Why it's so important to be silly
Being silly is a powerful act of defiance. We should celebrate it more, says Elf Lyons.
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Be silly
Clown Elf Lyons explains why it's so important to be silly:
Get silly and play more. We don’t do it enough and the world would be better if we did. When directing other artists, I remind them to never underestimate the power of silliness. Being playful and silly with an audience is still a surprisingly political statement. It can be subversive and both unite and agitate audiences dependent on who is being silly…
Clowns must be treasured at all costs. They are a comedy democracy. Clowns exist and get their joy from celebrating being with people. The clown is kind. They don't punch up or down. They tickle, but they shouldn’t pinch.
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This “passing a ball back and forth” feels like an apt analogy for the relationship between comedian and audience:
Everyone has the right to play, everyone has the right to relearn the beauty of laughing with themselves and with others. The world would be better if we played more. In a different country, even if two children do not speak the same language, they can understand the basic game of passing a ball back and forth. A complicité is formed. Even though one could throw the ball elsewhere or aim to harm, they typically continue to pass the ball so the other can catch it, because we are an inherently kind species. We want people to be part of the game. Think of the Christmas Truce in 1914 when the English and German soldiers played football.
Read the rest. (h/t MK)
“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.”
-Carl Jung
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