In this episode I seek general features of what happens in the Area of Interest, or in Shows. I talk about Nalle Laanela's book the Clown Manifesto and how it helped me understand that two key features of performance and Shows are Connection and Playfulness. links: Nalle's wonderful book the Clown Manifesto Support the show ... Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'l ..read more

This is a celebratory episode along the lines of my previous audio poetic endeavours in episode 21 and 42. This is an epic poem which initially was called The Rime of the Ancient Merrier. Merrier |ˈmerēər| noun (mer•ri•er) 1 one who brings happiness to others. 2 a simple or special person, trad. considered blessed or touched by God. 3 a fool or a clown ORIGIN Old English myrige [pleasing, delightful,] of Germanic origin; related to mirth. This ode to Caliope, (which is both the Muse of epic poetry and a steam organ played along the midway of carnivals) chronicals one lone showman making his W ..read more

In this episode we try something new. Jay Gilligan has listened to my new season about Play & Showmanship and he found that there were several points in the episode  he wanted to know more about. He recorded some snippets with some AI app that he has and he reads me the unedited transcriptions of these and we have a great and DEEP conversation about  the morals of Attention.  How paying close Attention actually shapes what it is - or at the very least your perception of it.  How you are and what you think will bleed through what you do in your act.  How we understa ..read more

In this episode I make one more example of a metaphor of my own making. I believe this to be a particularly fertile example, by which I mean a deep and powerful metaphor.  Using the uncanny similarity of the geometry of triangles with the process of Showmanship. Looking at the two side by side I belive we can get insights into the nature of our Craft of performance that can be hard to picture and grasp only looking at it abstractly. In many ways the geometry of the triangle is like an explanatory illustration demonstrating pictorially what happens when a Showman presents his Material for ..read more

I didn't think it would happen. Not this birtday ramble nor that I would be back in Las Vegas, nor that I would be here with Cirque du Soleil! But I am back on all those fronts and yet again I am humbled by my own lack of ability to accurately predict the unfolding events of my life. BUT I am beyond grateful that it all conspired to be this Way. Support the show ... Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to ga ..read more

I didn't think it would happen. Not this birtday ramble nor that I would be back in Las Vegas, nor that I would be here with Cirque du Soleil! But I am back on all those fronts and yet again I am humbled by my own lack of ability to accurately predict the unfolding events of my life. BUT I am beyond grateful that it all conspired to be this Way. Support the show ... Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to ga ..read more

In this episode I talk about viewing the world through the lens of Showmanship. This is something I say at the beginning of each episode and it is what this podcast is all about. I talk about how to look and what the lens is. So, this episode has as its aim to allow you a clearer idea of what it means and to be able to look at the world in the same way, if you so choose. This is a topic which prepares us for what is about to come, and which sheds light on how I arrive at my ideas and conclusions. Support the show ... Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the be ..read more

In this episode I lay how what Showmanship is, as I see it. If we are to work out what the origins of something is, particularly if the origins lay deep in prehistory, then chances are there has been a great deal of change to the thing. Sometimes so much that it is hard to recognice it. SO, to be able to know what the origins are we must know what the relevant and unchanging elements of the evolving thing we seek to understand. Last episode I talked about the evolutionary history of the whale and how one of the key elements that's used to trace its transformation from land animal to sea animal ..read more

In this episode we start a whole new project. We revert back to the format of the first 60, or so, episodes where I share my own ideas with you. The subject for this 4th season will be Showmanship & Play. Or, how Showmanship is like Play and what we can learn from seeing it as such. links: Here is a link to the whole season of PBS series about evolution. Here is a link to the specific episode about the evolution of whales. Support the show ... Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of yo ..read more

In this conversation we talk further about making choices and how learning to understand why we take the choices we do about what we do on stage we develop clarity of expression which is the foundation stone of a good artist. some of the things we talk about: -Why did you do that? I dont know is not a good enough answer. -Concretise your choices and intentions -We are after a statement of value in your answer - How do we refine our artistic sense of judgement? -Developing a common language amongst teacher and student allows us to express ourselves to each othert. -This must also happen in a ..read more