Nov_Dec_1998

November/December, 1998
character or skills, the comparing of one clown to another,
and the awarding of prizes without recognition of merit.
In taking a step back.we were able to ask ourselves
some basic questions that ultimately would serve as the
basis, foundation, and philosophy for a brand new
competition format. Those questions:
+ What Is a clown?
+ What should be the goals of clown
competition?
The first question was answered with this definition:
A unique, comical character who uses appearance,
actions, and skills to entertain and make people laugh.
By Mike "Buster" Bednarek
P.O.Box 364
Salem, OR 97308
In an article titled "Take a whack at it" in the last issue of
The New Calliope, I introduced the first two concepts on
creativity from the book A Whack on the Side of the
Head (New York:Warner Books, 1990) by Roger von
Oech. In the book von Oech describes 10 "mental locks"
that inhibit our creativity, and what we can do to overcome
them.
The two ideas covered in that article were:
+ Look for more than one right answer.
+ Use both phases of the creative process:
Imaginative and practical.
Assume the creative position, ·cause here come more
whacks :
CHALLENGE ALL RULES. Pablo Picasso said,
"Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction." A
good way to drive our creativity is to challenge the rules.
Over time, many of the rules we've attached to our
thinking become blind assumptions. And it's difficult to be
innovative if you're following blind (and outdated)
assumptions. What can you do? Challenge every rule
(except this one).
A great example of this in action is the change occurring
in competition rules. The Rose City Clown Alley.along with
alley leaders from all over the Northwest (and the COAi
Board) took quite a leap of faith in 1997. Collectively, our
clown community took a step back from existing clown
competition rules -- rules which called for makeup
competition emphasizing beauty contest aspects without
We decided that when we looked at other clowns and
ourselves to assess "how good a clown" they or we were,
we would examine the complete clown: How the clown
looks .how the clown acts, what the clown does.
The second question was answered by realizing that it
was time to turn the focus of competition inward and focus
on becoming better, more complete clowns. In that spirit,
three new goals tor competition were adopted:
+ Advance the art and craft of clowning.
+ Recognize and reward excellence In
clown Ing.
+ Make It a positive learning experience for
all Involved: Performers, audience, coaches.
And look what happened when we challenged the
rules ... we made red nose history.
CULTIVATE YOUR IMAGINATION. You can get
into an imaginative mindset by asking "what if' questions
that end with a condition, idea, or situation different from
the ordinary or usual. Some examples:
What if I
made music with
an apple?
What if I wore
my glasses
backwards?
What if I was
eight years old?
What if Mr.
Bean was doing
this?
The next
step is to answer
22 The New Calliope