All is well that ends well.

I had a Cirque du Soleil audition yesterday and totally screwed up. I showed them nothing of what I could do. I went in a direction that was like the first clown improve I ever did. I went poetic and not physical. I totally sabotaged myself. But then, being bummed out at being cut in the afternoon, as I was biking home I realized it was all for the best.

What if I had delivered, and had been chosen. A huge dilemma would have ensued. Do I give up my artistic and personal development, all of my freedoms, the perfect clown job I have in hospitals and retirement homes, my condo, my projects, quality time with my wife and soon to be two kids, etc, to go do a very restricted mime role in the big corporate machine?

Rejection is always tough but I'm glad they made the decision for me. Maybe I'll audition again someday, when I retire...

Two first times...

My clown partner and I are walking down the hospital corridor and we enter a room where a 15 year old, poly-handicapped teen is sitting in his wheelchair. His father is there. They seem to be from the middle east. We start a chant and music, I use his wheelchair and then his body for percussion. The boy starts laughing, the dad starts crying. The more the boy laughs, the more the dad cries. We finish our intervention, say goodbye and leave. As we exit the next room, I hear the father talking to another parent across the hall and he says "It's the first time I hear my son laughing..."

Woah...

The next day, 2 nurses come chasing us down the hall to come meet their patient. Another poly-handicapped teen who is a regular in this ward. The nurses give us a hint about the boy's "girlfriend". The teen cannot communicate with words, mostly grunts and pure emotions. So the clowns get into this improv about the female clown, my partner, trying to seduce this teen to become his "new girlfriend". I suggest singing, dancing, massaging... to which my partner says yes, doing things very chaotically. There is a huge build-up and the teen is laughing hysterically. We say good-bye and as we are leaving, I overhear the nurses say, "I've never heard him laugh before..."

Nice.

Video summary of South Africa

I know it's been a little while but the year has been hectic. Naïa Leigh is already going to be a year in a month.
I still love what I do and as a result, great things are happening. My clown trio, Les 3 Garcons, are appearing on a tv show tonight. "En route Vers Mon Premier Gala Juste Pour Rire" is a tv show where stand-up comedians and variety troupes perform and the public votes for their favorite. Last man or troupe standing gets to perform at the Just For Laughs Gala this summer.
In the last year I've been to two Native Communities here in Quebec to hold 2 weeks of workshops. The Innus and the Crees. My family was able to follow me and it was an incredible experience.
Dr Clown still fulfills me. I love working with sick children and adults and old people in retirement homes. My entries will mostly deal with these. After 4 years experience I have many wonderful and sad stories to share and they keep accumulating every day.


For now, here is a little video montage to recap my mission in South Africa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XOCY1FOBAA