Clowning
I can’t stop thinking about a conversation I had backstage this past Monday night while we were in places for Dears in Headlights , one of Dacha Theatre’s current summer shows, featuring clowning and other physical theatre. I was talking with another actor about how people never feel like they are in a place to experience pure joy, and other people never know if they have permission to bust through that and give it to them. I remember a few years ago, I was at a community event, a parade in the Chinatown/International District. A clown, or a person in a clown onesie and a colorful wig maybe, gave a balloon to a little child, maybe three or four years old. The kid’s face lit up. You know the look. When you see a kid looking like that, it’s like you want to die in that moment – in a good way, because it’s so perfect, and life can never get any better than that. The poet Rumi would say the world is too full. During the pre-show, while the audience is waiting for the show to start, I come