Binks, E. (2020) The Zen Clown: An Exploration of Presence as a Principle within Clowning in Relation to Psychophysical Actor Training. York St John University.
Just follow this link to read my dissertation –
The inspiration for my dissertation came from my own embodied experience as a clown in training in my second year module Funny Bones. I realised that clowning, aside from it’s theatrical complexities, offered a refreshing way of being and existing in the world. It unlocked my playfulness and ability to emerge in the present moment. This was inspiring to me as clowning seemed challenge habits of thinking, performing, and being that I had accumulated as a woman existing in Western culture. Hence, I decided to dig further into something of such interest to me.
Throughout the research period, I realised the task I had set myself was large as the parallels between ‘Zen Buddhism’ and ‘Clowning’ could never be fully drawn out and conclusive in a 4000 word extended essay. Nevertheless, I learnt that a way to be concise was to focus on the experience from an actor’s phenomenological viewpoint (studying my consciousness from direct experience). This meant I could draw on theories and notions from relevant practitioners and relate them back to my own experiences as a clown in training. Generally speaking, to dig deep rather than wide.
Of course, there were lots of sources I could find and reference in regards to Zen Buddhism and Clowning as two separate entities. However, finding sources that made relevant links between the two proved difficult. Hence, I had to navigate my way through journals, blogs and relatively new sources in order to create a correlation between the two areas. This was a real learning curve for me as an academic. I found alternative sources to support my investigation that went beyond books in the library. I intertwined my own learning from experience with academic findings from my research in order to analyse theories and insights and began to draw conclusions. I learnt to support myself and my ideas as I searched for evidence to explore a relationship that I had independently identified and believed that I could do it!
My investigation led me to synthesise insights, theories, and knowledge in order to produce a coherent and extended piece of written work. I learnt that the key to doing this is to truly find something of interest, something you genuinely want to find out more about, something that makes you tick. The Articulate Performer was a term coined by the module leader and this could not be more true for my dissertation because of the combination of theory and practice.
This combination of theory and practice has been crucial to writing my dissertation and has also been apparent throughout the entirety of my degree. The Drama and Theatre specialism has encouraged the notion that theory can be used to inform practice and vice versa. It could be that this is one of the reasons I chose the Schools Direct route into teaching which braids teaching practice with masters level academic and writing. This practical way of learning to teach is married together with academia in order so that I become a well rounded newly qualified teacher. My ability to conduct and research an investigation has developed incredibly by writing this extended piece of written work which is something I am proud to be able to take forward into my teacher training where I am required to write at masters level.
The findings from this dissertation have also been insightful in creating my own initiative that I wish to take forward into my teaching career. ‘The Zen Clown’ explored playfulness and the joy and spontaneity which playfulness encompasses. I wish to reinstate playfulness into the lives of teachers in order to better their relationships with young people and their own teaching styles. Please see The Blatchford Initiative for more.