Tears of a Clown

 

Behind the smile are tears...

Many of you will be familiar with the face of the Pierrot Clown; the sad clown, who pines for a lost love and gets their heart broken - a face painted with black tears. But what if smiling over tears is good for you?

So why bring up clowns - but more especially the TEARS OF A CLOWN?

I recently stumbled across something that got me thinking about this: In my local town, a new gin has been launched by a distillery just around the corner: Candyfloss Tears of a Clown by Copper Frog Distilling.

And it evoked many of the attributes/questions/experiences that I myself had researched and practiced many moons ago, when I first began my journey into clowning: About the mask of clown, its purpose for audience, and the many modes of clowning, including the 'tragic clown'.

And then a Smokey Robinson & the Miracles song came on the radio as I was working from home earlier, and it played - you guessed it - The Tears of a Clown. Synchronicity? Or Spooky? You decide...

Apparently the song was based on an Italian opera called Pagliacci, and much like Pierrot, it is a story about heartbreak and tragedy, it's about a clown who HAS TO make an audience laugh, whilst weeping behind his make-up, after their marriage is lost to betrayal.

So, what's my point?

It's occurred to me, more so recently because of what is going on in the world (and there is a LOT going on), that we often SMILE even though we may be sad or in pain. That a lot of COMEDY comes from a place of sadness or turmoil - but - that if it is put to good use, inverted, and flipped, it CAN  have a positive outcome and change our mood or perspective.

And then I went back to thinking about why we might want to DRINK the TEARS of a CLOWN....

Could it be that the term isn't about sadness at all, but about inversion, the way that smiling to hide tears, can sometimes then produce endorphins - a kind of 'FAKE IT 'TIL YOU MAKE IT' phenomena? And that perhaps by the partaking of these clown tears, we are actually laughing at the ridiculousness or absurdity of it all - much like in life - so we feel better and generate more of the feel-good endorphins. 

As I'm always saying, flipping adversity into a positive is a real skill within the world of comedy, and I can't remember who said it, but there's a saying which further matches why I so passionately believe that comedy and good mental health are complementary - and it's this one:

A smile can turn a frown upside down :)
(or words to that effect)

Anyway, today has been a random and philosophical day; I ought to reassure everyone reading this newsletter, though, that it is most definitely NOT because I have drunk any clown tears, or gin, or anything else for that matter, I just wanted to share my thoughts - see if any of you feel the same - and maybe support a local business too!

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As usual, a huge thank you... and hopefully see you soon!

Cheers :)