Ten2Two: Unlearning Socialised Behaviour

Am I bovvered?

Whilst I'm not parading myself around as some angst-ridden, confrontational teen from a rather well-known comedy sketch, there is a lot to be admired for 'not being bovvered'.

Today I want to focus on just one reason: Freedom

Clowning is a different way of thinking, behaving, responding and being. It is a VERB and not a NOUN. Clowning is an artform that aides release from socialised behaviour; socialised by convention, expectation and the 'norm'. Clowning helps the 'clowner' to embrace their foibles, flaws and failures instead of hiding them: the spot on your forehead the unusual gait - the desire to wiggle and wobble in public! 

Our body, our mind, our choice - but more importantly - our embodiment of ridiculousness, mischief and acting the fool - that is freedom at its best. That is ownership of everything that doesn't meet the socialised criteria we feel we must conform to. It's about making mistakes and laughing them off instead of cringing, or hiding them. Most important of all, is recognising that the word clown does not necessarily signify dressing up or changing ourselves to fit a narrative, moreover, it's about how we respond, see and be in an unsocialised and ridiculous mode of being. For women, often but not always, we might become a little 'mad' and embrace the 'grotesque', which in effect is being trangressive and crossing the boundaries. Oh dear - but what fun!

Clowns can and do dress up, and it can be a LOT of fundamentally serious play, which we often stop doing before we hit double-digits, i.e 10 years of age (but not always). Whether performing professionally (image 2. Baroness Elsa at Edinburgh Festival), or just having a burst of creativity/fun - everyday life masking is not necessarily the true face of clowning. You'd be surprised at how often your inner-clown 'pops-up' to say 'shall we go there? Do we dare? 'Yes we do!' *GULP*

*A new find your 'inner-clown' opportunity coming soon! So keep your eyes peeled.*

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I had to throw off the idea that walking at Ten2Two as a young woman made me less attractive - or made me look silly. 

When I let go of consciously trying to avoid appearing foolish (many years ago), it became, and still is, an opportunity to step outside the box and feel liberated and playful'. And guess what? It feels fantastic! 

Why?

Because I honestly cannot promote enough, the feeling of killing the inner-critic. (We're not taking spades, rope and a sound-proof car boot, but we are talking about not allowing that voice inside our heads that sometimes tells us we are doing things wrong.)

When I am a 'clown':

My confidence bounces up and down like Andy Murray’s tennis balls on centre court.
My confidence bounces up and down like my greying hair after a Silvikrin shampoo and set.
My confidence bounces up and down like my [fill in blank here] during a long jog.
My confidence bounces up and down when I get things write and rong.

Of course, it can take time to bounce about without a care, and, like anything new, there's a feeling of risk. That's normal. Have a go? See how it feels? Share your stories?

One wonderful comedy client said their confidence and self esteem had ‘sky rocketed’ and that the creative skills of creating comedy had ‘filtered into every aspect of their life’ (brilliant, Bryn). I have marveled at watching this person grow by releasing inhibitions and embracing all of what they are. It has been an absolute pleasure to witness; I am overjoyed that they have found their key to freedom of expression.

It is an artform that requires practice just like knitting or painting or woodwork. The good news is that is can be learned and crafted, but in a way where the clown is not acting; they are in the moment as their true open, vulnerable and ridiculous self.

Just to show you that I do actually walk-the-walk (including the Ten2Two when I feel like it), I am sharing a list of all the recent things I have done which shout Clown and Freedom from the rooftops. Feel free to add your own by following the social media links below. I would love to see what makes you feel free once you let the fool do its thing! :)

• Turning up for morning ZOOM meetings that are in the afternoon (I have done this twice this month!)
• Feeling my bra ping undone whilst in Tesco's, because I didn’t fasten it properly.
• Taking my car tyre to the garage to have a puncture repaired. I forgot to take the car for fitting, and actually went to pick it up. It was parked outside my front door!
• Trying to use Apps on phone by using my laptop and wondering why they are not working.
• Forgetting to record a ZOOM workshop 2 seconds after I had said I would.

I'll leave you with this psychological analogy of the clown persona - do you know anyone this reminds you of, including yourself?

As usual, thank you for all the support - and have a great weekend (and have fun playing with freedom), from Maggie and the Comedy Matters team.

Cheers.

'We like the clown because they make us laugh and feel better about life. They surprise us by what they do or say, and their unpredictability and spontaneity attract us to them, especially their ability to help us laugh at ourselves. Clowns use humour to connect with others, which is an effective tool for social survival because we like people who can make us laugh.'