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Identifying and Exploring Key Principles of the Clown in Theatre – a Practice-Led Approach

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Identifying and Exploring Key Principles of the Clown in Theatre – a Practice-Led Approach Identifying and Exploring Key Principles of the Clown in Theatre – a practice-led approach by Klara van Wyk Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Dr Samantha Prigge-Pienaar Co-supervisor: Dr Jon Davison March 2020 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za DECLARATION By submitting this dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. March 2020 Copyright © 2020 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved i Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za ABSTRACT In this study, an artistic research methodology is employed to identify principles of clowning as they are practiced in contemporary clown training workshops, to then offer applications of these within a South African theatre context. Autoethnographic accounts and fictional narratives offer an exploration of the practice of clowning from a personal perspective in multiple roles as clown performer, student, educator and observer, supplemented by an interpretive analysis of existing literature. The past decade has seen a significant increase in allusions to the term ‘clown theatre’ on formal theatre and performance platforms, as well as in critical and practice-based literature. This self- proclaimed category of theatre is yet to be sufficiently theorised and historicised. Both ‘clown’ and ‘theatre’ remain persistently contested and evolving practices. In this study, the term ‘clown theatre’ is employed as a springboard from which to interrogate the complexities of the clown’s presence in contemporary theatre, with the aim of generating dialogue and supporting further innovation in practice. Six case studies of contemporary performance identified as or aligned with ‘clown theatre’ are presented to explore the terminology and practices employed by practitioners. The study uses participant-observation methods to understand principles of clowning as they are currently grounded in training approaches focused on laughter as a marker of success, indicating audience appreciation. Particular attention is paid to practitioners Jacques Lecoq and Phillipe Gaulier and their lineage of clown teaching as it has emerged in the methods employed by contemporary pedagogues such as Jon Davison and Mick Barnfather. Secondary sources are then used to position these clown principles in relation to the historical presence of clown figures on stage, with an emphasis on Bertolt Brecht’s conceptualisation of the clown as protagonist. By critically addressing the multi-faceted approaches to engendering laughter within clown training and performance, this practice-led study uncovers the benefits and challenges that lie in translating clowning into contemporary theatre practice. Keywords: Clowning, Theatre, Laughter, Failure, Clown-theatre ii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za OPSOMMING In hierdie ondersoek word ’n artistieke navorsingsmetodologie gebruik om die beginsels van narrery te identifiseer en moontlike toepassings hiervan in ‘n Suid-Afrikaanse konteks aan te toon. ’n Selfrefleksiewe ontginning van narpraktyk vanuit my perspektief en spesifieke rolle as narkunstenaar, student en waarnemer word aangevul deur ’n interpretatiewe analise van bestaande literatuur. Oor die afgelope dekade was daar ’n beduidende toename in sinspelings op die term ‘narteater’ in formele teater en optredeplatforms soos kunstefeeste, maar ook in kritiese en praktykgebaseerde literatuur (Peacock 2009; Danzig 2007; Polunin 2015). Daar moet nog na behore oor dié selfverklaarde teaterkategorie geteoretiseer word en dit moet ook nog histories geposisioneer word. Beide ‘nar’ en ‘teater’ bly omstrede en ontwikkelende praktyke. Die term ‘narteater’ word as vertrekpunt geneem vanwaar die kompleksiteit van die nar se teenwoordigheid in kontemporêre teater ondersoek word met die uiteindelik doel om gesprek te inisieer en verdere vernuwing in die praktyk te ondersteun. Kontemporêre narbeginsels word bestudeer as synde geanker te wees in opleidingsbenaderings wat fokus op lag as merker van sukses aangesien dit die gehoor se waardering aandui. Spesifieke aandag word geplaas op die herkoms van naronderrig soos beïnvloed deur die paraktisyns Jacques Lecoq en Phillipe Gaulier en in verband gebring met die analise van metodes wat deur hedendaagse pedagoë soos Jon Davison and Mick Barnfather gebruik word. Sekondêre bronne word ondersoek ten einde die narbeginsels aan te stip in hulle verhouding met historiese narfigure wat op die verhoog teenwoordig is. Bertolt Brecht se konseptualisering van die nar as protagonis word ook verken. Deur krities na die veelkantige benaderings tot die bewerkstelling van lag binne naropleiding en - optrede te kyk, lê hierdie verhandeling die uitdagings bloot wat gevind word in die omskakeling van hedendaagse narrery na teaterpraktyk. Sleutelwoorde: Narrery, Teater, Lag, Mislukking, Nar-Teater iii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Dedicated to Pattie, my dearest grandfather Sam Tolmay. iv Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the creative and intellectual guidance, stimulation, motivation and understanding from the following people. For this, I will be eternally grateful. To my supervisor, Dr Samantha Prigge-Pienaar - your steady and experienced hand has guided and encouraged me through every aspect of this journey. You have motivated me to develop my own voice and I thank you for your trust and confidence in my ability as a young researcher. I feel immensely privileged to have walked this journey alongside you. I thank my co-supervisor, Dr Jon Davison, for the many passionate and inspiring conversations on clowns, for continuing to question my assumptions and generously sharing your experience and knowledge throughout this process. The financial assistance of the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, in collaboration with the South African Humanities Deans Association towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NIHSS and SAHUDA. To Sharon Friedman, thank you for your detailed edits and charisma and for making me laugh in the final overwhelming weeks. I am grateful to so many mentors and teachers over the years who have enriched and motivated me to think critically, in particular, Gerard Bester and Sarah Roberts from my studies at Wits University, Mark Fleishman from the University of Cape Town, Marelize engelbrecht and Mr Raymond Stoltz. I gratefully acknowledge the clown teachers who I had the privilege to observe in practice and from whom I learned so much: Phillipe Gaulier, Mick Barnfather, Ira Seidenstein and Jon Davison. I am thankful for the opportunity to have worked with exceptionally dedicated and talented artists, theatre-makers and collaborators, including Francesco Nassimbeni, Buhle Ngaba, Roberto Pombo, Jemma Kahn, John Trengrove, Jenine Collocot, Mercy Kannemeyer and Penelope Youngleson whose insights and artistic input inspired so much of my thinking for this Dissertation. I have felt supported and could not have written this dissertation without the ‘voice’ and objective insights of the critics and reviewers that have taken the time to watch and respond to our work. Thank you. v Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za To Pretina de Jager, for showing up and making time in your very busy schedule, for telling our story and leading the way to the theatre. I am lucky to have had many motivating friends and family cheering me on, Anton van Wyk, Ria Saunders, Vicky and John Tolmay, Theunette van Wyk, Nelmarie Claasens, Lieze van Tonder, emma Delius, Karlita Morrison, Tegan Wille, Kev and Lindie and Claudette Smith. I thank Sindy Ngaba whose strength and positivity has been a constant inspiration and drive for completing this dissertation and Buhle Ngaba for climbing the mountain alongside me, your friendship, letters in the post, morning messages of encouragement and Beyoncé memes brightened so many lonely days. Thank you for the daily reminder that we need to ‘stay in the game’. Finally, a thank you to my incredible family and support system. My grandparents, for making a space for me to work in your home. My grandfather, Sam Tolmay, for sharing your study and for listening to unfinished ideas, for encouraging lunch and gardening breaks and for your endless patience and stimulating conversations. Only a truly curious intellectual could venture into the depths of clown theory so far removed from your own Geology background. I will always treasure and think back with fondness on the special time we shared. To my wonderful parents, for encouraging me to pursue this strange path and for carrying the financial burden of a child who is an eternal student. My father for being an in-house clown and to the most dedicated theatre mother one could ever imagine, thank you for walking this journey with me from my very first “Slim ou Haas” eisteddfod poem in grade two and for laughing loudly in every show despite sometimes sharing the auditorium with only two audience members,
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  • Toward a Female Clown Practice: Transgression, Archetype and Myth
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Plymouth Electronic Archive and Research Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author's prior consent. 0 Toward a Female Clown Practice: Transgression, Archetype and Myth By Maggie (Margaret) Irving A thesis submitted to the University of Plymouth in partial fulfilment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Humanities and Performing Arts Faculty of Arts Date: 26th September 2012 1 Maggie (Margaret) Irving Toward a Female Clown Practice: Transgression, Archetype and Myth Women who learn to clown within Western contemporary theatre and performance training lack recognizably female exemplars of this popular art form. This practice-as- research thesis analyses my past and present clowning experiences in order to create an understanding of a woman-centered clown practice which allows for the expression of material bodies and lived experiences. It offers a feminist perspective on Jacques Lecoq’s pedagogy, which revolves around a notion of an ‘inner clown’ and is prevalent in contemporary UK clown training and practice. The thesis draws on both the avant- garde and numerous clown types and archetypes, in order to understand clowning as a genre revealed through a range of unsocialised behaviours. It does not differentiate necessarily between clowning by men and women but suggests a re-think and reconfiguration to incorporate a wide range of values and thought processes as a means of introduction to a wider audience.
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