I recently had a conversation with Ampie Alblas. They are a blogger from Belgium who writes a blog called Collecting Clowns. Ampie was working on a story about a film made in 1916 called “Natural Born Gambler.” This film is unique because it is considered one of the first films directed by a black man, Bert Williams…
Read MoreI've been thinking about representation recently—specifically the representation of Black people in our society. Many people seem to be willing to take an honest look at the role race plays in our culture. I am encouraged by this reckoning. I also have some earned pessimism.
Read MoreRecently this ripple of cultural change has been felt in my professional world. There's been a lot of discussion in the circus and clown world regarding racial issues. Some of our performing/circus organizations function under the presumption that "we performing artists" are not racist.
Read MoreI am taking a walk this morning. I walk through my neighborhood across the campus of Agnes Scott College and into Downtown Decatur. My destination is the courthouse, specifically the site where the Confederate monument once stood…
Read MoreWe are seeing changes in our society regarding black lives matter and racial justice.
The NFL has flip-flopped on its former stance. Four years ago, the league banned Colin Kaepernick from playing in the league. His offense? He dared to protest police treatment of African-Americans peacefully.
Read MoreWe have seen the video of the policemen killing George Floyd. Mr. Floyd was killed in Minnesota in broad daylight by police officers as he was stretched out on his stomach with his hands in handcuffs behind his back. A police officer unnecessarily forced his knee into the back of Mr. Floyd's neck. He died moments later.
Read MoreThat black man in the street just didn’t look right. (Sounds familiar to me.)
Today, I joined many others as we run for Ahmaud. I am one of many people running or walking 2.23 miles
Read MoreOne of my favorite moments when I'm performing as a clown is the…. pause—a moment of stillness before a big reveal.
There is a moment when the tension builds. The clown has been busy working. Will the clown succeed or fail?…
Read MoreYesterday I had two meetings with a bunch of clowns.
It started as a big mess—clowns talking over each other. One clown played the ukulele while another clown played a completely different song on the kazoo. There were lots of missteps as clowns introduced themselves,
Read MoreI shaved my face today.
I was careful not to cut myself. I took the time to focus and made an effort to do the job carefully. This is not unique. I shave on a regular basis. Today, I’m taking the particular note of this because it’s one of the things that is somewhat “normal. “ I did this because I wanted to have something routine. So, I shaved, knowing that I had no plans of going anywhere today….
Read MoreIf you're reading this, thank you.
This blog is where I have come for the past year to express myself. I started it in the winter of 2019. I needed a place to record my thoughts, my ambitions, the things that were turning in my mind. I needed a place to be … me….
Read MoreI wait in stillness for a reply. After a moment, the preteen boy interrupts the pause by speaking.
Read MoreA woman showed me an image on her cell phone. It was an image of an old photo. By old photo, I mean an image many of us remember as a film picture before the days of digital cell phones. As she showed me the photo, she said, “Does this look familiar ?“…
Read More
As I look around the room, I notice that I am the only person of color here. And I am the only man in the room. The place is full of white women and…me…
Read More
We've been in Freeport for a week. Since we've been here, we were able to make some connections in this community. One day we were riding to a show in the back of a truck. As we traveled down the road, we passed a woman who saw us perform in a medical clinic a few days ago. She waved at us and said," Thank you for making me laugh," as we drove away….
Read More
The principal of the school asked for a volunteer. Many hands shot up in the air, eager to be chosen. After a brief survey of the eager hands in the air, the principal picked one. It was a young girl…
Read More
"This is a bumpy road," the girl said. "Yes, it is," I said. "There's also a lot of traffic. Hold on tight". Our taxi made a sharp turn to the left, then turn to the right with more bumps in the road. Then we went up a steep mountain and down that mountain as if it was a roller coaster…
Read More
“She’s crying because you are leaving.” We just finished our show at Mary Star of the Sea Catholic School in Freeport, Bahama. Most of the students were making their way back to the classroom; however, there was one girl who didn’t want the show to end. Her teacher told us that she was upset because it was over…
Read More
The audience arrived minutes after we got to the theater. We set up the space and did the show. We performed the show outside, in front of the theater, because the inside is flooded.
Read More
The show Sunday morning was at a Baptist church. The church is in a rather remote area on the island. It took about fourth five minutes by car to get there. This is a small church with a beautiful view of the ocean outside their front door.
Read More