Chance Meeting with a Clown - Part II

 

A journey into the life and works of Viveka Olofsson

[Continued from Part I]

Have you a count of all your gigs? Seriously??!!

Yes, every gig is well-documented. My daughter says the new generation cannot read my handwriting, it is so bad! I did over 100 gigs in some years, in 1990 for example.

One is nervous before every performance; you have the energy going, people start flocking, you start your show and then you forget about everything else and just perform your act. When the act ends, only then you get back to your attentive state. People come and hug you; you feel happy. During the performance act – as a clown – you must make every small act believable. The best part is – it is a new experience every time. You never get into a routine! You should never!


How do you keep yourself updated? Reading books, watching theaters, films, other performances?

Oh yes, most definitely. I read a lot. I need to connect to what is going on around me. To understand different themes – some of those which I had to conceive as part of an assignment – I needed to use many tricks. I remember the gig I did in Germany where I used the theme of breaking the walls between the two old parts of the country. I am a curious consumer!




Who does the screenplay? Who writes the act?

I do that. I think first, write the plot. The script comes later, much later.

 

Controversies with your acts……

Yes, it has happened sometimes, with Church. They have always welcomed me; however, some people who did not know what a clown could do in Church had reservations. Those people ultimately went to the press to object to my acts.

You know I grew up with my grandparents and other family members who were all belonging to the Swedish Lutheran Church (Svensk Kyrkan). Also, I had a special book to inspire me here: The Feast of Fools – a theological essay about feast and fantasy, by Harvey Cox. In the end, I did not mind! (smiles)


How have you seen yourself grow over the years?

Learning from my professor at theater school was the first highpoint. Mario Gonzalez (from Guatemala and Paris) was the guest professor at Teaterhögskolan i Malmö around 1995. I wanted to work with him after I saw him perform and direct. I learnt breathing tactics, eye contact, and waiting for 3 seconds before I answer. These techniques helped me how to look at and connect with audience. You keep meeting people, keep learning new things.

I must say one thing – we were not that many women in this field. I wish there would be more. Some male clowns did have some problems in the beginning accepting me. I never thought being a female clown could be difficult. I can mention about the clown festival in Stockholm that took place in the year 1990. Clownen Manne was one the organizers. Mostly male and a few female clowns were performing there. The male artists kind of competed to show up who the funniest was. We were not impressed at all and we rather wanted another kind of talk about developing clown art together. The talks finally took a strange turn – would you believe they commented that apparently, anti-hero was possible, but anti-heroine was a “witch”! This incident made me grow to a new height, completely new.




What happened then?

Oh, the rest was history. We, the women clowns understood that to be able to develop clown-work we had ideas about, we had to organize thoroughly and on paper. We were 8 and we formed a board etc. In 1991 we started CLOWNDONNORNA to be able to seek money for learning from others in other countries. We went to visit a Danish festival, ”Woman – the comic soul”, in Aarhus. We organized our own “Clown in Women” festival in Malmö and Stockholm in 1992. One member engaged with a famous female Mime Clown from England, Nola Rae, and went on to direct a clown theater. The play was based on the Garcia Lorca drama, ”The House of Bernarda”. The press was all over, and it was greatly appreciated. It fetched many awards too.

And from now on we never heard a talk of anti-heroine being a “witch”! (Sigh of relief)

 

A long carrier, satisfied with the way the country remembers you?…….how do you feel?

I am more than satisfied, I am happy. As a performance artist, you want to be seen. You want to be appreciated by society. You want your parents to feel proud of you.

Before I got retired as Art Director for CLOWNRONDEN in Dec 2010, I was surprised to get a medal from his Majesty the King. It was June 2010 at the castle in Stockholm. That was really something special and I am so grateful!

But all this does not mean that I can just give away my humility and creativity. I am still as curious as in the beginning.



The world has a seen a huge change in these 4 decades …..what worries you the most today?

I am worried about the increase in nationalism and to some extent, the untouchability towards other cultures. But when I see the youngsters, I feel hopeful. The new generation is made of globally aware people. Do not cut yourself from the rest – it does not work!

Some people use clown as a bad word for politicians. Sometimes, they make an evil picture of clowns. I feel sad then.

My idol has been Charlie Chaplin – my guru, my all-time mentor. Besides, there were others, they had the heart, the connect and the grounding to the reality. They had the time to think and create. I miss them. Not sure how I would have started if it were all over again.


Parting words……

I can say one more thing which you had not asked! It is particularly important for me – my life as a hospital clown. What I am mostly proud of is the developing and professionalizing the work of a Hospital Clown/Clown Doctors in Sweden. Our group in Malmö/ Skåne, CLOWNRONDEN, was the first in Sweden with professional and monthly paid hospital clowns and we were also the first group collaborating with other smaller groups of clowns popping up in Sweden hospitals. The idea was to have education and conferences together and to meet hospital clowns from other parts of the world, like USA, France & Germany.

The spotlight was not entertainment, it was communication and interaction. The patients that needed to laugh, the people that were in a grim situation – we worked with them and for them. The staff needed that help too. We got information about patients and what therapy they were going through. In an incredibly soft way, we dealt with their sorrows. We organized small acts, took care of the administrative tasks, and worked with them to heal them.

Now the baton has passed on to newer people………hope all of us together can create a better world!


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