Thought For The Week April 20, 2009

"When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece." -- John Ruskin

Sometimes I hear somebody say it does not matter how much skill they have as long as they have enough passion. It seems like I hear that particularly from people involved in caring clowning or clown ministry. However, you need both if you expect to create an entertaining moment that is a masterpiece. Love is the heart that gives it life. But that is not enough. Without skill it is just a blob. Skill is the bones that give it strength so it stands up. But that is not enough. Without love it is just a lifeless skeleton.

One of my art classes in school included a water color unit. I loved doing the paintings and used some of my favorite scenes as subjects. Although I got an A on each individual painting, my teacher gave me a B for the unit. When I asked her why, she said it was because I did not use enough different techniques to demonstrate my skill. She offered to let me do an additional painting using more techniques. I did a painting using every technique our instructor had demonstrated. I don't remember the subject of that painting because I did not care about it. All I was interested in was demonstrating my skill. That painting was technically superior to my other paintings, but I received a C on it because it was boring. I still got a B for the water painting unit. I don't work in the watercolor medium anymore, but I do love to paint. As a result I have painted some of my own customized silk scarves. My love of art also led to my incorporation of trick cartoons into my performances.

I started performing magic when I was eight years old. One of the things I first loved about magic was performing effects with silk scarves. The feel and look of the silks appealed to me. What I learned about silk magic inspired me to begin creating some of my own routines. I like the versatility of working with scarves. I still perform silk magic over forty years later. Because I love it so much I have worked on improving my skill, especially using hidden gimmicks. Often the part of my performance that people comment on the most is one of my silk routines because the combination of love and skill has turned them into masterpieces.

When Carole first started clowning, she thought she had to do everything. She tried performing skits with a local clown alley, doing birthday parties, and other events. She really was not too successful at that. She loves small children and the elderly. When she decided to concentrate on what she loves she found success. She began visiting nursing homes. She has compassion for those who are hurting which led her to begin performing at StevensHospital. That hospital has very few young patients so she also began performing at Seattle. Once she found the venues that matched her loves, she began developing the skills required for those types of performances. She is excellent at improvised one-on-one interactions. She has not developed advanced technical magical skills but she has great audience interaction skill. She also loves animals and has developed several routines with animal puppets and toys as characters. She has the skill to bring animal puppets to life. For one of her routines, performed in a hospital waiting room, she uses a small plastic magic drawer box. She explains that she keeps Speedy, her pet mouse, in the box. She opens the box, removes the mouse, and soon the kids believe he is alive. Sometimes they line up waiting for their turn to pet Speedy. She returns Speedy to the box, closes the drawer, and then opens it again to check on Speedy. He is gone because he escaped. Soon she has the kids helping her search for Speedy. The kids look under the seat cushions and in every other possible hiding place. In the end she discovers that Speedy has snuck back into his box where he is safe and sound. The magic effect is a simple vanish and reappearance, but through her interactions with her audience she turns it into a masterpiece.

What do you love? How can you incorporate that into your performances? What venues best fit the things you love? What skills do you have? How can you incorporate them into your performances? What skills would you like to develop further?