out how to adjust your film to better create the turn you were looking for.

Be kind to yourself.

Approaching clown in this way is new. No one is going to be incredible at it right away. I’ve done three clown films so far, and I have learned so much from everyone. The goal should be to keep creating clown work because you love experimenting, creating, and playing. If your unable to be kind to yourself, how are you supposed to play in clown?

At the end of the day, clown on film is different than clown in a theatre. There is no way around it. However, there is a way to adjust the understanding and make clowns perform through the film medium. Sometimes it is when you break the rules where you can make the most discoveries.

do not DISTURB

Want to check out a clown on film? Below is my first clown film which was featured in the Play the Fool 2020 film festival. Winner of the Fools Gold Award. Preformed and created by Lauren Brady filmed by Thomas Kassian

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