Passed Out in Front of Portage Place
Clowning can be a dangerous occupation.
In this issue: Now I know why bulky American Circus clown costumes are gathered at the ankles. If your toe gets caught in your pants, you’re down in a flash and a clown hits the pavement. In other worlds, Buddhism and Zen philosophy bring together elements that support clown philosophy. Can you talk if no one listens? Isn’t communication a two-way relationship? If I assume you have nothing of importance to share with me, why would I support your ability to communicate? Meanwhile, Mrs. Lipton’s took on a mythic presence in Wolseley. It was a cornerstone in people’s lives.
Marmalade & the Old Ladies
Hi ya folks! I’m Marmalade. They keep trying to shut me up. Well, you might not believe some of the things that have happened to me, but they’re true. When I head out to a gig in my station wagon, I end up in some crazy situations. Half of the excitement is getting there. I always like to wave at people in the other cars. One time I was waving to a whole busload of kids. Almost didn’t see that red light. Felt like these people were trying to kill me!
One day, I was running late and had to take the bus down to the Portage Place Mall to paint faces and clown around with shoppers. On the bus, there were some friendly old ladies who loved to laugh. I joked with them and told them stories. When I got off the bus, I crossed Portage at the light and waved goodbye. I was dancing as I went. I curtsied to a couple walking into Portage Place Mall and my toe caught in the bottom of my pant leg and I crashed to the sidewalk. Yes! Crashed!
I fell on the pavement with the left side of my face. Bamm! I even passed out for a minute, and I came to with the couple goggling over me. They were looking pretty shocked. I was shocked too! Well, I wasn’t bleeding, so I got up, smiled, told them I was fine, and went in to find the washroom at Portage Place. I ducked into the Family Washroom and started sobbing like a baby. I told myself “Clowns don’t cry! But I couldn’t stop myself. I guess it was that bang on the head just knocked all the water loose.
Immediately – like right away - there was a knock at the door. It continued and continued until I opened it. It was a real baby and two women wanting to change a diaper. Between sobs, I explained that I had fallen and I just needed to cry because I couldn’t stop crying. Finally, my tears dried up. I took a deep breath, fixed my make-up, and went out the door.
Roving around the Mall for the next three hours, yes three hours, I painted faces and did my best to make kids laugh. On the way out of the mall, I stopped to talk to the Security. “A woman came to me,” he explained, “and told me, “There’s a clown crying in the washroom.” I didn’t know what to do.”
Later on in the month, when I was busking at the Forks Market making balloon animals and painting faces, an older woman came up to me. “How are you dear?” she asked. “We were watching from the bus when you fell over. What a terrible fall!! Were you all right dear?”
Popcorn Philosophy – I Am a Droplet in a Wave
In Buddhist philosophy, the world of opposites that we experience is considered transient. Opposites are the human way of articulating and understanding experience, but true understanding comes from seeing behind this conception of reality by experiencing the impermanence of our illusions. Buddhist practitioner Thich Nhat Hanh writes,
The Buddha taught that there is no birth, there is no death; there is no coming, there is no going; there is no same, there is no different; there is no permanent self, there is no annihilation. (211)
The role of the clown assists us in laughing about human contradictions. When the clown reacts unexpectedly, transforms objects, inverts roles or creates a parallel universe; the clown interrupts habitual thought, allowing other possibilities to surface.
Wolseley Tales: Remembering Mrs. Lipton’s
At Mrs. Lipton’s, Karen made her own yoghurt. She would mix whole milk with a small container of yoghurt in a big glass jar and put it in the gas oven overnight. The pilot light in the oven kept it just the right temperature, and in the morning, “voila” it was yoghurt. It was the perfect accompaniment to her whole grain granola. Wolseley became known as the “Granola Belt” of Winnipeg because granola was such a popular whole food.
The meat that Karen used was from the German butcher shop on Portage Avenue. They made special small size sausages for Mrs. Lipton’s. Their black forest ham was used for ham sandwiches. All the meat was home cured or smoked, and you could tell the difference in the taste.
Specialties to remember are Peanut Butter Milkshakes, curried vegetable pitas, chocolate cheesecake and home-made samosas.
Karen would make a large pot of soup every day from fresh vegetables and she would season it with fresh herbs. Her stews and soups were delicious. Although staff watched her make them and tried to copy at home, the food that others made was never quite as good.
One time a couple broke up at the lunch counter within Karen’s hearing. Karen said that the woman was not as upset that he was leaving, as she was that he had told her at Mrs. Lipton’s. Now, she would not be able to come to Mrs. Lipton’s without thinking of their break-up. She kept saying, “Why here?”
Odds & Ends – I Can Hear You
I wrote about my work creating a drama program at Manitoba Developmental Center (MDC) in Canadian Theatre Review:
I often used taped music to get the participants to move around freely and found folk tales at the library and told stories, then invited them to act out the stories with me, using a clown’s approach to transforming everyday objects into props and makeshift costumes. The aim was to have fun, help them enjoy moving, discover physical expression, and encourage them to use their voices with words and/or sounds.
From a physical standpoint, I could see how their movement was improving, and each week they seemed more willing and able to take risks. The laughter in the classes clearly improved their circulation and their humours. When I stopped and listened with a non-verbal group, they would find a way to communicate with me. Was it through small sounds and gestures, or was it telepathic? I didn’t know, but I knew that the more I listened, the more the participants were able to communicate (31).
I asked myself how much could disregard affect people’s ability to communicate? Can someone talk if no-one listens?
References
Proctor, Sue. “Clowning But Not: A Clown’s Approach to Drama for People with Physical and Intellectual Disabilities”. Canadian Theatre Review vol 183, Summer 2020. Stephenson, Jenn Ed. University of Toronto press incorporated (30-33).
Proctor, Sue. The Archetypal Role of the Clown as a Catalyst for Individual and Societal Transformation. https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/977096/
Nhat Hanh, Thich. Taming the Tiger Within: Meditations on Transforming Difficult
Emotions. Ed. Pritam Singh. New York: Penguin Group, 2004.
Old Photos
Marmalade at the Forks Market, from The Prime Times, Winnipeg. June 10, 2010. Issue 11. Photograph by Ken Gigliotti, Free Press Archives.