A Magician; A Clown; A Protégé
I think all teachers are really just frustrated performers. After all, that's essentially what we do when the classroom doors are closed-perform for our students. So, if I were to admit to being a frustrated performer, it would come as no surprise that I envy the real thing-so much so that I never get enough of stories like the ones that follow here. Any way, this month, I am rounding out the Fellow Performers mini-series with three folks-two accomplished performers and a neophyte. After reading each of their interviews, I think you'll see that they have a lot to relate. Carl Wilson, of course, has appeared within these pages before. He's been a close acquaintance of mine now for about five years and through him, I've come to appreciate the art of magic and sleight-of-hand like never before. Eli and Ginger I very much hope to meet someday soon. I've included Ginger here, because I thought it might be fun to see how Charlie still plays a role in the creative lives of the very young. I think Ginger's story gives us just that sort of perspective. And Eli's story is especially appropriate in that he is a clown. Charlie's influence on his work is palpable-and, therefore, especially compelling.
A
Magician: Carl Lane Wilson
Bio: Carl was born and raised in
Michigan where he performed his first magic show
at the age of eight with his father
at a Christmas party. His family moved
to California when he was 12 and it
was there at the age of 13 that he got
into mime and improvisational acting.
By the time he was 15, his love for
magic resurfaced, so he spent much of
his free time practicing sleight of
hand. Being a magician fulfilled all
of his needs as a performer; there is
magic, astonishment, acting, entertainment
and no script to assist with any of
that. In 1988, when he was 18, he made
his professional debut at the now long-gone
Magic Island in Newport Beach, CA. Today,
he has a very busy schedule, from working
for agents and corporate events to being
the Disneyland Resort's primary magician
subcontractor. The magic keeps happening.
A Clown: Eli Echevarria
Bio: Eli began his career as a
Chaplin impersonator in 1992 and slowly evolved
into becoming a full time professional
clown. He is the author of two instructional
books on the art of balloon twisting,
has won many awards for his make-up,
costuming and performance skills and
has been on the teaching staff at dozens
of clown and magic conventions, workshops,
and seminars. For more information,
see www.clowningbybuster.com.
A Protégé: Ginger
Parsons
Bio: Ginger is 16 years old and has been involved with community theater
and high school drama since she was
14. In one instance, she played Fritzi
Bonwit in the Community Theater Production
of M*A*S*H. She is also active in the
local Improv group. Ginger enjoys being
on stage as well as working backstage
with sets, props and lighting. Recently,
she had the pleasure of meeting Dan
Kamin during a workshop and was deeply
inspired by him; she felt it was like
meeting a soul-mate. In her spare time,
she designs and maintains a website
and blog dedicated to Charlie Chaplin
and other comics. It is her desire that
others will come to appreciate their
contribution to the comedic films of
today as she has. She hopes one day
to be able to pass along what she has
learned and to keep Charlie Chaplin's
dreams alive. See Ginger's webpage at
www.2ndstorylaughter.com.
Describe your first encounter
with a Chaplin film and why you think
you connected with it.
Carl: My First encounter with Chaplin was in 1978, when I was eight years old. It was at a pizza joint in Okemos, Michigan called The Roaring 20's. The restaurant featured 15-foot tall posters of silent movie stars. One of those was the picture of Charlie in which he is sitting on a bamboo chair, his chin resting on his cane, looking rather soulful. I was immediately captivated and couldn't take my eyes off of him. Why was this friendly looking man so sad?
I asked my mom, "Who is that?" Her reply was "Charlie Chaplin."
When I was 14 years old, picking through the school library, I ran across Chaplin the Movies and Charlie and that moment from 1978 came back to me in an instant. I checked it out and read and re-read it. Its synopses of so many of Chaplin's films and its presentation of the picture of him sadly playing his violin from The Vagabond made me want to see any film of his in the worst way and only intensified my interest in him.
Eli: My first connection
with Chaplin was not with a film but
with the documentary Unknown Chaplin.
I was 12 or 13 years old when it first
aired back in the late 1980's, and I
decided to watch it on a whim. Needless
to say, I was completely blown away
by what I saw. I then found a copy of
Chaplin's autobiography and David Robinson's
Chaplin: His Life and Art,
and devoured both texts. I continued
to find books and was becoming more
and more of a self-titled teenage Chaplin
expert, yet I still had not seen any
of the films, as they were not exactly
available at the video store and were
never shown on television. All of that
changed when a teacher at my high school
learned of my obsession and handed me
his personal copy of The Circus.
The film exceeded my expectations and
I was instantly hooked. From the first
gag with Chaplin stealing bites from
a child's hot dog to the immortal final
shot, the film (still my favorite) touched
me in a way that I had never been touched
before. Being 13 years old and having
something this special that I knew most
kids my age would never
have made me feel like I had received
some kind of special gift. It's a feeling
I will never forget.
Ginger: One day I saw
a Chaplin clip that my teacher showed
the class. That was when I was first introduced
to slapstick. Something about the sense
of humor just seemed to be so honest and
innocent. I just couldn't get enough of
it. I researched it and downloaded all
I could find off the Internet. The music
of his era is elegant and beautiful as
well.
How specifically would you say that Charlie influences your craft? In other words, would you say there are moments in your performances that you could trace back directly to Charlie and if so, what are they?
Carl: I never connected Charlie to my performing until I had been doing it for several years. In my youthful exuberance, it was all about non-stop action and dialogue. Studying Chaplin, however, reminded me of certain things. Saying words without using words--it's all in the facial expressions and movements of the body. When I slowed down and realized that more could be conveyed without words at the proper moment, I became stronger as a performer.
Although we don't know a lot about
Charlie's working methods, I fancy that
since he was directing and acting at
the same time, the first time he glanced
at Rollie behind the camera to convey
something to him came out on the rushes
like he was looking directly into the
camera. It's just a guess, but I think
that when he saw that moment, it was
so funny that he continued to do it
throughout his career. His rant at Jack
Oakie during the filming of The
Great Dictator of "? just look
into the camera, that'll get them,"
was all too true because he knew it
worked from experience. I bring this
up because of that glance; I use it.
It works. The stillness, the silence--that
works too. I owe that to Charlie.
Eli: My clowning is
directly influenced by the Tramp. The
physical appearance of my tramp character
Buster (named after Charlie's silent-era
rival), is obviously influenced by Chaplin,
but the actual character was very purposely
based on Chaplin's description of the
Tramp in his autobiography: "a gentleman,
a poet, a dreamer, hopeful of romance
and adventure-but not above robbing
a baby of its candy or kicking a lady
in the rear." I like to think of it
as "Clowning with an Attitude", where
on one side you see the sweet and romantic
sad-faced clown, but at any second he
can snap and do something completely
unexpected.
When I perform, the Tramp is always with me. Although I am not consciously doing a Chaplin impersonation, anyone who knows what to look for will notice the manner in which I hold my hands high up on my sides with my fingers pointed downward, or the manner in which I innocently put the fingers of my left hand up to my mouth, or my overly confident "ta-da" bow after I perform a routine (ala The Pilgrim sermon or the tight rope practicing in The Circus), or when I break the very important clown performance rule and turn my back to the audience in hopes of conveying emotion without the use of my face.
Ginger: Watching the
Charlie Chaplin videos has definitely
helped me with my improv skills. He
has definite eye movements, hand movements,
and coordination between the two that
is unmatched. I have spent hours studying
them. He can make something unfunny
seem hysterical with just a gesture.
When I am performing improv with friends,
I have found myself thinking, "What
would Charlie do here," or "Charlie
would think logically here and still
get a laugh." Then I try to act accordingly.
Dan Kamin said an interesting thing in my interview with him last month and it has started me thinking. He said that he generally "bores" his friends to death with Charlie. Do you feel that Charlie and his work are generally an acquired taste, limited to a small amount of loyal admirers? If so, do you think of your work at all as slightly evangelical? Ginger, especially you, as such a young person, how do you talk to your friends about Charlie and his work?
Carl: Silent movies are so foreign to today's generation that it goes without saying that Charlie and silent movies on the whole are an acquired taste. In modern entertainment, everything is handed to you and nothing is left to the imagination. We become conditioned to it and something gets lost. If silent movies were shown in classrooms as an exercise in paying attention, I think that there would be a huge interest in these classics in adulthood. Being acutely aware of this, I don't shove Charlie at anyone. I find that the longer I know people and the more they become aware of my interests, eventually they will sit through a Chaplin film. And for everyone that has done so, they have become a fan. I dated my wife for two years and was married to her for a year before I took her to a Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra screening of City Lights. That was her first time to sit through an entire full-length Chaplin film, and she has been a fan ever since.
Eli: If Chaplin's work is limited to a small amount of loyal admirers, it's because the films (at least here in America) are not shown. I have shown at least one Chaplin film to just about everyone that I know well, and they have all loved the films. Last summer I went to a local Chaplin festival where they showed several of the Mutual comedies and the audience, which was made up mostly of kids, devoured the films. The few opportunities that I have had to see Chaplin films on the big screen with a live audience has proven to me that I am not alone in this world. A good film is a good film and it makes no difference what year it was made. I honestly believe that if Chaplin was as exposed as say perhaps the Three Stooges are, we wouldn't be talking about this very topic.
Ginger:
It is so funny that you say that. My friends
have generally gotten used to it. I have
made custom Charlie Chaplin shirts. My
cell phone has Charlie Chaplin wallpaper
and a Charlie Chaplin ringtone. When I
have a sleep-over I play silent films.
My father came in one time and made me
turn them off, because he said I was "boring"
my friends to death, but said they were
too polite to tell me. I put up posters
all over town about my website trying
to get everyone to become interested in
Charlie Chaplin, as well as other comics
on my website. I find it hard to understand
that everyone doesn't just love him as
I do. I just feel that they haven't seen
enough of his work!
Carl: What Charlie is saying here, is that he loved Charlie the character. It is obvious from Charlie's relentless pursuit of visual perfection, that he must have been very comfortable watching himself on film. The results were fantastic. Since I am not on film all the time, there is often a gap between my experience and that of the audience. I had myself filmed doing a routine a couple years ago and I was blown away by what the audience was seeing from the "other side of the deck." I loved what I was doing. When I am not being "the magician," I am a fairly reserved fellow. From first hand experience, narcissistic behavior is a turn-off to an audience and to friends in private. I try to always be aware of that line between narcissism and what comes out of my personality during the required self-confidence of being a magician.
I feel so privileged to be
able to do what I do, that I
try not to stick it in other
people's faces. Inspiring envy
in others is not something I
like or want to do. But, reflecting
on Charlie's statement, I must
agree that I do love taking
on a magician's persona. It
allows me to give an audience
an experience that I love. There
is a certain amount of self-love
involved in being a magician;
it allows me to step outside
of my everyday character and
become a miracle maker. I will
do it until my fingers don't
work anymore.Eli: There is truth in Charlie's statement. As arrogant as it may sound, I won't lie that it gives me great pleasure in knowing that I do my job as a clown extremely well. When I hear the genuine laughter and applause from my audience, at that moment I love the fact that I'm a clown...a good clown, and I love that I am the one providing this "release" for the audience.
Ginger: I must say that I was quite shy as an actress to begin with, but I have come out of my shell, so to speak, since I have been studying so many of Charlie Chaplin's films. I have come to see now that if I like what I'm doing, then the people around me will like it.
Charlie at times is reported to have given up friends, wives, and even respect and popularity for his artistic vision. Can you talk about a time when you had to give up something or someone you loved in order to pursue your art? Do you regret the decision?
Carl: Depending on the performing arts for a living can be a bit challenging. My biggest obstacles come when I find myself having to accept work on risky days, like anniversaries, family get-togethers, birthdays, scheduled vacations, etc. Has it damaged some relationships? I would be lying to say that it hasn't. But would I give up a relationship for it? Most likely not. This is where Charlie's seeming disconnect between himself and his loved ones may have caused him the most trouble in his private life. One must be cognizant of other people's feelings and know when to stop. I do my best to state my case, but if I thought it would cause permanent damage, I wouldn't take the job. My love of family is stronger than my love of audience.
Eli: I am happy to report
that I have been one of the lucky ones
in that regard. From as far back as I
can remember, I have had the great fortune
of being with people who have always supported
me and my artistic and creative decisions.
With the exception of countless hours
of sleep, I do not think that I have had
to give up anything in my pursuits of
becoming the very best clown that I can.
Ginger: I can say
that when I first started drama that it
was not the most popular choice for teens
as an elective. However, with the addition
of our current drama teacher, it has become
one of the most popular and in-demand
classes at our school. When I first started
high school, drama was a department that
was mocked; people got picked on for being
in it. I had my ups and downs and had
second thoughts. On one hand I didn't
want to be picked on, but on the other
hand I wanted to do something I enjoyed.
I stuck with it and about three days after
I made my decision to stay in, I watched
my first Chaplin clip! It changed my life.