Sustainability Conversations ... Clowns, Mimes and Magic

There are two kinds of people in this world. People who hate clowns… and clowns. People who bring their own clown to life… and their own imagination into play.

We all know clearly the difference between "reality” and “imagination” In the imagination anything is possible… it is the space charged with the possible. With being a clown for a while we can discover our own archetype within ourselves…. We can find our own ways of being a clown… we are given permission to clown around a bit, to be a child again, to be in a naïve and fragile state, to experience opposites through intensity and amplification.

 

We can experience a metamorphoses… take of our clothes…. Put on our red noses, those outrageous shoes, and the larger-than- life shorts… open ourselves a bit…. Bring out our imagination…listen to our feelings… listen to our bodies… listen to others… improvise… Being a mime or a clown is more than a state. It is a movement, a dynamic process – it is even a two way movement: feet on the ground and head in the clouds. This duality facilitates the emergence of our imagination. 

Let’s keep our feet on the ground. Let’s remain alert to the concrete reality that surrounds us. Smell it… hear it….feel the world touching us…. Experience this anchor of reality… the security of it. This is our invitation to drift further into the absurd… look at the world beyond what we know…move at the edge of two worlds… that of imagination… and reality… 

Experience the feeling of being in a permanent state of instability…. Do not control… when we let go of control we become aware and surprised by the depth that emerges… give ourselves permission to be a non-conformist for a while…take out the clown in the closet… play with rules and social conventions… Just for short while “pretend” not to be the responsible, mature, educated and intelligent (which we all are of course!) person… allow ourselves just for a minute a two to become an unruly spirit prone to excesses and a keen explorer of the edges of things…rid yourself of dogma… find a new direction… move forward… exceed the speed of light. Is this the real world?
 
Is this just fantasy? 

The only teacher I had who truly inspired me was my Geography teacher in High School, Jacques Marais. He was a great teacher, a magician and the best juggler in South Africa at the time. Jacques Marais later left teaching and joined the circus to live his dream. This week we pay tribute to this remarkable man on the iStart2 Show.

Colin Underwood, a corporate magician based in Johannesburg has over 35 years' experience, has entertained all over the world with literally thousands of performances as a comedy magician, a juggler and as character entertainer. Colin is considered by many to be the African continent's premier corporate magician.

We chat to Colin about his career, sustainability through Magic and pay tribute to Jacques Marais on the iStart2 Show this week. Magic not to be missed!

Keitu Gwangwa & Pierre du Toit host the iStart2 Show on Thursdays at 17h30. Radio Today broadcasts on 1485 MW (AM) in greater Johannesburg and countrywide on ‪#‎DStv‬ audio channel 869.

 
Radio Today also streams globally on www.1485.org.za. 

Send in the mimes ... and the clowns.