Chance Meeting with a Clown - Part II
A journey into the life and works of Viveka Olofsson
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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