By Bruce "Charlie" Johnson

 
"Mentally, fallow is as important as seedtime.  Even bodies can be exhausted by over cultivation."  - George Bernard Shaw
 
"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a
waste of time." -- J. Lubbock
 
If you continually plant the same crops in a field you begin to experience diminishing returns because the nutrients that the crop requires become depleted.  To prevent this fields are sometimes allowed to lie fallow without any crops being planted so the soil has a chance to recover.  (In Leviticus chapter 25 the Hebrews were ordered to let their fields lie fallow every seven years.)  At other times plants are rotated.  For example, many plants require nitrogen to prosper.  Those plants are alternated with plants like beans that take nitrogen from the air and store it in the ground.  The beans prepare the soil for the other plants that require nitrogen.
 
The same is true mentally.  If you try to generate ideas all the time you deplete your inspiration and creative energies.  You need to let your mind lie fallow at times so that it can recover.  That can be walking along a beach, watching a football game, going to a movie, playing a card game with others, or another activity that does not require great concentration.  Taking time off is not a waste of time.  It is time spent preparing yourself mentally for your next task.
 
Sometimes you need to rotate tasks.  Sorting and filing papers is a challenge for me.  I would rather be writing something new.  Yet, I know that if I don't take the time to get reorganized I can't be creative efficiently.  So, I'll force myself to do some organizing and then switch to something different that I find more enjoyable.  When I have a mental block on a writing project, I'll switch and do some chores that I know need to be done around the house.  Then I am able to make progress when I return to the writing project.
 
You also need to rotate your sources of inspiration.  If you look in the same place for ideas all the time, eventually you use up the available ideas. One of the reasons that I like going to Branson, MO for a magic conference is the number of theaters offering live performances.  I can see a wide variety of shows ranging from Broadway type production numbers to country music to retrospectives of music from previous eras to comedy to equestrian displays.  I do see magic shows while I am there, but I often get more inspiration from attending the other style shows. 
 
I also like to attend different types of performances near my home.  This past weekend I attended Raven and the Box of Daylight, a production by the Carter Family Marionettes, at the NorthwestPuppetCenter.  Puppets carved in the Nuu-chah-nulth tribal style were used to tale a NorthwestCoast legend of how Raven, the trickster, brings light into the world.  I found it to be very inspiring.  I was impressed with how the Carter family has built a permanent performance space.  I loved the artistry displayed in the puppet heads and costuming.  I found it interesting that hand puppets were used for some scenes, marionettes were used for others, and both types were used in a few scenes.  I was fascinated by how the Carter Family used the Nuu-chah-nulth culture as inspiration for their performance.  I am interested in the Native culture and hope to eventually incorporate it into a performance myself.  I don't know what that inspiration will lead to, but I am glad that I experienced it.
 
I find that new environments are often stimulating.  Last week I visited the Mall of America with Randy Christensen and was very impressed by their LegoLand. 
 
How can you allow your mind to lie fallow in preparation for your next task?  How can you rotate tasks?  How can you rotate your sources of inspiration?

Every thing a clown does is not necessarily funny.  Sometimes clowns are asked to help with practical matters. 

 

Many outdoor tented circuses have general seating in bleachers.  When there is a large crowd, it can be difficult for people to get to available seats in the center of a section.  In that situation, the clowns may be asked to help encourage people to move to the higher seats and to slide over to the center of the section.  That makes available seats easier to see and to reach.  This process is known as high seating.

 

One of my favorite methods to high seat the audience was to offer my arm to a mother or grandmother and then escort her to a seat.  Often I used my feather duster to clean off the seat plank for her.  That allowed me to stay in character, get some smiles and occasionally a few laughs, and do what was required for the success of the show.  I noticed something interesting.  When a family wandered along the hippodrome track looking for seats, people already seated ignored them.  If I was escorting the family, those in the stands would signal to let me know how many seats were available next to them.

 

Circus Kirk used seat boards that were painted blue.  If the attendance was small people tended to sit on one row and put their feet on the row in front of them.  During the two seasons that I toured with that show, they used my character to help with a high seating announcement.  The Ringmaster would say, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remember that the blue boards are for seating only and the yellow boards are for your feet."  I would find a place where I would pretend to be hiding in view of the audience, for example behind a center pole.  There would be a murmer in the audience.  The Ringmaster would continue, "What?  There aren't any yellow boards.  Charlie the Clown where are you?"  I would sheepishly step out into the Ringmaster's view.  "Charlie, did you forget to put out the yellow boards?"  I would reluctantly nod.  "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sorry that Charlie forgot to put out the boards for your feet.  In order to make more room for your friends and neighbors to join you, please let your feet dangle.  We will be starting the show in a few minutes, just as soon as we have gotten everyone seated.  You can help us by raising your hand if there is an available seat near you."  That little touch of humor took the sting out of the announcement, and people good naturedly complied.  We were usually able to quickly get the rest of the audience seated.

July 9-15, 2010

 

Sixteen hours of classes over three days plus four days of performing in Singapore schools. 

 

 

 

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