I like this picture, great clowns/comedians. I also love how Buster Keaton is set apart from the other three. 

I've always been drawn to Keaton more than any of the others from that time. Charlie Chaplin is great. Harold Lloyd is excellent and ofter overlooked Lucille Ball, very funny. But Keaton has always been king to me.

I like how he makes things look simple. You get the impression he's not trying too hard. Clearly, he's doing a lot. But he doesn't always look "busy." The stoneface of Buster Keaton makes the experience both simple and complicated at the same time. Yes, the other clowns like Lucille Ball, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd: they all laugh with you. However, Keaton doesn't laugh. Even when he gets what he wants, you barely see a smile. This contrast is compelling. 

 I also think it speaks to a common theme in clowning. There is often an expectation that clowns are supposed to be perpetually happy and smiling. However, it's not the only way to clown. Too often, I see performers putting too much effort into trying to "look happy." 

Keaton was doing what needed to be done and not much else. Having the blank slate of Keaton's stone face leaves space. In this space, there is the anticipation for the audience to react. It sets up the expectation of the next thing… the fall …the crash,.. the runaway... the slow, sneaky exit.

In my clown work, I've found that this punctuates the specifics that I want to highlight. Far too often, I've seen clowns engage in a style of clowning that looks like a run-on sentence. There are no pauses, no punctuation. But, there is a constant need to be busy. I was in a workshop led by Avner Eisenberg. He talked about watching performers with "happy feet" who were happy and perpetually moving. It's exhausting to watch.

There is power in stillness. Whatever activity you are doing can be punctuated by stillness and silence — contrasting that stillness with a flurry of activity highlights both. With the two of them together, it makes the calm seen that much calmer until the kinetic energy of the movement happens. They complement each other. However, they only complement each other if there was a noticeable difference between the two. That is the uniqueness I see in Buster Keaton. 

I strive to follow this example in my clown work.

 In the hospital clowning it works well when you have a partner who knows how to use this approach. Some of my favorite moments clowning in the hospital have come when I've used that sense of extreme stillness filled with expectation. It can literally have the audience on the edge of their seats or hospital bed. 

It works just as well as a solo performance when you can provide both the stoneface stillness and the kinetic energy. You can do all of these without cracking a smile, just like Keaton.