madame king kong

Quotes from the man today:

“I put the music on for bad student. It is better to be bad with music than with no music.”

“You are too noisy on your feet. When you walk on the stage we think you are the German army arriving in Paris in 1940.”

“Me, I like you a bit. It’s not a big love - it’s a love-ette”

Today we had to face our back to the audience and then turn around and say boom! And then enjoy what we’d done and think we were good.

I did my boom! and then had a little laugh. He asked if I thought I was intelligent and I said yes. He said that I was a total idiot, and asked Danny, his assistant and Danny agreed: “total idiot.” I said I was very intelligent and he said that I must have bad communication then, because they couldn’t tell I was intelligent. I said I was a good communicator too. I was giggling and I think people were laughing but I also feel a bit like I was fumbling in the dark.

Then he gave us all a costume that he wants us to find for Monday. Me, I am madame king kong. ("king kong is good for intelligent people, no?") So now I have to find a gorilla suit by Monday, Luke needs to find a goofy costume and Christy has to be a New Zealand peasant farmer from the last century. Whatever the hell that is.

this will be me in a few days time, dont you doubt it

The next exercise was to come on and pretend to be angry and enjoy it. It was a disaster. I was not funny. I told a member of the audience that I hated them and he said I wasn’t allowed to do that and sent me off. Most people suffered through it, looking too angry and frustrated and not finding the joy at all. Difficult.

But then a bunch of us sat in the café and had hot chocolates or white wine and laughed and told each other about our lives. The crew of people who made it here to Paris to study clown: so many freelance artists with other random day jobs.

And we quote Gaulier and laugh and are ridiculous, travelling together back into Paris.