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Angels Can Fly, a Modern Clown User Guide
Angels Can Fly, a Modern Clown User Guide, includes a mix of fiction which follows the adventures of ten clowns, some personal anecdotes from clowns from around the world, a total of 50 practical clown exercises, and some theory on the nature of modern clown. Clown is a fascinating, diverse, complex and exciting art form, which has existed around the planet for thousands of years. Like any art form it has to evolve to stay relevant to the culture nurturing it, and at the same time, and by its very nature, clown teases and turns upside down the cultural patterns and boundaries around us. This book is an attempt to chart the growth of modern clown, and to promote the process by providing, not only practical exercises for individuals and groups, but also reference points for thinking.
540 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2005
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About the author
Alan Clay
3 books1 followerAlan is the author of three novels, Moontan, Dance Sisters and Believers In Love and a mixed clown textbook/novel, Angels Can Fly. More recently he has been adapting his books into films and is now the award winning writer/director of Butterfly Crush, adapted from Dance Sisters and Courting Chaos, adapted from Angels Can Fly. You can watch the trailers for both these movies here in the videos.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 6, 2015
Although the book primarily seems to be about the art of performance in practice, through the description of many character building activities, it becomes clear that this book also offers factual and fictional stories, in order to fully reach out to the reader and offer them a thorough understanding of what it truly is to be a performer. Though the stories and activities included are told through the eyes of a clown, each chapter is relevant to every aspect of performance and to every performer.
This book is cleverly written, as it is technically three books all rolled up into one. However, to further the genius behind the book, the three aspects are entwined to keep the reader interested from start to finish. Each chapter contains an activity or warm up description, a fictional story about a multitude of performers, and an anecdote offered up from real life experience. Regardless of whether you are a professional performer, an amateur, or someone who is looking for a good read that reaches beyond the norm, this book is perfect! Not only does it offer you activities to help improve your own performance and team building skills, it also touches upon the hardships of being a performer in a way that allows you a full understanding of the profession.
The activities included cover all areas of performance, from breathing exercises, to tension control and character building strategies. As you move along the book, the difficulty in exercises increases. The order in which they are written is really well thought out as you are eased into the world of performance, not thrown in at the deep end and told to swim!
This book is fantastic for all readers, not only those looking to perform! It can either be bought as a wonderful guide for a beginner, or as an intriguing and funny read for anyone else!
One quote that really sticks with me from the book, as a performer, is: "Play possibilities are endless, and the world is full of objects for us to play with." Those this is very true for performers of all kinds, it is also a great way in which to open up and live life to its fullest potential.
This book is cleverly written, as it is technically three books all rolled up into one. However, to further the genius behind the book, the three aspects are entwined to keep the reader interested from start to finish. Each chapter contains an activity or warm up description, a fictional story about a multitude of performers, and an anecdote offered up from real life experience. Regardless of whether you are a professional performer, an amateur, or someone who is looking for a good read that reaches beyond the norm, this book is perfect! Not only does it offer you activities to help improve your own performance and team building skills, it also touches upon the hardships of being a performer in a way that allows you a full understanding of the profession.
The activities included cover all areas of performance, from breathing exercises, to tension control and character building strategies. As you move along the book, the difficulty in exercises increases. The order in which they are written is really well thought out as you are eased into the world of performance, not thrown in at the deep end and told to swim!
This book is fantastic for all readers, not only those looking to perform! It can either be bought as a wonderful guide for a beginner, or as an intriguing and funny read for anyone else!
One quote that really sticks with me from the book, as a performer, is: "Play possibilities are endless, and the world is full of objects for us to play with." Those this is very true for performers of all kinds, it is also a great way in which to open up and live life to its fullest potential.
May 2, 2015
A great blend of telling stories and teaching
After watching the movie based off this book (Courting Chaos) I knew I had to find and read this. I’ll admit that before watching the film or reading this book I didn’t know much about the world of clowning. I say “world” because the clowning vocation is in itself a sub-culture, an environment completely foreign to me. As I found this so interesting I really wanted to know more about clowns, like who are the people drawn into this profession and what do they get out of it.
I love the titles of each chapter and how they move the book forward, from Breath to Play, to Trust, Self, Practice and faith, it’s a journey. Each chapter has a specific focus but they are all tied together. I really liked the personal stories throughout this book but I found the exercises and anecdotes very interesting and gave me even more insight into this fascinating world. I never knew clowning could be so serious! I also found it interesting that a lot of the advice in here would be applicable to any career, especially the chapters on expectations, risk, release and failure. Even though I don’t think I will change careers to become a clown I definitely have a new appreciation for those in the field, especially street artists.
After watching the movie based off this book (Courting Chaos) I knew I had to find and read this. I’ll admit that before watching the film or reading this book I didn’t know much about the world of clowning. I say “world” because the clowning vocation is in itself a sub-culture, an environment completely foreign to me. As I found this so interesting I really wanted to know more about clowns, like who are the people drawn into this profession and what do they get out of it.
I love the titles of each chapter and how they move the book forward, from Breath to Play, to Trust, Self, Practice and faith, it’s a journey. Each chapter has a specific focus but they are all tied together. I really liked the personal stories throughout this book but I found the exercises and anecdotes very interesting and gave me even more insight into this fascinating world. I never knew clowning could be so serious! I also found it interesting that a lot of the advice in here would be applicable to any career, especially the chapters on expectations, risk, release and failure. Even though I don’t think I will change careers to become a clown I definitely have a new appreciation for those in the field, especially street artists.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews