"You're not a Poet until someone else says you're a Poet." -- Robert Frost
Robert Frost is one of the most famous American poets. I studied his work when I was in High School. In recent years I have frequently been able to identify somebody quoting one of his poems on television shows or in movies.
There are many other people who claim to be poets. Some believe that if they write lines that end in a rhyme that is poetry. Others believe if they write using many similes and metaphors that is poetry. However that is just a superficial adherence to form. Poetry is more than that. I am not sure that I can define poetry, but I know when something does not qualify because it is inferior. I think the true test of poetry is the impact it has upon the reader or listener.
Many people put on make up and a costume, and call themselves a clown. However, wearing make up and a costume does not mean you are a clown. I have heard unconfirmed reports that it has become a fad in France and in Bakersfield, CA for people to dress like a clown, carry some type of weapon, and jump out of a hiding place to scare pedestrians. I don't think anybody would claim that those people are actually clowns. They are wearing a clown disguise to create mischief.
Defining a clown is difficult. Some people have become very famous clowns without wearing traditional costume and make up. I attempted to define a clown in an article I wrote for White Tops, published by the Circus Fans Association of America. You can read that article on my web site.
Clown Definition
As the World Clown Association Historian I have had the opportunity to study clowning in other regions and cultures. When I attended the 2013 World Clown Association Convention in Borneo, I learned a little bit about the local Hudog clown character. That clown wears a mask that does not look anything like a circus clown in America or Europe. How did I know it was a clown? The local people told me that is a clown.
I believe that clowning is a relationship with the audience. You aren't a clown until you have been identified as one by an audience.
Just as there are clowns and people disguised as clowns, there is a difference in the art of magic. There are magicians and people playing tricks. Some people perform practical jokes and claim that is magic. Some people present magic tricks as puzzles to be solved. But magic creates an emotional response in the viewer. Most often that response is wonder. I knew I was succeeding when a ten-year-old boy exclaimed during one of my performances, "I know there is no such thing as real magic, but that's MAGIC."
In my plate spinning act I extend my left arm straight up into the air. Then while looking away, I flip a plate from my right hand, held at waist level, and catch it in my left hand. The only secret to it is confidence based on lots of practice. However, I have had several people comment that they consider that moment to be magical. If that is how it affects them, it is a magic effect although magicians would not identify it in that way.
I took my parents to see a performer at the Hollywood Magic Castle who was world renowned for his card manipulation act. Afterwards I asked them what they thought. My mother said, "He sure was good at hiding the cards in his hands." To her the act was a demonstration of dexterity not something magical.
How do you define being an entertainer? How do you know if you are succeeding? How do audience members describe your act? How can you learn what they think of your performance?
