LET THOSE THAT PLAY YOUR CLOWNS…

Robert L. Mills writing about a sketch he wrote for Bob Hope and George Gobel, who plays a Polish American Football player…

"Since I know not a word of Polish, while writing the dialog, I came up with what I thought sounded like passable phrases. George, being the consummate pro he was, didn’t make up his own gibberish but memorized mine! That’s the ultimate example of an actor’s faithfulness to the written word. Would that they were all like that."

Hear, hear!

Perhaps you have heard of Bob Hope, but George Gobel is not as well-known. He was born in Chicago in 1919, and started in show business at the age of eleven, singing on radio as ‘Little George Gobel’. Later, he became ‘Lonesome George’, guitarist and singer of cowboy ballads. From 1954 to 1960 he starred in NBC’s ‘The George Gobel Show’, for which he won an Emmy in 1955.

His films include, ‘The Birds and the Bees’ (1956), and ‘I Married a Woman’ - with Diana Dors! (1958)

He died at the age of 71, in 1991.

Here is George Gobel on the ‘Liberace Show’, singing with the ‘chromium-plated’ pianist, and Trisha Noble. It’s a good number, which I think I will try and work into a pantomime.

MAKING THE BEST OF A BADDIE JOB

Via this blog, I try to offer assistance to people presenting pantomimes, whether they are using one of my scripts or not. Also, whenever I send letter to a group that has decided to produce one of my pantos, I conclude the communication with… “If you require any further help or information, please do not hesitate to contact me.”

Well, someone took me up on that recently, and it was for a non-pantomime presentation as part of their company’s season. They asked if I knew where they could obtain the villain’s ident music that was played on the piano over silent films. It’s the one that goes… “Dah-dah-dah-dah-daaah-ra-ta-ta-ta.

I had a reference for it on – freesfx.co.uk – where it is listed as ‘Cartoon piano riff – sneaky sounding’, but it ends rather abruptly.

Then I remembered that I had it on an LP entitled, ‘Music from the Silent Films’, played by one Mike Napoli. When I found the dusty disc in a cupboard full of vinyl, I discovered there are no sleeve notes, and the record label simply lists the track as ‘The Villain Theme’. However (CUE FANFARE) a Google search, ‘Villain Theme’ brought up the website – soundandthefoley.com/2013/04/04/villains- theme – which solves the mystery.

It’s available on – amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001GITW8G/ref=oss_product

Always glad to be of assistance, or as the French say… knobblyknees oblige.

HANDS UP

English pantomime owes its origins to Commedia dell’arte, presented by travelling players in 16^th century Italy. It was a very physical type of theatre that used dance, music, tumbling, acrobatics, and buffoonery (good word!).

Commedia gave us the term slapstick, which comes from the "batacchio", or "bataccio", a flexible pair of paddles fastened together with a spacer at one end. It was literally a stick for slapping. Actors could strike a blow to a person with a loud clapping sound but without causing any physical damage. Of course, as Sir Isaac Newton so accurately put it, “To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction… “ So, the actor being whacked, must react accordingly, to punch the gag.

In the 17^th century, the Commedia characters Arlecchino (Harlequin), Columbina (Columbine), Pedrolino (Pierrot), Pantalone (Pantaloon) and Clown, found their way into the English harlequinade. The great Joseph Grimaldi expanded the role of Clown, and the rest, as they say, is hysterical.

However, the most famous character to emerge from Commedia dell’arte, at least as far as those of us based in Blighty are concerned, is Pulcinella, whose name was anglicised to Punchinello, and then abbreviated to Punch.

On the 9^th of May 1662, Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary, that he enjoyed "...an Italian puppet play that is within the rayles there, which is very pretty, the best that ever I saw..." So, Mr. Punch, the prince of puppets, the manifestation of the Lord of Misrule, and Trickster figures of deep-rooted mythologies, has survived for over 350 years, despite the invention of the cinema, television, computer games, and political correctness. Long may he continue!

Which brings me to The Muppets, who have carried on the tradition of both slapstick and Mr. Punch. My regular reader will know of my affection and admiration for these premier puppet performers and their style of humour. Way back in June 2011, when I started this blog, I referred to a journalist who reviewed my version of ‘Ali Baba’, and  described it as “… infectious anarchy… “ I was as chuffed as the aforementioned Mr. Punch. I hadn’t deliberately set out to achieve that result, it just came out in the wash... so to speak. There were probably quite a few influences that brought me to that point… the Marx Brothers, the Goons, Frank Randle, Mad Magazine, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Black Adder, and most assuredly The Muppets. However, from then on, I decided that if I thought it was funny, it could go into a pantomime.

I came across some quotes from the English-born James Bobin who directed the 2011 film, ‘The Muppets’. He says…

“They are so strong as characters, so fantastic. All we need to do is be true to what they were originally true to."

“It was just still nice to know that there was something still left out there that kids could find funny without adult humour that adults could find funny too.”

And, from a review of the film on the GIZMODO  website…

“It would be easy to ruin the Muppets: Just make them modern.”

“‘The Muppets’ is very much, an island out of place in time.”

“But while it makes nods to the present day, it doesn't use our time as a plot mechanism.“

I couldn’t have put it better… and I’ve been putting it for some time about pantomime!

If you want to learn how to do pantomime, you could do a lot worse that look at The Muppets. 

Here's some Muppet mayhem and merriment. Sucre bleu!

GIANT STEPS

Presenting the pantomime ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ creates two major problems for amateur groups, particularly those with limited resources, performing in church halls and the like. The first is that just prior to the interval Jack must start to climb the beanstalk, waving to everyone, as he sets off on his quest.

Short of using a rope ladder or something similar, which would of course, need to be very securely fixed to a strong anchor point above the stage, this can be achieved by means of a small step ladder hidden behind a fence, or a ground row of foliage etc. Just two or three feet elevation, accompanied by dramatic music, is sufficient to set up the second half of the show.

The other problem is the Giant, which need only make a brief appearance, but the big guy must be mobile, and even attempt a brief sword fight with Jack.

Reclining atop a shelf of books in my office, wearing only a pair of combat boots, is an Action Man figure, which has been there for quite some time. Please don’t get the wrong idea, because I acquired it from a charity shop to serve as a scale model that I could dress up as the Giant from said pantomime. I would then photograph it, and along with some construction ideas, make my efforts available to groups who decided to use my script.

However, now there is no need, as I have come across a crackerjack creation built by one Bald Brain, who describes himself quite correctly, as a designer, inventor and dreamer. Have a look at his website – baldbrain.com

Click on ‘Costumes’ in the column on the left, and go to ‘Page 3’. Under the heading ‘Freakshow Jester Halloween Costume 2010’, you will find illustrations of the original sketches, the design process, and the finished costume, plus a video, presenting a pièce de résistance.

The end product is a humdinger design that looks so easy to wear, and manoeuvre. I reckon that with the variations of an appropriate head and costume, it could be a jolly keen giant.

Since BB has published pictures of the production stages, and states “… I've got some how-to's for Halloween costumes and haunted house props.” He obviously has no objections to amateur groups copying the basic design. I checked with him via e-mail, just to be sure, and he gave his approval.

Maybe the metalwork might prove a touch tricky, but perhaps plastic tubing, or willow withies, could  do the job just as well.

There is certainly ample inspiration provided by the building sequence, and demonstration of the final result.

On the same page as the Jester, under the heading, ‘Oversized Costume Starters’, the follicularly challenged chappy offers “… some quick and easy designs to make shoulder harnesses for oversized costumes,”, and there is another brilliant biggie featured under the heading, ‘Jumbo the Clown Halloween Costume 2008'.

The whole site is an Aladdin’s Cave. Come to think of it… I would like to see his sketches for that setting.

QUOTE CUISINE

I reckon it is very pleasing when one discovers that someone who is tons more talented than oneself confirms a view with regards to the entertainment business that one has been harping on about for quite some time,

"Performing onstage is about sharing something, not about proving something." (Yo-Yo Ma)

Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist who has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, and the Polar Music Prize in 2012 . He is one of the best-known cellists of the modern age, and is widely considered to be one of the most talented. But then you knew that, didn’t you?

  

Take heed you ego trippers!

3D OR NOT 3D

Some six months ago, I was going to post a blog about 3-D films. I had come across a piece on the BBC News website which was headed, ‘Has 3D film-making had its day?’ What interested me was the fact that a British cinematographer who had shot Hollywood movies, stated, "3D is antithetical to storytelling, where immersion in character is the goal.”

So, there was a parallel with what I have been advocating for pantomime. Of course, that’s in 3D, but often immersion in character comes well down the list of priorities. Lots of so-called actors barely dip their toes in the water.

Surprise, surprise, only last week, CNN reported that the Disney-owned ESPN, one of biggest names to quickly get onboard the format, will cease broadcasting 3D sports content this year, shutting down the ESPN 3D channel.

Apparently, "The excitement around 3D TV was coming from many places: the industry, the TV manufacturers and the content providers," a technology analyst stated, adding, "But not the consumers, and ultimately that is what proved fatal."

So you should beware not only the Jabberwock, but also trendy gimmicks.

Trust in me, I’ll see you through.

LET’S GET PHYSICAL

Hows about that caption on their promotional video… ‘Physical Comedy – The newest oldest art form.’ Stick with it, because it still works… if you do it well.

I really go for the gag with the passing ‘trees’ at 1’ 27” into the video. That’s got to go in a production. 

Parallel Exit is based in New York. Their work blends theatre, dance, and music.

They claim that their goal is to create moments of simple magic for audiences of all ages. Sounds all right to me!