Dive into the complete episode list for the Way of the Showman. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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1–50 of 136
Pub. Date
Title
Duration
08 Feb 2022
42 - the Way and the Universe - Poetic Mind Expansion
00:53:12
To celebrate that we have reched the magical and intensly meaningful number 42 broadcasts here on the carnival underground I have put together a special sonic treat for you all. I have written a poetic exploration encompassing the dawn of time and all the way up until to day seen through the lense of Showmahship. This is a humble, no doubt flawed and incomplete attempt at developing the mythopetic space of Showmanship. I have written and played all the music and created all the soundscapes used in this episode.
I hope you like it.
If you want to help suport this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on itunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
08 Mar 2022
44 - the One who Faces the Other Way - the Way 17
01:10:02
This episode gets to the core of who the Showman is. One who Face Others. From this simple starting point in a picture of Many looking at one, and the One looking back we touch on topics such as stage fright, practicing with mirrors and with video, on how something has to be seen or experienced by a human being to be art at all, how a meeting can transcend a Face to Face and become a Heart to Heart dialogue, and how you Face the World literally shapes, and brings forth the world you are facing. This is a long episode, because its a powerful and deep episode with a lot of good stuff to blow your mind.
If you want to help suport this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on itunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
22 Mar 2022
45 - Looking with Cooperative Eyes - theWay 18
00:28:05
Today we take a look at eyes. Why does our eyes look the way they look? What can this tell us about our ancestors evolutionary past, and thus about human nature?
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can support the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
05 Apr 2022
46 - Our Responsibility - theWay 19
00:37:12
Do we have a greater responsibility as performers? Once we get the Attention from our Audiences have we got a role to play in making the world a better place? Because we can. We can make our shows count by following one simple rule. This is the topic of today.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
19 Apr 2022
47 - Understanding the Audience - theWay 20
00:55:06
Today we move the focus of our explorations to the next pillar of Showmanship, namely the Audience. The last many episodes has been exploring the idea of the Showman, ot the One who Faces the Other Way, but now the lense is pointed squarely at the ones who we stand before. We talk about the generous position it is to be an audience. We might think that all they do is passively reveice, but that is not the case. To be an audience is to open yourself up to another. We look at some of the implications of this perspective.
Here's a link to the Clown Truth essay from Masters of Magic that I talk about in the introduction. ...
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
03 May 2022
48 - Check Your Attitude - theWay 21
00:59:48
What's your relationship to the Audinence? Have you considered that as a thing in itself? Something that can be worked on and cultivated? Also, have you considered how this relationship goes both ways? That you can create a mirroring in your relationship between the feelings you have for the Audience being mirrored back at you? These are the topic I raise in this episode through some stories from my career as a Showman.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
18 May 2022
49 - Reverence and Relationships - theWay 22
00:39:02
What kind of emotions and attitudes do you nurture for your Audience? How powerful would you say your feelings are? How does this affect your performance?
In this episodee I share some stories of how I arrived at my own personal attitudes. And explore in some detail how and why the personal feelings we have can benefit directly on the decisions we take in creation and the style we have as performers as well as in the way our Audience experience us.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
31 May 2022
50 - Art OR Entertainment? - theWay 23
00:37:10
There is a hidden move made in the popular imagination in regards to the relationship between work and what we do in our leisure time. This links up to the value judgment which lies implicit in how the world sees Art and Entertainment. From there I sketch out a key difference between art and entertainment. To properly understand this helps the Way we look at what we circus performers, sideshow freaks, and performance artists do.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
14 Jun 2022
51 - the Art of Entertainment - theWay 24
00:36:57
I work my way to an expanded idea of what Entertainment is. By further examinations on the idea that entertainment has "enjoyment for the Audience" as a necesity in its definition. I find this to be a valuable concept to understand what I do personally but also as a fundamental aspect of what we as artists delivering art on varying parts of the entertainment spectrum.
"Entertainment is anything which allows the audience to effortlessly pay attention. This all means that whether something can be defined as entertainment is dependent on the Audience’s experience of it. This places no restrictions on what you do, only how it is perceived and experienced by those watching the show. In this sense entertainment is a kind of limitation placed not on the material or content of the performance but on the on the nature of the Audience response. Art on the other hand is not affected by the response it gets from an Audience."
...
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
28 Jun 2022
52 - Foreplay at the Theatre - theWay 25
00:56:19
Today we use a section of Goethe's faust as a lens through which to view our noble craft. I believe there is a suprisingly deep mataphorical connection between this monumental book from literature and what we do as performers. Although we start in the highbrow world of literature we end with one of the most practical application of esoteric exploration we have had along the way.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
12 Jul 2022
53 - Understanding Attention - theWay 26
00:41:09
This episode explores the supremely important phenomena of Attention. This faculty lies at the core of what a performer does. For at its most fundamental what a performer does is to manipulate time and Attention. We are given some Attention by an Audience and what we do with their attention through the time that it is given to us is all we can do. First I try to paint a picture of what Attention is then we expand our understanding by looking at Attention like three different kinds of light.
This is all very important for us showfolk, and for those that still remembers, or have taken into their daily work on the Craft of performing, from episode 35 on the Anatomy of Showmanship Attention is one of the four foundational elements that makes up Showmanship.
Links:
James William - expert on attention not to be confused with William James - which was an american philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first exucator to offer a psychology course in the United States. A supremely interesting thinker, but not immidieately relevant to this episode.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
26 Jul 2022
54 - Attention Creates Your Reality - theWay 27
00:49:18
This episode explores the moral implications of Attention on us showfolk, it also delves into how Showmanship is present in monkeys and the great apes, it explains how Attention allows oddballs and how individuals that might appear to be evolutionary dead ends can climb the ladder of social hierarchies.
Most importantly this episode expands the concept of Attention to give a better understanding of how important it is in Showmanship. To the attentive performer Attention is really the cash value of what performance is about. I try to show that by pointing out that it is Attention which infact determines you entire reality and how it is what makes your life and your relationships meaningful.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
06 Sep 2022
57 - the Murder of Mystery - A Showman's Guild Story
00:18:47
This episode ventures into a terrain we've not explored before. I will recount two stories, one is more of a prose poem, and one a more traditional story. Both have been lingering in the Carnival Chronicles of my Craft diaries for the longest time. The Murder of Mystery was written in 2010 and the first piece in the intro, called the Soul of the Carnival was written late 2008.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
09 Aug 2022
55 - A One Man Circus, a conversation about creation with Morgan James
02:21:47
In this episode I talk to Morgan James about our collaborative process in creating his, now, multi-award winning show A One Man Circus. I have had the pleasure of hanging virtually with this driven and entrepeneurial showman for the last year and I had a lot of fun exploring and revisiting some of the insights and the ways we arrived at the decisions taken in creating a one hour family show. It's a solo performance as the title points out, yet there is more than one character appearing in the show. If that is surprising to the audinence, they're not nearly as surprised as I, or we, were when another character emerged in the process.
The regular episodes of season 2 are about the philosophy behind a way of looking at performance. In episode 41 where I talked to Jay Gilligan and episode 23 where I talked to myself and now this episode with Morgan I find there are patterns and techniques emerging and becoming visible on how the philosophical ideas and the Way manifests itself in the world.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
23 Aug 2022
56 - Curator of Time and Attention - theWay 28
00:38:08
This episode celebrates how great it is to work in a circus with other showfolk. Then I go on to explore what can be said to be the shared activity of all performers, what is it that a poet, a juggler, a dancer, and a teacher all have do? What part of what they do is the bit that unites them all into the sphere of the Showman archetype?
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
10 Jan 2023
66 - Understanding Skill Based Acts - Conversations With Jay Gilligan
01:54:16
In this episode I attempt to get a better understanding of what a skill based act is. To do so I engage my good friend and conversational partner Jay Gilligan who is an absolute expert on this topic. How do skill based acts differ from talking acts, musical acts, or is perhaps the distinctions arbitrary? Wheter they are different in a fundamental or ontological way is perhaps not the most important question rather to try to grasp certain aspects of Material. Clowns, musicians, a strongwoman and a tightwire walker all have different expressions and today we are trying to grasp what skills mean in all of kinds of Material.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
20 Sep 2022
58 - Transforming Your Audience's Attention - 29 theWay
00:39:46
In this episode we talk about how to make your Audience get more out of your performance. We talk about how important it is to not just to pop balloons and put stuff on fire for your whole show, but to transform the shock of Attention into something the Audience is more involved in. This is the transformation of Attention into interest. I go on to show how this can be used as a real practical tool for improving all aspects of a performance.
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
04 Oct 2022
59 - Transforming Time into Showtime. - theWay 30
00:46:47
This episode starts by giving a practical example of how to use the three stages of Attention/Inerest we explored last episode. Its a blow by blow description of my Tennis Racket act to illustrate how the stages of Attention can be found and also how they organically weave in an out. Then I talk about the emergence of Showtime. We are remined of this use of the word and concept of Showtime from the Illuminated Showman's Manifesto and through that we learn that the ancient Greeks already named the two kinds of time. Chronos and Kairos. This is some real good and useful stuff for understanding how interconncted and meaningful the process of Showmanship is.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
18 Oct 2022
60 - the Show: a Creation Story - theWay 31
00:31:00
We are moving into the realm of Shows, the fourth and final element of Showmanship. Shows are what Showfolk does. It is the doing which makes someone a Showman, it is the axel upon which all turns. To show how deep it is and important it is in the "mythology" of Showmanship I take a stanca from the Illuminated Showman's Manifesto about "the Showman on the market square creating a universe," and look at it next to the origin myth of my norwegian viking ancestors. Depth is interconnection. To experience something as deep is to see in it many connections to many things, the more something is networked into environment, and many thought structures and emotions the deeper we experience something to be. In my life doing shows has been one of the most fundamental and continuing things. The people I'm with, the places I reside, the journeys I make, the things I read, the things that excite me have changed, but along my Way through life, Shows have been a constant. They are deeply interwoven with my experience and idea of myself and my identity. It's this depth of connection to me I want to convery by making the creation of a show paralell with the creationg of the universe.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
01 Nov 2022
61 - Exclusively Human? - theWay 32
00:57:02
Are Shows exlusively human phenomena? Are the artful creations of other animals the same as what we human's think of as art? and is the artful behaviour of animals related to, as in the actual evolutionary antecedent of human art?
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
27 Dec 2022
65 - Jay Gilligan & Frodo - Reflections on Realising REFLEX
02:08:19
In this episode I get into a conversation with Jay Gilligan about the process of taking a show from idea to reality. It is very different to sit around and talk on facetime or messenger and shape and create a show, its very different when you pack all of your stuff into forteen suitcases and then have to get yourself to the airport and fly from Sweden to America. This and so much more we get into in this conversation abour converting dreams, hopes and imagination into reality.
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If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
15 Nov 2022
62 - the Showman's Two Homes - theWay33
00:29:43
In todays episode we get reaquainted with the two homes which any true performer and Showman inhabits. For the Showman lives his life in the Outer Geography but much of what he does there is planning and scheming and preparing the Acts and Material which will allow him to get to his ellusive and hard to get to second home...
links:
here is a very cool show featuring Mortenn - its in Danish, but flip on the subtitles and enjoy his very sweet and particular kind of crazy.
This is a showreel for Nick Difatte who had me laughing so hard I cried! Not only funny but such a great guy to hang out with!
This is a link to a show with Charlie Caper and Malin Nilsson. It's not Minor Miracles, but a streamed 40 min show wich aired during the pandemic. This will at least give you the flavour of their brand of magic.
and here is a link to a cool little short film with Mario the Maker Magician and his robot friend Mr Lamp. ...
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
29 Nov 2022
63 - Shows Made us Human - theWay 34
00:48:28
This is a rebuttal to all those who think art is something which is not necesarry. That it is something which we can do without. In one sense they migth be right. You can live without art, survivive, but can you thrive? I don't think so. And I don't think we would have gotten to where we are now, meaning I don't think we would have become humans without Shows, without showing, without art.
...
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
13 Dec 2022
64 - Creating New Realities - theWay 35
00:52:33
In this episode I have a conversation with myself about shows as authentic dialogic creations. By looking at what a dialogue is and about what happens when we engage in a real conversation I believe we can glean some valuable insights that can be powerful when used in our Shows.
"Only by connecting with another person, face to face, and by wholeheartedly engaging with ideas, by asking the questions that arise in you as the idea develops in concert between the dialoguing parties can living truth be arrived at."
...
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
24 Jan 2023
67 - the Ingredients of Comedy pt 1 - a Conversation with Gareth Bjaaland
00:54:26
Finally we are getting a brand new voice on this podcast and what a voice it is. Gareth Bjaaland is a wonderful Showman. An acrobat, icarian games, juggling, all round really funny and generous performer. The reason we got into a conversation was Gareth's project of creating a list of the 12 Ingredients of Comedy. This was such an interesting exploration that the conversation went long, so I have divided it up into three parts. This being the introduction we meet and get to know Gareth, we learn about his genius solution to what a performer does when they have to tour but also have a family, and we get an introduction of the project of making a map of comedy.
I had such a great time talking to Gareth, or Cecil Pitt as he is also known as the pater fimilas of the wonderful show The Pitt's Family Circus. Here's a cool little video showing them in action. It is beyond cute.
...
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
07 Feb 2023
68 - the Ingredients of Comedy pt 2 The First Ingredients - with Gareth Bjaaland
01:03:51
In this episode we jump into the first of the ingredients, or joke structures and themes from Gareth Bjaaland bold and exciting attempt to reign in comedy's seemingly endless and chaotic scope. I am so into projects like this. It's valuable and useful practically as a tool to improve our craft, like getting more and varied laughs in our shows, but further its a beautiful example of deepenings one's relationship to the Craft of Showmanship. To go through such a detail and indepth process as Gareth has done is a great example that there is depth, structure and gold to be found wherever one looks.
Towards the end of the episode I start talking about taboos and the underlying themes of swearing. In this bit I mention many words that in certain contexts are not considered polite. The conversation is rather academic, but you're now warned that bad words will be mentioned.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
21 Feb 2023
69 - the Ingredients of Comedy pt 3 the Final Ingredients - a conversation with Gareth Bjaaland
00:57:39
In this third and final part we look at more of the different types of jokes there is. This is really useful thing. Anyone who is stuck with "writers block" when they are trying to write new funny Material for a show or and act will be able to use these Ingredients as a check list for ways to make their jokes varied and hitting on all kinds of levels.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
11 Mar 2023
70 - 3rd annual Birthday Ramble
00:44:40
The pandemic and I share a birthday. Sometime in the depths of the pandemic I made a broadcast trying to share some more personal goings on in regards to how I was holding up one year after the events taking place in the very first episode of this podcast The Day Showbiz Died. Then I made another birthday update, more personal and more rambling than the first. So here we go third year in a row. All good things are in threes. Will the third be breaking the mold, be the punchline for the two punch set up? I wont tell. You Be the Judge. Click on into the third annual joing Birthday ramble for me and the Pandemic. I read a very personal poem in this episode. Just so you're warned. Shit's getting real.
To all you long termers, fellow travellers, thanks for sticking with me in sickness and in health, through the hard times and the pain. Worry is a bully that just wont let me be but sharing the journey with lovely intelligent and beautifully people, such as yourself makes the Way, with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, the most wonderful, and only way for me.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
21 Mar 2023
71 - Magic, Character & Dani DaOrtiz - the Helsinki Conversations with Jay Gilligan pt 1 of 3
01:22:12
In this episode Jay Gilligan and I start the conversation talking about magic and Dani Daortiz. If you haven't seen Dani's act from Penn & Teller's Fool Us then do that first. This is a link to Dani DaOrtiz's act.
If you want to see Dani's unbelievably awesome, indepth explanation of all the theory which lies behind his seemingly chaotic but masterfully crafted Showmanship then you can find that on Vanishin Inc's website here. It's a three and a half hour masterclass.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
18 Apr 2023
73 - Captain Frodo's Secret Approach to Creation - Helsinki Conversations pt 3 of 3
00:52:02
In this episode Jay Gilligan and I start talking about authenticity and pretty quick Jay steers the conversation into an area of my artistic process and indeed my approach to life, philosophy and art in general. I share, off the cuff my approach which I call active reading, or trasformative conersation with the environment.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
04 Apr 2023
72 - Presentation and Character - Helsinki Conversations w Jay Gilligan part 2 of 3
01:14:10
In this conversation Jay Gilligan and I dig deeper into how the best presentations of any kind of Material seems to emerge, in a holistic way, from an authentic character. We arrive back at magician Dani DaOrtiz's techniques and how his whole persona, the way he uses language, is completely fused that to use some of his techniques every magician would have to go through a proper translation process to make the techniques her own. We talk about translation, we talk about Indiana Jones juggling, we talk about "the Genre of Good," we pick apart the comment "you can't just juggle..." Jay talks about his obsession with Cirque de Soleil, and using "indiana jones" to grab Attention and from this make the Audience be able to connect to and appreciate juggling which they would otherwise not have paid Attention to. To end it all Jay says "how cool it would have been if that guy that said, "you can't just juggle" in stead said "you can't just juggle - you also have to be yourself."
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
02 May 2023
74 - Choices, Road's Taken and Not - Talking with Tom Greder pt 1 of 2
00:57:54
In this epidose comes the first part of a wonderful conversation I had with the knowledgable and deep thinker Tom Greder. He is a clown, a teacher and innovative creator. We talk about the pandemic and how we dealt with having no Shows. About forests real and metaphorical. We talk about choices. So much about what we do is to choose what to. include. in our show and what to leave out. About circus schools and clown's or lack thereof. About accepting that EVERYTHING that happens during a performance is part of the show. Structure of jokes and pattern recognition in the Audience and how this leads to us being very aware of the choices we take in what to include. Be aware of what you choose to share and how that adds up to what the Audience will take away from the performance.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
16 May 2023
75 - What's your Gift to the Audience - Talking with Tom Greder pt 2 of 2
01:04:26
In this epidose comes the first part of a wonderful conversation I had with the knowledgable and deep thinker Tom Greder. He is a clown, a teacher and innovative creator. We talk about how to decide what to put in a Show. What does Audiences take away from your show, beyond whatever tricks or Material you present. About performing a Show and after 24 years of doing it, getting the experience that the Show was perfect. When you laugh - you ARE. How to craft what's in your gift to the Audience. What's the heart of your performance. What's important to you and How to tell the Truth.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
13 Jun 2023
77 - What's the spirit of Circus & much more with Garreth Bjaaland pt 2 of 2
00:49:03
In this second part of the conversation with Gareth Bjaaland we talk about the spirit of circus. He sugests wonderfully that it might be the show must go on you can put anything in the ring and everyone is welcome. I loved this! we then talk about games, finite and infinite, we talk about serious play and serious games. This was a really fun conversation for me. Real deep and real organic and alive.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
30 May 2023
76 - Laughing in the Face of Death & other matters of importance with Garreth Bjaaland pt 1 of 2
01:03:57
This is the first part of a great flowing conversation I had with Garreth Bjaaland, whom regular followers of the Way will remember well from our conversations about the ingredients of comedy. In this conversation we go far and wide and surprisingly deep on matters related to comedy, we look at Gareths revisions and developments on this thinking about the Ingredients of Comedy, but we also ask and play at answering some bigger questions. We start from asking what is the core notes, or meaning and intention behind performances. Can we deliver only bleakness or is it really all about love?
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
27 Jun 2023
78 - Jay Gilligan - Making your show valuable - Stockholm kitchen Conversations 1of2
01:08:22
In this episode Jay Gilligan and I converse in his kitchen. We start talking about how juan Tamariz, the massively influential Spanish magician, takes control of his whole environment to create the best possible conditions for creating a magic experience. From that we talk about about how to present your needs for light and sound etc to producers and technicians at gigs. We talk about making demands and whether not having any makes you appear as less in their eyes. We briefly touch on Jay's new show Another Sunset and get an example of the kind of thinking Ivar Heckscher brings to the artistic conversation. When we have made an artistic creation and we have found a way to express our inner expereince through an outer expression we don't so much have to "convince" the audience, as in persuade them that it has value, we rather has to point to that thing as a reality and allow them to see it and in seeing it they too can't deny it has value. How to communicate with muggles and fine artists what you do as a "mere" circus performer. At the end of the conversation Jay and I talk about tools and AI things that could help us document our personal process of conversation.
I hope you enjoy it. There were some real gems that emerged in this conversation. SOme of them quite practical.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
11 Jul 2023
79 - Jay Gilligan - Process and not having time for Everything - Stockholm Kitchen Conversation 2of2
01:15:07
Jay Gilligan and I begin our second kitchen conversation talking about the importance of documenting ones work and process and also our ongoing work in how to do this. We talk about the importance of listening back on conversations, youll be surprised at how much you missed. unpacking details you've read, or that emerge in a conversation, into a whole season of episodes, or a whole book. First day of juggling class at the circus school and the requirements for learning. Don't limit yourself too soon. Arrive ready to grow. The goals of a circus or art education. There's never enough time for everythin. How we change over time. The struggle to be a good father/human. Jay changing as a teacher over the decades. Are his early methods bullshit? academics and circus. Ivar Heckshcher: plant the seeds for what you want them to understand so the students will have the tools to grasp it, not necesarrily now, but when THEY are ready. Jay and I have walked far along the Way of the Showman and we keep meeting people at the beginning of their path.
I really appreciate you taking the time to read this. I don't think many people do.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
25 Jul 2023
80 - Meet Marvelous Mario the Maker Magician, an exploration of Authenticity
01:25:03
In this episode Mario and I talk about his upcoming season in Edinburgh, he's ordered 10.000 clown noses. We talk about play and bringing up kids on the road. We talk quite a bit about family. I try to pry secrets from his process of creating emotionally engaging and unusually deep acts by getting him to tell me about his Pixar looking lamp robot act. We talk about teachers, artist like Alexander Caulder, Andy Warhol and others. Art that hits you in the heart like a hammer. About how to speak your heart, the why, we do it, not just how. Which of course is so close to my heart. The whole second season of the Way is about the why I do what I do. We talk alittle bit about AI. and about making sure the audience leaves taking something to heart. AND ROBOTS. We talk about Mario's wonderful robots. Find a way to put your passion into your show. Great art comes from the ground up. Style and aestethics. Defining your character. Believing in something greater than yourself. How to stay more at home as kids gets older. There is so much good stuff here. I hope you enjoy it.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
08 Aug 2023
81 - Another Sunset - Jay Gilligan - A Ten Year Long Process pt 1 of 3
01:05:13
This episode I get Jay Gilligan to tell me about the incredible process that led him to the realisation of his latest show Another Sunset. From having to make props and get special balls hand sewn and hand dyed in colours never seen before in a juggling context. We talked in previous episode in season 2 about a year long process we had making Jay's show REFLEX, which by the way will be touring North America this autumn (2023). This process for his exploration of colour I was only part of the last year, even though one of our very first conversatio in Las Vegas before the pandemic as about colour and juggling. I am as always thrilled to talk to Jay, there are few performers who puts in as much work as he does in pushing the art of juggling into completely new realms. I hope you enjoy it!
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
22 Aug 2023
82 - Another Sunset pt 2 of 3 - Juggling in an art gallery with props you've made
01:09:07
How does juggling props get made from possibility to reality. Siteswap and juggling notation colour notation for pattern. Deepening the conversation about colour and Juggling. In painting, sculpture and design colour is SO well researced which makes the task of quesiotning juggling and colour quite intimidation. Placing juggling in art context. the response from the juggling community sparked imagination. Everyone had an idea of what should be explored. Jay needed to be the one to do it. Ivar Hakscher's influence pushing all the boundaries to their logical conclusion. LImiting the show to juggling VIA buying lights. Realising light is its whole other field. But wasnst after light show. The significance of it happening in an art gallery. Externalizing the concepts in the juggling. People thought of even the set as art. Desiring to connect to more people. Make declarative statement. Not just juggling with coloured objects and letting the audience make their on interpretations. Blowing the mind of a newpaper reporter. What to tell the audience. Called another sunset to give the audience a subtle way to grasp the show.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
05 Sep 2023
83 - Another Sunset pt 3 of 3 - The Show
01:20:58
The best version of a juggling show was the written verision, or the told version of the show. The reason he chose to speak in the show was to make it more relatable. Be direct. Deliberatly casual. Every spectator gets to choose their favorite colour from a tray. Human interest and a genuie meeting of people. Choosing music. the process of making the juggling. The feeling of seeing and throwing a skin coloured ball. Joseph Albers and the movement of colour. Describing the different acts with focus on how they relate to colour and the very particularly created props. Using Joseph Albers ideas as inspiration for the balls and rings. LIght, colour, wavelengths, sunsets on different planets. Bringing it all together with a toy that changes colour into a musical note and the cards the audince chose when the show started. We think we know what something is, but as we go through the show they are morpring dramatically from favorite colour to sunset on a different planet, to musical note. How we choose to view something has a significant effect on our reality. A rainbow exists when you are there to see it, but not if youre not there. Reality is relational. The show is a relation so like a rainbow it was only there because of the encounter between juggler and audience in an art gallery.
Links:
the full docomentary and show of Another Sunset the full show without the interviews and commentaries.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
19 Sep 2023
84 - Erik Åberg: Asking Big Questions through Juggling - Part 1 of 2
01:21:53
In this episode we bring you the first part of a conversation with Erik Åberg who at the time of recoring is writing his Ph.D about juggling. He is an extraorinary juggler with a wonderful way of thinking and finding real deep questions about juggling, writing, researching, archiving, and answering them in illuminating ways.
We start out talking about how it is to write a ph.d about juggling. He is seeking to grasp his process and to describe an actual practice which could then reliably be used to create work. How ideas pop up AFTER you have worked hard on them, whilst doing something else. How to break down what you're doing into components and then make them geometrical. Ghost cubes. Moveable sculture which allows sculptures happen in time. His work on Headrolls. Making archiving and intellectual work into part of your artistic process. His epiphany that the reality of anything we create be it a book a show or a sculpture resides in the spectators experience. The importance of asking what this experience is. How the experience of a sculpture and a performance relate and differ. Who owns time in the experience of art? Three dimensions of time and participation in the artistic experience.
Links: Erik Åberg's Ghost Cubes Erik and Jay Gilligan's juggling show Bevis Erik and Jay's juggling show Blick A more biographical interview with Erik for those who want to get to know him a little more.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
03 Oct 2023
85 - Erik Åberg - Expanding Our Artistic Practice - part 2 of 2
01:11:14
This is the second part of my conversation with juggle, inventor and thinker Erik Åberg. We talk about a whole range of interesting topics and I marvel at the depth of thought Erik shares with me. we talk about: Archiving as artistic practice. Paul Cinquevalli. Juggling history is the past, juggling today can be observed, the possible future explored by Erik is his kinetic sculptures. How to ask existential questions through juggling. Why should juggling exist? Erik sketches out two possible answers based on his 20.000 archval clippings about Paul Cinquevalli. Following the descriptions by critics and reviewers Erik finds two main lines of answers 1 - Paul Cinquevalli is the greatest juggler in the world and is comparable to Shakespeare and Ninjinski. 2 - He is a manifest example of wasting ones life away on purposeless activities. In this way Erik demonstrates the interlinking and usefullness of the archival part of his practice. As a show only exist as experience the reviews and quotes become like fossilized represantations of the experience of the shows. The fact that Cinquevalli was so famous that it generated 1000's of quotes gives us a pretty strong representation of what these Show experiences were like. Why is skill so captivating to us humans? Michael Moschen's idea of the kill. How our paleolithic ancestors deeply valued the kill with a spear or sling of an animal. Ivar Hacksher - life is difficult an endless dynamically unstable situation and when we successfully surf through it we get a deep sense of completion. Creating a microscoping focus of Attention. The performer focuses the Attention of the many, creating a collective experience. Enriching the Audience. Current evidence points to early juggling as being only cascade patterns and not sequences of tricks. Eriks wonderful theory of Transportational Activities.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
17 Oct 2023
86 - Mac King - The Structure of a Masterful Magic Show - 1 of 2
01:11:22
In this episode I get to have a conversation with an absolute legend of magic. He has had his own show in Las Vegas for more than 20 years! Just try and picture that. He reached out expressing his appreciation for the podcast and I hopped on the opportunity to ask him to join me for a stroll along the Way and this is part one of that. As you'll hear, he's the real deal. I really hope you'll enjoy this, I certainly did.
topics we touch on: -Max Maven -Nick Difatte introduced Mac to the Way when they were driving to LA. And there were tears... -The beginning of the podcast and what was going on under the Pandemic -It was a dark time. -About changing the Show as we get older/change as people. -About being a Belgian viking when starting out. -Andy Kaufmann -Entertainment by unease -Taking the Audience on a journey. Thinking of the Show as a whole. -The very beginning of Mac's act -The arc of tricks vs the arc of the Show. Transitioning from one trick to the next. -the quirk of "blowing your funky minds" -Stealing like an artist. So that the originator loves it, and maybe doesnt even recognice it. -Watching stand up comedians for structural inspiration. -Mac says he's only "doing what magic books says..." -Being awkward yet authentic. -Me sharing early nudges from other magician to develop tricks into acts. -Making it better one beat at the time. -And getting into a headspace where you are LOOKING for ways for the Show to tie together. Callbacks.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
31 Oct 2023
87 - Mac King - Las Vegas Legend - 2 of 2
01:09:03
In this episode I continue my conversation with Mac King. We start out talking about Shows and performing but end up talking about books. SO, the last part of this episode is possibly the first episode of a spin off book club, where Mac and Frodo talks about books NOT relating to performing.
Topics we touch on:
-On performing almost exlusively in one venue -Frodo doing more long form Shows -Does Mac ever want to make a new Show? -Working on ALL the details. -Mastering all the details. -What did Mac do creatively during the pandemic? -Digital Shows -(Im (one of) Mac's Wife's favorite acts. :-) -Pandemic talkshow online -Connecting and Playing with friends -Funny Family -On Mac moving from Harries Casino to Excalibur -Shows not made for kids but that still good for kids -On being offensive. -People understand your intent as a person, if you are playful and authenticallly don't mean offence you can go far. Sometimes. -About getting better through comments from smart friends. -Book club: Mac: Nero Wolf detective series by Rex Stout -on male friends Frodo: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King Humankind: a hopeful history Rutger Bregman Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
14 Nov 2023
88 - Listening is the Art of Life - Jay Gilligan, Ivar Hacksher, Erik Åberg & Captain Frodo - pt 1 of 2.m4a
00:42:40
In this episode there are four of us talking. The audio is not quite what you have gotten used to on this high budget, high fidelity broadcasting operation, but the content is as golden as ever.
It's a free flowing conversation around the topics of education, sharing our knowledge and how listening makes us better human beings.
some of the topics we cover: -Claim expertice even if it is just: I am the king of this napkin.\ -Listening is the key to all relationships. -Teachers and students are eachothers coaches.
the Lader of Engagement: CURIOSITY, INTEREST, LOVE (I find this comment of Ivar's to be particular fruitful and thought provoking. I don't know how all of you will take it, but this way of looking at engagement has been useful to me in my thinking and conversations since this)
-the big scissors -a circus school thrives when teachers take real interest in each other. -the need for a shared foundation - what are we shaping students into. -the Challenge of circus schools -4 points for any collaborative project: §-common idea of what you are doing. §-You must get Happy from working with that idea §-When seeking collaborators they should be as unlike you as possible. §-every netto you create must be given away.
-you cant be a capitalist and artist at the same time -you must give away - share - not grasp and take -give away more than you take -Love is like this -Giving withoug expecting return will give return
-the learning relationship. Students tend to be passive and receptive in their attitude. But needs to be selfmotivated and engaged for learning to happen. - does school as a framework set up the wrong expectations? -how to mediate the knowledge gap between teacher and student? -the students all have their own inner content and skills which must be engaged in dialogue with the teacher. -the word school is greek and means break, as in the time spent between sessions of work. Where we break bread, eat some olives and have a drink of wine and talk the real talk. -how do we set up the perfect situation for growth to happen? - hunter gatherer bands learn through play and mixed age relationships
-On the importance of seeing the students for who they really are and what lives inside them. -trust and confidence - to connect to adolescents you need to be Interesting -reputation
-Ivar tells his students when we come to class tomorrow you must have questions. If not I will leave. -questions create dialogue. The learning comes alie. Self motivation is key in learning just like in play, since learning is a form of play. -Education is always self education -East German 1981 circus school
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
28 Nov 2023
89 - the One Being Educated is YOU - Jay Gilligan, Ivar Hacksher, Erik Åberg & Your Truly - Pt 2 of 2
00:51:02
In this episode Ivar Hackscher, Jay Gilligan, Erik Åberg and myself talk about education and abouyt being constant learners.
Some of the topics we touch on:
-What would be a good education for jugglers -A school does not have enough time to be completely open ended. Only your education in life will have that time, and even that does not have unlimited time. - Students at circus school are now arriving with a more passive attitude towards the education. -You cant teach something which is not asked for -John Le Hooker: I can only play what the audience has in their legs... -Getting an audience to ask question is imperative to a participative performance. -As a teacher develops in thier own exploration and development they get further and further away from the first year strudent. Can we find passion and enthusiasm to share with them what they need? -We must not forget the foundational. The skills and mind of the beginner... -You cant make others care about something your'e not passionate about yourself. -Are we stifled by the very concept of school? -Frodo talks about the conept of a triangle and how it relates to teaching and performance. -Relaxed field and play as the most free domains where human freedom is at its greatest. -the young are the bringers of the future. -meet them with the expectation to learn from them. Since we Old ones are outdated. -Midwifing ideas. -What is the intention of a "school's" project. This is important to contemplate and formulate. -How does the need to make a living factor into a schools project and responsibility. -The first stockholm circus program needed to show the state that 80% of thier students became circus artists. (I would be surprised if any other art school had results like that...) -Fairness is not that everyone gets the same or have the same needs. -Ivar found a new and stronger dimension of freedom as a teacher when he was invited to be a teacher at the circus pilot project. - -You must listen so carefully to the students that you can assist them in coming into their own. Listen in a way that will aid them in coming into their own future.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
12 Dec 2023
90 - Freedom to Make Choices - Ivar Hacksher, Jay Gilligan & Frodo - pt 1 of 2
00:51:31
In this episode Jay Gilligan and I talk to the wonderful teacher and artist Ivar Hacksher in his house. We talk about many things, but the underlying flavour is about making choices in art and life.
some of the things we talk about:
- the importance of not knowing.
-making things and ideas concrete too soon.
-Olle and Sarah from the stockholm gallery "Den Fantastiska platsen" ( the fantastic place) have as their business statement that the company is about having fun.
-Where is the space for saying I don't know these days?
-Ivar was part of starting a school which did not have a plan of what the students would learn ahead of time. But instead they promised the swedish state that they would submit a report after the fact telling them what they had done. The state accepted this.
-Paris 1920'2 people, artists meet to see what happend.
- Patrons invested in arist. THis helped them take bold choices.
-Feeling safe in the world is ofen a question of money.
- Getting gigs to pay for cake.
- American psyche vs scandinavian in regards to feeling like someone will have your back if it all fails.
-On immidiate opions to then be able to move on without much emotional connection. There is no time for I dont know. We push "like" or "heart" then scroll on leaving that thing behind us in a feed and could not get back to it if we tried.
-We no longer sit with experiences to find out what we feel, and think about it.
-the NON cultrure of social media. Avoiding finding out what you feel.
- artistic research. Not needing to always have results. Exploration for it's own sake.
-some artistic work is important to have gone through, but does not produce any interesting work.
-arti schools used to be places to create work. Universities was for exploration and research.
- Rudolf Steiner and the importance of a philosophical foundation, or well thought out base to create work from.
-the story of the woman who didn't have any ideas, who couldn't make a choice.
-learning to make choices
-know what to pay attention to and what not
clean art. keeping to your specific task and explore within that and not dilluting it by adding stuff.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
26 Dec 2023
91 - The Importance of Intention - Ivar Hacksher, Jay Gilligan & Frodo -pt 2 of 2
01:04:06
In this episoe I try to get Ivar Hackscher and Jay Gilligan to help me further my understanding about the difference between concrete and abstract performance. The topic is complex and our routes into its terrain circuitous.
Some of the topics touched on:
-Necessity, freedom and play. Arthus Zajonc's book Meditation as contemplative inquiry -How does thoughts and words pop into our minds as response to stimuli from the world or even ourselves? -A juggling exercise where one juggler has to respond to a short juggling trick done by another juggler with a juggling trick of their own. Like a no rule juggling dialogue. -How this question of what comes next in a dialogue relates to plant morphonogy and metamorphosis -Audience sacrifices time and attention when watching a performance thought, feeling and action. -Finding a line of inquiry and following it to the end - conclusion. -It's time to let artforms use us artists rather than the other way around. -What does each artform want to express? Each one has a sweet spot for what it expresses. -Can we expect audiences to ever reliably see in our work what we put, or think we put into it? -on the difference between pictures and performance. -Act as Organism -The attraction we have to watching skill is similar to the attraction we feel towards watching ideas thought through to the end. -whats the place for virtouosity today? -300 years ago people wanted to see perfection. This is not as key today. They want something real. emotional telegraphing is particularly attractive today. Maybe more so than technical skill. -Life and warmth in performance -Perfect means that something is done. Finished. -We dont listen to hear that final chord. -Rennesaince music often ends open ended -Joan Miro and Jackson Pollock and the relation of meaning, intent and ideas in abstract art -Jackson Pollock was a dancer more than a painter. The paintings are what's left behind after his dances. So full of will and action. -I see so much abstract art which doesnt say anything to me. -Juggling IS abstract so to just juggle is NOT TAKING ANY CHOICES -Abstract with inteniton. If we notice intention its no longer "abstract nonsense" -If you dont have intention and that's not visible then we get confused work. -Why is there so little intent isible in so much abstract work? -A lot of artists get away with being lazy. -Artists often rely on the structures of the artform like the way an audience sits in a theatre and necesarrily have to watch the show unfolding in time and must assume that each thing that happens on the stage is related to what came befor
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
09 Jan 2024
92 - Making Ideas Concrete by Making Choices - Jay Gilligan and Frodo - pt 1 of 2.m4a
00:40:59
In this episode I ask Jay Gilligan to tell me about how he makes his ideas concrete to his students at the circus school in Stockholm. -How this relates to performance abstract and concrete or narrative -Circus appears frivolous when seen in most cases, academic thought in universities might make contributions to unpacking how its not, but this academization of circus as a subject might impinge on the students who, arguably, most of all are there because they need a foundation of technical skill. -Clarity of artistic expression. -Making choices -What should I do first? -Doubt and indecision -Do something then ask: do I like that? if answer is yes, more on. If answer is no ask yourself: Why don't I like it.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
23 Jan 2024
93 - Clarity of Expression makes you a better Artist - Jay Gilligan and Frodo - pt 2 of 2
00:47:03
In this conversation we talk further about making choices and how learning to understand why we take the choices we do about what we do on stage we develop clarity of expression which is the foundation stone of a good artist.
some of the things we talk about:
-Why did you do that? I dont know is not a good enough answer. -Concretise your choices and intentions -We are after a statement of value in your answer - How do we refine our artistic sense of judgement? -Developing a common language amongst teacher and student allows us to express ourselves to each othert. -This must also happen in a show/performance situation. We must develop a shared language with our audience without the benefit of a year of relations during study. So can we take these ideas from the learning and apply them to performance? -tell me / show me that you have made choices and that you have a unity of intention in these choices. -Intention must exist and be visible in the work -Communicate intent -"Make sure everything in the show is important" Tom Greder. if the audience figures that parts of the show isnt important to you then their trust in the show and interest might unravvel. -How to make the act/show express something... Do I like it? ... Do something... ask is this expressing what I want it to... about whatever subject I want to express? be that subject or idea global warming or just "I want a show that makes me money." -Formulating questions gives you a standard upon which you can judge whether something belongs in the show or not. Is it good? Does it further the themes and ideas we want to explore?
-Be a good editor Clarity of vision can rivet children watching modern dance. Claire Parsons.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
06 Feb 2024
94 - Showmanship & Play - Introduction (S&P 1 of 30)
00:56:14
In this episode we start a whole new project. We revert back to the format of the first 60, or so, episodes where I share my own ideas with you. The subject for this 4th season will be Showmanship & Play. Or, how Showmanship is like Play and what we can learn from seeing it as such.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
19 Feb 2024
95 - the Inner Ear Bone of Showmanship - (Showmanship & Play 2 of 30)
00:47:19
In this episode I lay how what Showmanship is, as I see it. If we are to work out what the origins of something is, particularly if the origins lay deep in prehistory, then chances are there has been a great deal of change to the thing. Sometimes so much that it is hard to recognice it. SO, to be able to know what the origins are we must know what the relevant and unchanging elements of the evolving thing we seek to understand. Last episode I talked about the evolutionary history of the whale and how one of the key elements that's used to trace its transformation from land animal to sea animal is some bones in its inner ear. In this episode I describe a Show as related to Henri Corbin's Imaginal Realm. And I make the claim that what a Show is, which is a different level of reality, other than normal life, where ordinary objects and words and images become symbolic and poetic and filled with meaning. It is a purely human kind of relation and a uniquely human experience. So, this realm of experience we call show, is the thing we will use as our lodestone to keep us on track as we venture back into prehistory.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
05 Mar 2024
96 - How to See through the Lens of Showmanship - (Showmanship & Play 3 of 30)
00:35:59
In this episode I talk about viewing the world through the lens of Showmanship. This is something I say at the beginning of each episode and it is what this podcast is all about. I talk about how to look and what the lens is. So, this episode has as its aim to allow you a clearer idea of what it means and to be able to look at the world in the same way, if you so choose. This is a topic which prepares us for what is about to come, and which sheds light on how I arrive at my ideas and conclusions.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
16 Apr 2024
101 - Connect & Play - (Showmanship & Play 5 of 30)
00:41:42
In this episode I seek general features of what happens in the Area of Interest, or in Shows. I talk about Nalle Laanela's book the Clown Manifesto and how it helped me understand that two key features of performance and Shows are Connection and Playfulness.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
19 Mar 2024
98 - the Nature of Shows & Geometry - (Showmanship & Play 4 of 30)
00:50:22
In this episode I make one more example of a metaphor of my own making. I believe this to be a particularly fertile example, by which I mean a deep and powerful metaphor. Using the uncanny similarity of the geometry of triangles with the process of Showmanship. Looking at the two side by side I belive we can get insights into the nature of our Craft of performance that can be hard to picture and grasp only looking at it abstractly. In many ways the geometry of the triangle is like an explanatory illustration demonstrating pictorially what happens when a Showman presents his Material for an Audience and the phenomena of Show emerge between the two.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
30 Apr 2024
103 - What is Play (Showmanship & Play 6 of 30)
00:36:23
In this episode I take you on a walk with my little dog Teddy and along the Way we encounter play in a very direct way. Then I let you take a sneak peak at my daughter and her kind of play. Then we look at trying to define play is like pinning a butterfly. From all these examples I distill the nature of play down to five criteria which will be the backbone of all our future explorations. SO, being this important I will write them out here so the two or three of you who reads this can benefit.
The five criteria of play: 1 - Play is fun. It’s intensely pleasurable and enjoyable. So when we play we don’t want it to stop.
2 - Play is self motivated, which means it has to be entered into voluntarily.
3 - Play is apparently purposeless. We play for the sake of playing not to achieve some further goal.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
01 Apr 2024
100 - the Clown and the New World - epic poem audio extravaganza
00:41:35
This is a celebratory episode along the lines of my previous audio poetic endeavours in episode 21 and 42. This is an epic poem which initially was called The Rime of the Ancient Merrier. Merrier |ˈmerēər| noun (mer•ri•er) 1 one who brings happiness to others. 2 a simple or special person, trad. considered blessed or touched by God. 3 a fool or a clown
ORIGIN Old English myrige [pleasing, delightful,] of Germanic origin; related to mirth.
This ode to Caliope, (which is both the Muse of epic poetry and a steam organ played along the midway of carnivals) chronicals one lone showman making his Way through the world. After life falls apart in the old world he boards a ship to the New World but life does not become any easier, in fact it gets a whole lot worse before he even gets there. Follow it through to the end. Remember when the dark is the most complete we become able to spot even the tiniest lights.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
14 May 2024
104 - Play in 5 Easy Steps (Showmanship & Play 7 of 30)
00:35:54
In this episode I unpack the five criterias of play. The five are as follows:
1 - Play is fun. It’s intensely pleasurable and enjoyable. So when we play we don’t want it to stop.
2 - Play is self motivated, which means it has to be entered into voluntarily.
3 - Play is apparently purposeless. We play for the sake of playing not to achieve some further goal.
4 - Play has rules.
5 - Play is imaginative and improvisational.
Links: The Norwegian book called Lek og Læring i et Nevro perspektiv (play and learning in a neuro perspective) Here are some links, One, two, three. The third one is a link to a podcast with an interview with one of the two authors. BE WARNED the links are all in Norwegian, but with the help of google and our AI overlords you'll be reading it in no time, in a language more suitable to your horizon of understanding.
the Kingdom of Childhood episode of the Way of the Showman
This is a link to a talk by Doctor Stuart Brown who's the author of “Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul” (2010) by Stuart Brown
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
18 Jun 2024
107 - Unpacking Play pt 1 (Showmanship & Play 8 of 30)
00:40:03
In this episode I continue to unpack the five criterias of play. The five are as follows:
1 - Play is fun. It’s intensely pleasurable and enjoyable. So when we play we don’t want it to stop.
2 - Play is self motivated, which means it has to be entered into voluntarily.
3 - Play is apparently purposeless. We play for the sake of playing not to achieve some further goal.
4 - Play has rules.
5 - Play is imaginative and improvisational.
Links: The Norwegian book called Lek og Læring i et Nevro perspektiv (play and learning in a neuro perspective) Here are some links, One, two, three. The third one is a link to a podcast with an interview with one of the two authors. BE WARNED the links are all in Norwegian, but with the help of google and our AI overlords you'll be reading it in no time, in a language more suitable to your horizon of understanding.
the Kingdom of Childhood episode of the Way of the Showman
This is a link to a talk by Doctor Stuart Brown who's the author of “Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul” (2010) by Stuart Brown
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
02 Jul 2024
109 - Unpacking Play pt 2 (Showmanship & Play 9)
00:56:00
In this episode I finish up the unpacking of the five criteria of play. As we go on these five points will be the backbone of our inquiry. Much like how using Showman - Audience & Show as a symbol or mnemonic picture which affords us a lot of understanding, these five criteria will expand our understanding of play, and by transferral how it connects and relates to all aspects of life.
The five are as follows:
1 - Play is fun. It’s intensely pleasurable and enjoyable. So when we play we don’t want it to stop.
2 - Play is self motivated, which means it has to be entered into voluntarily.
3 - Play is apparently purposeless. We play for the sake of playing not to achieve some further goal.
4 - Play has rules.
5 - Play is imaginative and improvisational.
Links: The Norwegian book called Lek og Læring i et Nevro perspektiv (play and learning in a neuro perspective) Here are some links, One, two, three. The third one is a link to a podcast with an interview with one of the two authors. BE WARNED the links are all in Norwegian, but with the help of google and our AI overlords you'll be reading it in no time, in a language more suitable to your horizon of understanding.
the Kingdom of Childhood episode of the Way of the Showman
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
09 Jul 2024
110 - the Play Instinct (Showmanship & Play 10)
00:47:03
"Instincts are the whispers of our ancestors." - Quote by yours truly.
In this episode we explore whether our inclination to play might actually be an innate human drive. Do we human beings possess an instinct to play? If so, how and why would something like that evolve? By understanding how something came into being we often learn valuable lessons today. Also, if it turns out that humans does have a play instinct, and I believe we do, then this is a powerful indicator that play is a whole lot more important than "just something kids do."
Links: To unpack the concept of flow a little more here is a TED talk by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who coined the term.
Maileg Mice - a link so you can see how these cute Danish toy mice looks.
Peter Gray is an American psychology researcher and scholar we will talk about Along the Way. Here is a TED talk by him so you can familiarize yourself with him and his ideas. And here is a longer talk about Learning Through Play
Here's a link to the article about injuries in children's sports: "sports injuries are the second leading cause of emergency room visits for children and adolescents, and the second leading cause of injuries in school."
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
23 Jul 2024
111 - How Play Manifests in the World pt 1 of 2 (Showmanship & Play 11)
00:43:22
Adults and children spend their days differently - we work, babies play. Play is the signature of childhood. It’s a living, visible manifestation of imagination and learning I action.
Allison Gopnik
If play is a constant and a genuine human drive, how do we recognise it when we see it in the world? Or more specifically; in which kind of behaviours does play manifest itself? We have looked at the five specific criteria, or characteristics of play, it’s fun and enjoyable, seemingly purposeless, it’s self motivated, there are rules involved, and it’s a free and imaginative improvisation. Each of these five criteria are characteristics of the process we call play, but in the same way a person is multifaceted and must be expressed through more than five specific features, I would expect that we could get a better grasp of what the play instinct looks like by finding more ways it manifests itself in the world. What kind of behaviours or attributes are playful? To answer this question I think it would be good to start looking at those who plays the most, those whom for play is their natural way of being in the world; children.
Then I look at the first of the manifestations of the play impulse which I believe is curiosity.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
12 Mar 2024
97 - Back in Las Vegas, now with Cirque du Soleil - Birthday Ramble
00:31:21
I didn't think it would happen. Not this birtday ramble nor that I would be back in Las Vegas, nor that I would be here with Cirque du Soleil! But I am back on all those fronts and yet again I am humbled by my own lack of ability to accurately predict the unfolding events of my life. BUT I am beyond grateful that it all conspired to be this Way.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
26 Mar 2024
99 - Jay Gilligan Questions Showmanship & Play episode 1 (Unpacking episode 94)
01:04:47
In this episode we try something new. Jay Gilligan has listened to my new season about Play & Showmanship and he found that there were several points in the episode he wanted to know more about. He recorded some snippets with some AI app that he has and he reads me the unedited transcriptions of these and we have a great and DEEP conversation about the morals of Attention. How paying close Attention actually shapes what it is - or at the very least your perception of it. How you are and what you think will bleed through what you do in your act. How we understand what we do is of the utmost importance for ourselves. What does Captain Frodo mean when he says that someone is "authentic" and how do we get to this point with our characters? About the importance of the ACTUAL ENCOUNTER. About really being present in the moment, the miracle of sharing time together, not apart but together.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
23 Apr 2024
102 - Jay Gilligan Questions Showmanship & Play episode by 2 (Unpacking episode 95)
01:41:09
In this episode Jay Gilligan asks me to explain and elaborate some details about a previous episode. The main part of this season (4) is the 30 episodes that explores and makes my argument for how the very deepest origins of Showmanship can be found in human play as well as building a powerful argument for this dual trait of Showmanship & Play lies at the heart of what it means to be a human being. The episodes deals with some very deep and philosophical ideas and my friend and co-host thought it would be good to make me explainmyself some more. For this I am truly greatful and I hope it is useful and interesting for you to Fellow Traveller.
Link: This is a link to an essay by Henri Corbin about the Imaginal. It's called Mundus Imaginalis or the Imaginary and the Imaginal
As I mention in the opening comments of the episode I confuse Henri Corbin with the wonderful french philosopher Henri Bergson. My mistake only goes as far as claiming I watched a lecture course on him, but that course was actually about Bergson, not Corbin. So, when it comes down to it I know more about Bergson than Corbin and this lecture course is why. Here is a link to that lecture series about Henri Bergson. Its from the excellent youtube channel Absurd Being.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
28 May 2024
105 - Don't Be Afraid to be Modern with the Birdmann Trent Baumann
02:02:43
In this episode I catch up with an old friend, a unique and philosophically inclined comedian and clown Mr Trent Birdmann. We talk about our shows together, our thoughts on our past, present and the uncertainties about the future. We share stories and insights about our lives as Showmen trying to make it in the modern world.
You can find Trent Baumann on Instagramm and Facebook by searching for his name. You can find out more about him on his website.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
03 Sep 2024
115 - Why Are We Born so Helpless (Showmanship & Play 14)
00:37:58
Why are we born so helpless. The answer will takes us through the history of human evolution and into the dualling biological need of a growing human head and the anatomical changes coming from our upright walking.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
11 Jun 2024
106 - Active Practice w Jay Gilligan (unpacking episode 96 & 98)
01:32:39
In this episode Jay Gilligan brings up a few questions relating to episodes 3 & 4 in my exploration of Showmanship and Play (number 96 & 98).
-We talk about what its like to talk to people about something which does not have an easy answer. A fortune cookie once told me "to every complex problem there is always a simple answer - and its usually wrong."
-Jay asks if my process exhausts me. Always keeping all kinds of writing and projects searching for connections in me, does that exhaust me?
-Why find connections? Why map one thing onto others?
-What does it mean to be an artist.
-Metaphor is a way to access reality. How metaphor and imagination affords us our understanding of the world (and ourselves)
-Seeing similarity through dissimilarities. Discover greater patterns. Lakof and Johnston Metaphors we Live by.
-My new presentation of the classic magic trick called the Die Box.
-Jay asks me: Did you come up with the concept Active reading? we explore where it came from and how its influenced Jay's thinking.
-Responsibility to engage with tasks and challanges whether in life of in circus school.
-We got to be actively engaged in whats happening. When we are doing our thing, but also when others are doing that.
-I say we need to be able to develop a language and way to understand all the "other Disciplines" as reality is you will most likely be in shows with other artists which does other things than you. Each circus most commonly only hires one juggler. One guy squeezing through tennis rackets.
We have a responisility to make a task in school, or a thing in real life, interesting. If the task or challange sucks. Change it and make it good....
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
06 Aug 2024
112 - How Play Manifests in the World pt 2 of 2 (Showmanship & Play 12)
01:04:35
In this episode I continue describing the ways we find the play impulse, or the activity of play, manifesting in the world. I start by talking about learning.
-The next way play emerges is through Imagination.
-Then we look at how, quite obviously, play manifest thorugh actual playfulness.
-We procede to Sociality.
-Then I find in Rutger Bregman's summary of these manifestations into "Learn, bond and Play."
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
25 Jun 2024
108 - Memoirs of a Coney Island Clown w Jellyboy the Clown
02:05:00
In this episode I talk to Jellyboy the Clown about his book Memoirs of a Coney Island Clown. I learn a lot about him and how closely our experiences mirror eachother. There are some tragic details about suicide in this episode - be warned, if you need such a warning.
"Embark on an unforgettable journey alongside Jelly Boy in "Memoirs of a Coney Island Clown: Jellyboy's Sideshow Saga." Following the heart-wrenching loss of his brother, Jelly Boy is catapulted into a whirlwind of unexpected adventures. From the depths of grief to the serendipitous role of a clown, his odyssey defies convention at every turn."
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
01 Oct 2024
117 - Love as Origin of Play pt 1 of 2 - What we Have to do VS What we Choose to do (Showmanship & Play 15)
00:39:45
In this episode I explore the impact and influence our playful behaviour has had on our development as human beings. I belive it quite profoundly have changed not just our psychology and behaviour but also our bodies. I share a deeply personal story of the first couple of hours in my daughter's life and how it birthed a new and deeper kind of love. The father's role in raising babies and children. The tribe's role in raising babies and children. The love, which first appeared in Mother grew to include the father and the tribe and in this we all played a role in affording a child a relaxed field, where that child can flourish outside of the restriction of natural selection. Where the child gets to express only themselves and act only in accordance with themselves. (in an idealised situation of course as there always will be tribal, societal, and individual influences)
Child is a social glue. It brings us together in the childbirth, in the rearing of the child, it connects us. It continues in how families are brought together through our shared interest and care for and responsibility for the child.
We sit around the fire like we sit around a child. they trigger conversations and stories that emerge because we sit around a child. They shape us and the stories we tell. THere are other stories told around the fire in the dark, and there are particular stories that are told because there are children are present.
RELAXED FIELD - the space where play happens and where we are the most fully human. relaxed pressure from the four f's foraging, fighting, fleeing and fornicating.
which is what we have to do. (if we dont o these succesfully we perish) the things we choose to do. (what we choose to do with the time given to us)
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
13 Aug 2024
113 - Nick Difatte & Audience Volunteers
01:19:39
This is a conversation with one of the funniest guys I know. He's had me laughing so hard I had to get partially undressed. We talk about magic and comedy and their intersection before landing on a long explorations of how to select and manage audience volunteers. Nick is an expert at handling volunteers and gets SO much out of the people he gets up, I try to learn from him.
You can find out about Nick Difatte on his website Nick has written a brilliant book on magic called Offbeat (it's sold out but will soon be reissued) published by Squash Publishing creators of some of the hottest books on magic.
we talk about: the Great Santini's toaster (my dad's magic invention) Steen Pegani - danish magic shop owner and all around good guy. Mortenn Christiansen - link to him on Penn & Teller's Fool Us Nick blows my mind with the news that he is writing and editing a chapter in Richard Kaufman's re-release of Greater Magic. The chapter will be on comedy magic. Borrowin/stealing/reinventing becoming an original performer. saving the earth with a yo yo Authenticity Finding shit no one cares about costume as character amplifier and definer me loosing my shit seeing Nick perform for the first time. worst "emotional speech" in a show ever... being funnier off sage and how to transfer this to stage. choosing volunteers offbeat, Nick's book is sold out. Amazing Johnatan as example of a masterful use of and control of audience volunteers. Nick on getting along with older guys and how to harness this in his Shows
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
20 Aug 2024
114 - Play as Self Creation (Showmanship & Play 13)
01:00:15
In this episode I talk about
Peter Gray and his book Free to Learn - Why unleasing the instinc to play will make our children happier, more self-reliant, and better students for life.
We talk about how play is learning. how we today think about play as something which is dont to children. Not something they actively participate and even lead. for 10.000 years + kids have been learning all by themselves - THROUGH PLAY Kids play themselve into useful members of their communities. When we play we are FREE in a way we arent in other aspects of life. Chimpanzees learn by looking, not by being taught. The amount of things infants needs to learn is almost insurmountable Playfully participating in life gets imbedded in us and helps us emotionally able to deal with life. WIthout playing in childhood you can get difficulties in your emotional connections with others as an adult. ANd many other problems become more prevalent. Kids has the strongest desire to play because the have the most to learn. Playful aproaches to the world affords more possibilites. It increases your degrees of freedom. The colonialisation of childhood by others. Abusing play as a tool for teaching. BUT play needs to be self motivated. It needs to be voluntary. Adults think play is useful only when it can be harnessed to teach something from the decided upon by adults from the curriculum.
Learning happens INSIDE the school and play outside. This is a subtle indoctrination. The serious that happens inside the classroom is of value. The time wasting play happens outside in recess. Play is learning as nature intended it for us. Driven by enthusiasm and not to do well on a standardized test.
Playing teaches each of us how to be ourselves! It shows us who we are! Learning is not JUST what happens in schools. its not something you buys. Its what you do in the process of developing yourself as a human being.
Biology does not give us built in answers to what it means to be a human. It has given a method to aquire answers. This method is play. This way of being in the world is HOW evolution has equiped us to find ourselves and our WAY.
Quote from the manuscript:
Genes and biology isn’t giving us readymade answers hardwired to solve the difficulties of becoming and staying human. Instead of giving us answers which, as all answers, can be right or wrong, or useful or useless, nature has given us a process to aquire answers. Evolution gave us a method, or an approach to generate answers, not individual answers. This process is play. Perhaps schools
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
21 Jan 2025
126 - We are the Children pt 2 of 2 (Showmanship & Play 18)
00:40:07
Human beings are never finished. We are always changing. Society and culture might push us to become quantified and predictable, but we all are influenced by our surroundings, the people, relationships, and the cultures we surround ourselves with becomes part of us. We take in certain things and discard others. I belive the most beneficial way to navigate the world is through play. This means that our best way onwards through our lives is to retain this mode of behaviour, play, which is so caractheristic of the young in all mammalian species way into adulthood. In this way we can say that the most beneficial way to be in the world is a childlike way. But we are children in more than in our behaviour. We look like children. An adult human being has many features that is normally found in the young of chimpanzees. Our physiology is childlike, if you compare us to our closest living relatives amongs the great apes. The greatest times of our lives are almost exclusively counted as those that had us completely immersed in the moment. When we are in life, located at the heart of Saturday Night, as Tom Waist called it, we are most happy. We inerupts the games of our kids to ask: what are you going to do when you grow up? Whilst what we should be asking is how can I be as constantly immersed in life as you? The role model for a happy life is the child. Let the little children be our teacher. The best of us are those that are the most like children. This is my faith. I am most proud of myself in the moments I embody the values of a child. My daughter is the consumate example for me. As much as it annoys me that I have to remind her six time about brushing her teeth, since she is perpetually interupted by her playful interactions. I need to ask how did I ever forget to be like you? How can I find what's left of you in me?
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
17 Sep 2024
116 - Jay & Frodo How to Play in Performance - (Unpacking episodes 103 & 104)
02:22:33
Jay Gilligan is back! we go through his questions about episodes 103 & 104 to concretise some of the points I am making about Play and performance.
some of the topics we touch=: -How to foster a playful connection at the beginning of your show. -Is there such a thing as a bad audience? -fulfilling audience expectations whilst still surprising them. -In facing the Audience we are showing, and they are receiving - yet we expect and desire them to participate, to live themselves into the performance. Without which there never emerges the full Show experience. -You get Attention by giving Attention. -My ways of getting Attention in my first street show back in 1997. -Jay runs away from a street show with crazy consequences. -All focus on one thing. Audience and Showman alike. Makes a powerful point. -We create a different kind of time. Play time. Sacred time.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
15 Oct 2024
118 - Father & Showman - Reflections on my Evolving Relationship with my Daughter
00:40:40
Over the last six months or so there has been a development in my relationship to my daughter. It is something any father will go through, but I look at it through the lens of a travelling performer. My daughter is growing up and is beginning to find her own way in the world. She is separating and becoming herself and in the process I am being left behind. But a significant development that has come to fruition over the last month might offer us a way to relate into the future. A sollution that mirrors my own relationship to my father and which is continuing the intergenerational transmission of the secret knowledge of Showmanship.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
29 Oct 2024
119 - Love as Origin of Play pt 2 of 2 (Showmanship & Play 16)
00:43:54
After last weeks little sidetrack exploring m own evolving relationship of love to my daughter we are ready to conclude how love is the foundation and origin for the human play impulse and drive. This of course will be pointing at how love is also the foundation of Showmanship. Love is necesary to full acknowledge the existence of Others, and to enter into a relationship with them is to reach out in love. In doing so we enter into the relaxed field of human interaction. A way not just of plaing, but of affording ourselves and others a space to maximize their freedom.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
12 Nov 2024
120 - SECRETS!!! with Nick Difatte (part 1 of 2)
01:07:07
In November it's Nick Difatte month along the Way of the Showman. We have a wideranging and circuitous conversation. We touch on the following topics and many more.
What is a masterclass
Secrets
Nick’s book Offbeat by Squash Publishing is sold out, but will be back in print…
It’s got essays one which was a big topic in the previous episode with Nick (E113)
Mentor Tyler Ericson.
Learning cheating
Secret collecting. And becoming overwhelmed by having too many tricks. Many of those who have the most tricks have non to perform when asked.
What’s being displayed in secrets is what you see. Magic what’s “really going on” is hidden.
Oriental magic done by white folks. Okito, Fu Manchu, Chung Ling Soo by Jim Steinmeier.
The importance of being fooled to remember what it’s like. Rekindle the passion.
The importance of searching for secrets to value them.
Amateurs doing it for the love of it, not the money. Using the money they make from work to buy secrets.
Old men in magic. SO old they piss their pants…
We talk about what we wanted to talk about the next time. Do we follow up these things? Tune into next episode to find out…
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
07 Jan 2025
125 - We are the Children pt 1 of 2 (Showmanship & Play 17)
00:43:44
In this episode I Show how we, human beings, actually are children throughout our lives. Not just in childhood, which is the longest childhood of any species, but we also retain many key traits of childhood into adulthood. This does not just go for our playful behaviour, but also relates to the way our heads and bodies are formed. This process is called neoteny - the retention of chidlike features into adulthood.
I talk about a very long running experiment into how to tame a fox. An experiment orchestrated by a man called Dmitri Belyaev and done by his student who continued this experiment up until today Lyudmila Trot.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
26 Nov 2024
121 - Further SECRETS!!! with Nick Difatte part 2 of 2
01:33:44
another great episode with the wonderful Nick Difatte! We continue our talk on secrets.
we touch on these topics and more -
You're not suposed to share secrets yet there are 1000's of magic books...
How tricks you buy looks.
Max Mavens distinct style of the magic he sold.
Envelopes holding the secrets to the universe.
Tim Conover
Magic downloads
Collectors and the drive to colelct hard to get stuff.
The value of the effort to learn magic from books.
Sponge balls and theri core slights
Jerry Sadowitz
Tannens Magic Camp and Nicks experience from being a teacher there.
Teaching secrets to kids
Importance of feeling Mastery for kids in the learning process.
Foam Bananas
Christopher T Magician's book Beyond Look Dont See
Subtleties of what secrets to put in a book of magic meant for the general public.
Stuff published, but can a PRO really do a routine from a book
Making it your own
Billet work and how the good workers makes them dissapear from the aundience's memories.
"Vetting" magicians
The pleasures of having someone do your material.
Choosing material you can/should do.
Me seeing Jason England perform card magic, jamming whilst I was out to lunch with Nick Mac King and Jason England and he completely fried me with the craziest card work.
Rythms in comedy.
Structuring you magic acts.
People glazing over when barraged with too much magic...
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
10 Dec 2024
122 - Hold Your Ideas Lightly with Jay Gilligan (Unpacking PLAY episode 107)
01:13:12
Jay Gilligan and myself go very deeply into a few ideas that I raise in episode 107.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
17 Dec 2024
123 - Innovative Expressions Through Play and Imagination with Jay Gilligan (unpacking PLAY episode 109)
01:16:33
My podcast host has a new feature where it gives an episode description. Here it is:
What happens when showmanship meets the genius of performance art? Join Captain Frodo and special guest Jay Gilligan as they unravel the captivating world of Cirque du Soleil's Mad Apple. We dive into the vibrant chaos of Las Vegas productions, shedding light on the exhilarating, yet precarious nature of combining comedy, music, and mayhem into a single narrative. Discover how these artistic elements can resonate with audiences, as we also explore the significance of venturing into new genres like country music.
Ever wondered if true artistic genius involves self-destruction? Together, we challenge the cliché of the suffering artist by examining the lives of iconic figures like Kurt Cobain. Our discussion proposes a fresh perspective on genius, suggesting that sustaining creativity might be the real art. This episode questions the cultural expectations placed on artists and highlights the importance of a balanced approach to creativity—one where potential doesn't overshadow sustainable reality.
From juggling acts imagined mid-flight to redefining what it means to perform, creativity takes center stage. We delve into the transformative power of play and imagination, revealing how breaking conventions can lead to innovative expressions of identity. Through personal stories, we showcase the journey from concept to execution, emphasizing the power of persistence and adaptability. Celebrate the endless possibilities of artistic creation and embrace the journey of trusting the process with us.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
24 Dec 2024
124 - On the Value of Art with Jay Gilligan (Unpacking PLAY episode 110 & 111)
01:23:48
In this episode Jay Gilligan and I talk about many things. A few of them are as follows.
- Frodo subscribes to Masterclass to learn about poetry and whatever else that app has to offer. Because he is doing 35 hours of driving to gigs in December 2024.
- Jay asks about Frodo's obsession with the idea that if something is fun and joyful it commonly thought of as not important.
- Decisions are made about what is deemed important.
- There is no intrinsic link between serious and important. I claim that the fun and games are also important.
- Jay points out this is mentioned in Erik Aaberg's book Cleverer than God.
- Festival time all of the time.
- Skill Difficulty risk as aspects of human interest. But not as the point of the performance. but as hooks to hold interest.
- Importance of having "Skin in the game".
- Transforming curiosity to interest to love. (An idea we have from Ivar Hacksher)
- How to keep the love for our craft and our life alive.
- Rudolf Steiner as an inspiration for Frodo as someone who was deeply interested in everything from dance, language, fairy tales, religion and beekeeping...
- Finding more depth in old ideas.
- Michael Moschens Violin for 3D space.
- you must spend time developing and keeping your passion alive. This is true for our Craft as well as in all our varying relationships.
Practice technique, making choices, making decisions and you also need to practice how you curate and foster and nurture your passion.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
04 Feb 2025
127 - Beyond Monsters: Philosophy & Freakshow with Anna Maria Sienicka - 1 of 4
01:58:23
Prepare to shatter your perceptions of identity and the monstrous as Captain Frodo takes you on an extraordinary exploration of freak shows with the brilliant Anna Maria Sienicka from Sorbonne University. This episode uncovers the rich tapestry of performance art that has defined Frodo's career, from the kamikaze freak show to modern-day sideshows, and delves into how these spectacles challenge social norms and provoke profound reflections on humanity. With Anna Maria's scholarly insights into the philosophy of art and medicine, we dissect how the portrayal of monstrosity in freak shows can disrupt our understanding of identity, disability, gender, and race.
We'll tap into the emotional power of horror, tracing a path from childhood Goosebumps thrills to a deep appreciation for the genre's ability to evoke strong emotions and blur reality and fiction. Discover the charm of low-budget horror films and how they engage audiences by playing on our deepest fears and curiosities. The conversation transitions seamlessly into the realm of literary giants like Victor Hugo, where we examine how characters with physical abnormalities provoke thought on societal norms and the limits of human perception, much like sideshow performers do in real life.
As we navigate the historical and cultural landscape of freak shows, we celebrate contemporary performers who have turned the tables on exploitation to embrace empowerment. Learn how they challenge societal norms and reshape narratives, as we explore the slow acceptance of freak shows within disability studies and the broader cultural landscape. By engaging with performers like Matt Fraser, who proudly identify with the term "freak," we confront our own curiosities and appreciate the artistry and humanity behind these performances. Join us in this captivating journey beyond the spectacle to uncover the profound questions of identity and representation that connect us all.
Don't miss the unexpected like why is the usual podcast sign-off mysteriously absent for the first time in 130 episodes.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
11 Feb 2025
128 - Reimagining Reality through the Freak Show Lens - Philosophy & Freakshow with Anna Maria Sienicka 2 of 4
00:58:12
Ever wondered how the Freak Show transcends typical performance art with its unique philosophical dimensions? Join Captain Frodo and our esteemed guest, Anna Maria Sienicka, a PhD student and lecturer from Paris Nanterre University, as we unravel the intricate layers of this captivating world. Through Anna Maria's research and insights, we explore the Freak Show's distinct identity, standing apart from magic and clowning by offering a profound encounter with the unknown.
Social media's impact on self-presentation takes center stage as we draw parallels to Goffman's theatrical metaphor of life. By challenging societal norms and algorithm-driven beauty standards, the Freak Show emerges as a rebellious act akin to the transformative power of drag makeup. Sword swallowing becomes more than just shock and awe; it's an invitation to experience the mysterious and sacred, transforming perceptions and enriching life with an appreciation for the unknown. These acts, once labeled as "freaky," reveal deeper truths, encouraging audiences to embrace the intriguing beauty of the unexplained.
The episode ventures further into the art of deception, where the boundaries of reality and illusion blur. We dissect the complex interplay between deception in magic and the authenticity of Freak Shows, much like the theatrical spectacle of American wrestling. From historical marvels to contemporary performances, Freak Shows blend reality with fiction in a way that captivates and challenges audiences. Through my own performances, such as squeezing through tennis rackets, we explore the art of anticipation and humor that guides audiences on a journey filled with surprise and engagement.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
18 Feb 2025
129 - Beyond Spectacle: The Art and Philosophy of Freak Shows with Anna Maria Sienicka 3 of 4
00:51:51
What if the raw spectacle of freak shows holds an unexpected depth that challenges our understanding of art? Join us for a captivating discussion with Anna Maria Sienicka, a PhD student and lecturer at Paris Nanterre University, as we explore the philosophy behind these controversial performances. We tackle the question of whether freak shows, often dismissed as mere curiosity-driven entertainment, might contain a kernel of cultural significance worth preserving, much like the multifaceted allure of opera.
We venture into the fascinating parallels between slapstick comedy and poetry, uncovering how these seemingly simple forms can evolve into profound reflections on life and death. Our conversation reveals how entertainment transcends mere escapism, becoming a medium for exploring deeper human experiences. We also spotlight influential figures like Matt Fraser and Julie Atlas Muz, who redefine the freak show genre, transforming it into a platform for artistic expression that challenges societal norms.
Continuing our exploration, we examine the blurred line between art and entertainment, questioning traditional views on what constitutes artistic merit. From comic books to the French art scene's take on American freak shows, we highlight how diverse mediums evoke visceral responses that defy intellectual categorization. We also discuss the childlike fascination with the monstrous within freak shows, drawing on personal anecdotes to illustrate the primal curiosity they inspire. Finally, we celebrate the artistic lifestyle of showmen, whose unique existence on the road reflects a life steeped in performance art akin to modern-day shamanism.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
25 Feb 2025
130 - Freak Shows: From Sideshow Curiosities to Modern Media Spectacles with Anna Maria Sienicka - Part 4 of 4
01:23:05
What if the spectacle of the past is shaping the media and fashion of today? Join us as we unravel the beguiling narrative of freak shows, from their origins as sideshow curiosities to their influence on modern culture. Our journey takes us through the intricate dance of authenticity and performance, reflecting on anecdotes like Jack Black's lesson on recording's importance. We question if today's mainstream acceptance could strip these performances of their once subversive edge and what it means to be a "freak" in today's world.
Throughout the episode, we traverse the historical arc of freak shows, exploring their transformation into contemporary media spectacles akin to reality TV. With examples ranging from Donald Trump's spectacle-driven approach to the enchanting yet controversial acts of Dutch magicians Robert and Emil, we compare this provocative art form with traditional performance arts. Can freak shows be considered a unique artistic expression or merely a mirror of evolving societal norms?
We close with a thought-provoking exploration of the emotional landscape that freak shows inhabit. Through historical, literary, and philosophical lenses, we dissect the language of monstrosity and how physical differences evoke visceral reactions. From the evocative narratives of Victorian medical curiosities to the modern allure of extremes, we reflect on how these performances challenge identities and provoke empathy, leaving listeners to ponder the complex tapestry of human experience that freak shows continue to weave.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
04 Mar 2025
131 - How Mystère Reinvented Circus for Las Vegas: A True Tale - Jay Gilligan & Captain Frodo explores Cirque du Soleil's first Las Vegas show 1 of 4
01:05:39
Step into the world of Cirque du Soleil's Mystère and explore its magical journey through the lens of showmanship! This episode takes you behind the scenes as we dive deep into the artistry and evolution that have made Mystère an enduring icon in Las Vegas entertainment. Join hosts Captain Frodo and Jay Gilligan as they share their personal experiences, explore the creative journey behind this iconic show, and discuss how its rich narrative seamlessly combines circus and theater.
From the early days of its production to the meticulous crafting of performances, learn about the passion and dedication that go into captivating audiences for over three decades. Mystère is more than just a show; it is a pioneering force that has redefined the circus experience, pushing boundaries while respecting its traditions. Jay, a lifelong juggler and advocate for circus arts, unpacks the emotional layers and innovative techniques that provide depth to this mesmerizing spectacle.
As we navigate through key revelations and insider stories of Mystère, we uncover how it has set the standard for future shows and continues to inspire performers around the globe. This rich tapestry of discussion leaves listeners with a profound understanding of both the show and its impact on the cultural landscape. Join us and indulge in an exploration of artistry, risk, and the evolution of performance art. Don't miss out—tune in, subscribe, and uncover the magic of Mystère!
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
10 Mar 2025
132 - Mystere Unveiled: Exploring the Art of Cirque - Jay Gilligan & Captain Frodo explores Cirque du Soleil's first Las Vegas show 2 of 4
01:11:10
Step into the enchanting world of "Mystere," where the lines between circus, theater, and artistry blur into an unforgettable experience. In this episode, we unfold the remarkable story behind one of the Cirque du Soleil's most iconic productions, exploring how it reshaped modern entertainment. Listen as we discuss its innovative approach to storytelling, the emotional depth of its performances, and the sheer magic that captivates audiences worldwide.
Join us as we dive deep into the show's creative vision, led by Franco Dragone and his team, who broke barriers to redefine the circus landscape. Mystere invites viewers on a journey, appealing to the senses and challenging preconceived notions of performance art through stunning visuals and dynamic storytelling. We share insights on the unique challenges performers face within the show, discovering how anonymity and collective identity play a crucial role in their craft.
The episode also touches on the impact of technology in enhancing audience interaction and expectations of live performances. We reflect on the show's enduring legacy, how it paved the way for future productions, and its evolution over the years.
Whether you're a circus enthusiast or new to the world of performance arts, you won't want to miss this fascinating exploration! You'll gain valuable insights into the deeper meanings woven into every act. Be part of this journey and share your own experiences with us! Don't forget to subscribe or leave a review!
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
25 Mar 2025
133 - Does Meeting Your Heroes Kill the Mystery? Jay Gilligan & Captain Frodo explores Cirque du Soleil's first Las Vegas show. part 3 of 4
01:15:39
When does unmasking the magic behind a theatrical masterpiece enhance rather than diminish its wonder? Join Captain Frodo and Jay Gilligan as they peel back the curtain on Cirque du Soleil's Mystere, revealing the fascinating evolution of this groundbreaking Las Vegas production over its remarkable 31-year run.
Franco Dragone emerges as the passionate, sometimes volatile creative force who shaped Mystere through improvisation and emotional imagery rather than traditional storytelling. "I work with images and emotions," he would say, crafting scenes that resonated on a visceral level rather than an intellectual one. The conversation reveals how his creative vision about "the origins of the universe" translated into the show's iconic elements - from the giant inflatable snail named Alice to the baby with the red ball who captures audiences' imaginations.
Behind every theatrical wonder lies human reality - sometimes beautiful, sometimes troubling. Dangerous falls from stilts in fog-slicked conditions, and the clown who was fired after cutting the wrong powerful man's necktie during a pre-show bit. Yet these stories don't diminish the magic; they highlight the extraordinary commitment required to create something that transcends ordinary entertainment.
Most compelling is how Mystere has evolved while maintaining its essence. Original elements have been modified or removed, performers have changed countless times, and budget cuts have reduced the cast size. Today's performers bring new relationships and chemistry to characters that didn't previously interact, breathing fresh life into a production that refuses to become a museum piece. As Jay reflects, "It's the difference between making a movie and making a show...the show is happening actually for real, every night."
Discover why meeting your heroes doesn't always destroy the mystery - sometimes it reveals something even more magical: that ordinary people, through extraordinary dedication, can create experiences that continue to resonate with audiences for decades. Subscribe now for our final episode on Mystere, where we'll explore what we can learn from knowing one thing deeply.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
01 Apr 2025
134 - Circus Church: When Performance Becomes a Spiritual Experience - Jay Gilligan & Captain Frodo explore Cirque’s first Vegas show 4 of 4
01:19:31
What happens when an artist watches the same show 84 times over three decades? Something magical emerges at the intersection of art, ritual, and the sacred.
Captain Frodo and juggler Jay Gilligan dive deep into the fascinating psychology of repeated viewing, exploring why we'll happily listen to songs hundreds of times but typically see a live performance just once. This conversation challenges our cultural assumptions about consumption while revealing how each viewing of the same performance can uncover new layers of meaning, detail, and artistic intention.
The discussion takes unexpected turns through the landscape of artistic development, questioning whether isolation or immersion best serves creative growth. Jay's incredible story of watching a VHS recording of Cirque du Soleil's Mystere daily for an entire year becomes a lens through which to examine ritual, meaning-making, and the spiritual dimensions of performance. When does a theatrical experience transcend entertainment and become something akin to church?
For performers, this episode offers profound insights about taking your craft seriously, understanding your lineage, and finding depth in repetition. For audiences, it provides a new way of appreciating live performance—not as a one-time experience but as a potentially sacred ritual that rewards those who return with open hearts and curious minds.
Whether you're a seasoned performer or simply someone who appreciates the magic of live entertainment, this conversation will transform how you think about the performances you create or witness. Captain Frodo's heartfelt reflections on the privilege of performing remind us all that great art isn't just what happens on stage—it's the invisible connection created between performer and audience that makes each moment unique, even when performing the same act for the thousandth time.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
15 Apr 2025
135 - Juggling the Past, Present, and Future with Niels Duinker & Captain Frodo
02:00:37
The enduring magic of juggling spans centuries, yet few performers have dedicated themselves to both preserving its rich history and innovating its future quite like Nils Dunke. In this captivating conversation, the Dutch comedy juggler takes us on an unexpected journey through the interconnected worlds of performance, craftsmanship, and historical preservation.
What makes this episode particularly fascinating is Nils' unique intersection of mechanical engineering expertise with artistic passion. He explains how this combination led him to revolutionize traditional juggling equipment through ergonomic designs that enhance performers' capabilities. His collaborations with juggling innovators like Jay Gilligan on the Cuphead Club demonstrate how thoughtful equipment design can unlock entirely new artistic possibilities.
Perhaps most compelling is Nils' dedication to preserving juggling's heritage through publishing significant historical works. His efforts to document the stories of legends like 100-year-old Bobby Jule (inventor of the ping-pong ball on nose trick) ensure these valuable contributions aren't lost to time. When he describes visiting juggling archives and connecting with the remaining practitioners from vaudeville's golden age, we glimpse how passion projects become crucial cultural preservation.
Whether you're fascinated by the performing arts, interested in how innovation happens, or simply appreciate stories of people following unconventional passions, Nils' perspective offers valuable insights on building a meaningful creative life. His philosophy that "if nobody takes risks, nothing gets pushed forward" serves as inspiration for anyone looking to make their mark while honoring those who came before.
Ready to discover how ancient arts evolve in the modern world? Subscribe now and join our exploration of showmanship through the eyes of those who live it daily.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
04 Jun 2020
Teaser
00:04:22
A short introduction to give a feeling of the tone and themes and what this podcast is about.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
09 Jun 2020
1 - the Day Showbiz Died
00:25:03
A blow by blow telling of the tale of how Showbiz shut down in Sin City, Las Vegas and beyond with a few thoughts on the future for a Showman in a world with no Crowds.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
15 Jun 2020
2 - Welcome to the New World
00:29:03
There is a new reality dawning for show business. It's still illegal to do shows in Las Vegas. How can a Showman find his Way in this new world? I have been delving into the Lost Knowledge of the Imagination and experienced some consciousness expanding poetry. It's helped me see the stars a little clearer and allowed me to plot the course onwards for my Showmanship. This episode is about transformation.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
23 Jun 2020
3 - Secret Knowledge
00:31:48
I make a case for the constraints of these strange times becoming a catalyst for the future of Showmanship, and I share a personal tale of the two kinds of secrets which permeated my childhood. As Wordsworth reminded us, "the Child is Father of the Man," thus both streams of secrets lingers in me to this day.
You will discover secret knowledge and get a behind the scenes look at some of the techniques of the Magician as well as getting a taste of more occult flavoured secrets.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
30 Jun 2020
4 - Clowns & Truth
00:28:33
It has been said that the Clown is the Soul of the circus, and this pivotal figure, the fool, the jester, and his strange visions and very intricate dance with truth, is the topic of today. The Clown is at once the most ridiculous of all characters, yet there is another, much deeper and powerful side of the Crazy Wise Holy Fool. How did the fool become the first card in the Tarot, the alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end? The truth is that I don't know the full extent of it but "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time." So, come with me, I will as always be your Captain, you are most welcome to dine at my table aboard the Showmanship.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
07 Jul 2020
5 - In Defence of Children
00:30:27
I have a few more things to say about constraints and limitations as catalysts for new work. I also spend some time contemplating other sources for meaning, now that the Pandemic has made Crowds and Shows into entities on the brink of extinction. We Showfolk must explore other avenues for meaning in our lives. Then I delve into a deep look at children and how their attitude can be most informative and beneficial, not just for clowns, but for all the characters of the Grand Big Top of the World, as a Way to approach our new reality.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
14 Jul 2020
6 - the Soul Spectacle
00:26:58
Today the lens of Showmanship becomes a microscope that looks deep into the nebulous connections between Showmanship and the mystical art of Alchemy. By looking at the two things side by side we can develop a more majestic and esoteric perspective on the frivolous art of Showmanship. In many ways the whole project of the Way of the Showman is to go beyond the first and simplest level of jokes and tricks. This episode dives deeper. We sail our Showmanship out onto the Sea of Illumination and struggle our way into our brass helmeted diving suit before letting ourselves sink down to the Abyssal Planes to seek for hidden and forgotten treasures.
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way. You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify. If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com or find out more on the Way of the Showman website. you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman. If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo
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