| �When you are just about to attempt a difficult trick, and you are under the pressure of an audience, what is it that makes you get it right?� |
The intention of the question was an attempt to initiate discussion
about that moment in the ring that belongs entirely to the performer, and
due to the physicality of circus performance, to discover the particular
mental state required to execute such performance. The following is an
analysis of responses to this question.
2.2.1. Rehearsal
Many of the interviewees refer to training and practice in their immediate
responses to the question. Yates (Line 1 76) replies, �Thousands of hours
of training.� Brown (Line 346) says that success comes from �the knowledge
that you have mastered� the trick. Gasser (Line 1 36) responds, �Well,
first of all, practice.� In other performance disciplines these responses
may well refer to the rehearsal process. In circus, however, this process
can not properly be called rehearsal. As discussed before, training in
circus is an ongoing process, and it is this continual training that constitutes
preparation for performance. For many circus performers, a substantial
part of training does not concentrate on specific skills. As with many
sports people, strength and flexibility training is an important part of
preparation for the performer. Lorraine Grant (First National Circus Summit
Report:1 990:3 3) says:
| "We stress the importance of ballet / dance / gymnastics / juggling; also jumping, swinging, holding your own weight, stretching and loosening exercises. Bodies must be conditioned, hands slowly toughened, arms, legs, muscles slowly built up." |
It is interesting that �training� and �practice� are referred to, in terms of preparation, rather than rehearsal. The former are usually associated with sport rather than performance.
Indeed, as it is understood by other performance disciplines, rehearsal
is often very difficult for circus performers:
| �Most of the time it is very difficult for circus performers to rehearse. People in the theatre hate it, working with circus people because they don�t rehearse in the same way.� (ColdwelI: Lines 1 53-1 55) |
Circus performers will always have a number of new routines and higher
level skills for old routines that they are working on between performances.
Decisions about what will be put into a show will often be made close to
the time of performance. For this reason shows are not often rehearsed
beginning to end. This is partly because the performer must have �the knowledge
that you have mastered� the trick (Brown: Line 346), and at the same time
avoid �overconfidence� (First National Circus Summit Report:1 990:33) mentioned
earlier. While the amount of rehearsal can be a problem in other performance
disciplines, in circus, calculating the correct amount of preparation is
a matter of physical safety. As Brown (Line 354-355) says if there is �severe
danger like falling or something, especially in aerials, then you should
not be in the show.� Lorraine Grant (First National Circus Summit Report:1
990:33) says:
| �Even seasoned artists have been known to injure themselves trying a new trick, over-estimating their ability, strength and concentration.� |
Olsen (Lines 643-646) considers that this is something that people sometimes
do not take into account when they go into juggling:
| "If you want to perform you�ve got to allow yourself a really good period of time to learn the skills you need. I think that�s why people quit. They go in and expect to be really good right away.� |
There is also a problem that too much rehearsal immediately before a
performance can lead to fatigue, and some acts are actually physically
difficult to rehearse:
| �It�s really hard to make yourself do some of those things. It�s really
hard work. It�s really hard to do that upside down cafe [see Appendix B]
without an audience. It�s physically difficult.� (Coldwell: Lines 163-166) |
Another difference in performance preparation for circus performance
is that there is often not a clear distinguishing line between performance
and rehearsal. Many acts are refined through performance. Coldwell (Lines
127-1 30) says:
| �there are some things that are easier to do and you feel more comfortable, because you know what the reaction is going to be.� |
This can only be achieved through continual performance and refinement
of an act. As mentioned before Ashton�s Circus expose their young trainees
to performance at an early age (even the toddlers make appearances in the
ring) to gain audience confidence (First National Circus Summit Report:1990:32).
Brown (Lines 421-424) feels that audience exposure refine his clown act:
| �Again it is a matter of rehearsal sort of thing, but once I�m out there and there is an audience there, I guess I�ve done it a couple of times in front of an audience I usually feel pretty comfortable about it.� |
Oates (Lines 367-379) describes the way she developed her three-separation
with the hoola hoops:
| �the whole idea was to get it with the audience I never did it in the
whole season, I fucked it
every night but I started to get to trying to get it there with the audience. I actually got that trick after that season and in between the next season. It was a consistent thing and then it went straight in the show and it has never been a problem since.� |
This not only demonstrates the way that circus performers can actually
develop their skills in performance, but also points to the state of mind
characteristic to executing tricks in circus performance.
2.2.2. The Performance Mind
While focus is an important aspect in all types of performance, again
with circus, there is a characteristic type of mental focus required. This
state of mind requires a certain positive visualisation. Without this,
the trick can become very difficult to execute. Oates (Lines 371-372) refers
to an internal voice: �there is that thing of, �what if I can�t do it?��
Gasser (Lines 156-157) also refers to such a voice: �if you think, �ooh,
if I start to miss it, ooh God�, you know. That�s hard.�
Olsen (Lines 605-608) describes a successful state of mind in the moment
of performance:
| �It is very focused. It�s not meditative because I think that�s kind of more calm, level. But it is indescribably tightly focused, and also relaxed at the same time.� |
Laurie (Line 365-366) is quoted in reference to the value of circus for in terms of self esteem, illuminating the �inescapable interaction between the mind and the body� (see Chapter 4). The mental focus required for successfully executing a trick, seems also to manifest itself in a kind of physical relaxation as well. Gasser (Line 150-151) sums up this idea by stating that a successful performer is one who �can just say, well, �Here�.� This comment was accompanied in the interview with a gesture of opened arms and a noticeable relaxation of the body. He (Line 147-148) feels that a performer who starts to think, ��Ooh, they are all watching me��, will miss the trick. This indicates a fundamental shift in concentration from an internal perspective to an awareness of the audience.
This ability to cut oneself off from the audience is an important quality
for the circus performer. This is one of the aspects of such performance
that makes it different to acting. This makes it difficult for the performer
to combine dramatic acting and the trick (see Chapter 3). This combination
is difficult for the circus performer because it requires a split in concentration
(Mullet: Lines 121-127) that relates directly to the performer�s relationship
with the audience. Brown (Lines 409-41 0) considers that the concentration
required to execute a trick �is harder with the audience�. Gasser (Line
1 55) advises the performer to mentally tell the audience to ��Forget me
for the moment.�� Oates (Lines 405-407) says:
| �a lot of times when you are trying something tricky I actually blank out the audience thing and just do it. You just do it and if it happens right then you come back to earth.� |
This sense of being other than oneself, intimated by Oates (Line 407)
in coming �back to earth� after the fact, is shared by Olsen (Lines 610-611)
who describes the sensation of performing as being �a sensation of being
bigger than yourself�. She also describes a sense of time slowing down:
| �Anyone who�s juggled knows that. When you first start with three balls, you just think, �There�s two hands and there�s no room for the third one�... you do slow time down. This sounds really hippie, it�s terrible, but you do, but it means that you can register things, more time to deal and react, rather than running to keep up.� (Olsen: Lines 612-622) |
This time to deal and react allows the performer to find a rhythm in continuous acts such as juggling. In this type of act Olsen (Line 519-522) feels that rhythm allows the performer to give the act to the audience �as a whole�, increasing the impact of such acts.
It is inevitable that poor or incorrect focus will inevitably lead to
failure in performance. Some people are unable to find this
focus in front of an audience. Gasser (Lines 1 42) considers that such
a state of mind is a �gift� that not everyone posses. He says:
| �There is a lot, a lot [sic] of performers... they do everything good and better tricks when they practice, and as soon as they put it into the show, there�s no way... of course I�ve seen that in my many years with the circus. That�s nerves.� (Lines 136-142) |
These nerves are a negative manifestation of the energy generated by performing in front of an audience. This is an intrinsic element in the relationship between performer and audience. The ability of good performers to translate this into a positive energy for performance is discussed later.
The phenomenon of failure in performance is observed by many of those
interviewed. Olsen (Lines 510-511) says she has friends who can do �great
things in practice� but cannot translate those tricks to performance. Yates
(Lines 193-196) says:
| �There�s people who can train well and that sort of a thing, and you can put them in front of an audience, and they just can�t handle it. I think that it�s [the ability to perform] a bit of a will to show off.� |
The will to show off is an essential part of the performance ego that drives the performer to succeed in performing a trick. Lorraine Grant (Line 288) considers �ego� to be critical for the performer. The significance of failure as an element of the performance ego is evident in the many clowning routines that mimic other acts. In these acts, tricks fail or �a, poorly executed for comic effect. On one level, it seems to be a way in which failure can be analysed and mastered performatively. Such acts often require higher than usual skill levels.
Yates (Lines 1 81-1 83), responding to the question about the moment
of performance, says �the thing that goes through my mind at that moment
is, �If I don�t get this right I�m�, you know... [laughter]��. Oates (Lines
426-429) is more forthcoming:
�With aerials ... sometimes I find my pride is, or my humiliation side
of me is worse, I don�t want that [failure of the trick] to happen more
than I don�t want to break my neck.� Olsen (Line 509) claims that her motivation
to succeed comes from �an absolute terror of failure�. Fear of humiliation
seems to be a more immediate concern for the circus performer than fear
of physical danger, and as such is a critical element of the performance
ego. In order to overcome possible failure in executing a trick, Gasser
(Lines 1 55-1 56), advises the performer to say mentally to the audience,
��I do it for myself, not for you, and then they do it ... [laughter].�
Fear of humiliation, in itself, is not necessarily peculiar to circus
performance. It may well be that such fear motivates actors
and dancers to perfect their art. An aspect that is unique to circus,
however, is a convention in circus whereby failure can be built into an
act, to avoid humiliation. A way to overcome such fear is to accommodate
failure as part of the act. This is particularly common in juggling where
the physical danger is often less than in other acts:
| �if you are going to present juggling and there is sort of a fifty-fifty chance you�ll drop them then you have to set up the act to accommodate that possibility so that you feel comfortable with it.� (Brown: Lines 356-359) |
An act is set up in such a way often because the trick is particularly
spectacular. Olsen (Lines 550-555) explains:
| �I have one trick that I do ... that�s so hard, that I�m most likely to lose it as get it, but I do get it often enough, that in a show I can drop it a couple of times, and get it on the third at least, and it�s worth it.� |
This relates to the basic narrative structure of an act (see Chapter
3), where a performer who may fail a number of times in the process of
accomplishing a particularly difficult trick can build up tension. This
kind of narrative is, however, is vèritè, and cannot be factored
into an act. Olsen (Lines 550-551) says of her act: �to be perfectly honest,
I wouldn�t say the drop is structured in.� The ability to execute a difficult
trick lies in a complex interaction between the performers mental focus
and physical ability. There are a number of aspects of this interaction
that makes it distinct from the types of focus required for other categories
of performance. This focus must be accompanied by physical relaxation.
It requires the performer to concentrate solely on the task at hand, to
cut off from the audience in the moment before the trick. The sensation
is one of being other than oneself. Motivation for success comes from a
fear of humiliation as a result of failure. Failure is an important part
of circus performance, again inviting comparisons with sport. It is often
the case in circus that success of a particular trick is not guaranteed,
in the way that the result of a sporting event may not be known beforehand.
2.2.3. Audience
The audience is a crucial element in successful circus performance.
While it is true that all performers are inspired by their audience, and
are intrinsic to the meaning of all performance. some circus routines can
only be successfully accomplished in front of an audience. In Circus Oz�s
1994 Melbourne Comedy Festival season, Coldwell has an act that is set
in a cafe rigged upside down, near the tent roof. He (Lines 163-167) says:
| �It�s really hard to do that upside down cafe without an audience. It�s physically difficult. But when there�s an audience, then everything disappears.� |
Olsen (Lines 512-513) also has tricks that she finds difficult to do without an audience: �I have things I can only get nine times out of ten in practice, but every time I do it in a show I get it in.�
The energy generated for performers by the presence of an audience manifests
itself physically. Yates (Lines 1 99-203) describes the effect an audience
has on his tumbling:
| �I could almost guarantee that I�ll rush it, do everything a bit faster because of all the adrenalin and everything, but I would also guarantee that I would get it an extra couple of inches higher, because I�m full of beans and wired on adrenalin.� |
This added energy can have astounding effects for the circus performer,
to the point where feats can be achieved that would otherwise be impossible.
Coldwell (Lines 157-159) says:
| �But I know our [Circus Oz�s] idea is once you put people on stage in front of an audience, they do things they can�t, they almost can�t do.� |
Not only can this energy be channeled into performing acts with unparalleled
power, such as tumbling, but it can also be used to tighten mental focus
for certain acts. Oates (Lines 398-403) uses the example of performing
a three-high balance during the Sydney season of Bodyslam:
| �when you are in front of an audience there is that adrenalin thing that gives you a bit more energy than you�ve got in rehearsal. So if something goes in rehearsal you let it drop but in a show in you will pull it back and Rudy, I was actually trying to jump off because I thought we were too far gone so I thought I�d jump, but Rudy wouldn�t let me go.� |
While an ability to cut off from the audience is necessary at some stages of an act, there are other times when it is important to relate directly to the audience. Balancing routines are a good example. Brown (Lines 409-415) feels that �the concentration stuff�, such as getting into a solid position in group balance, �is harder with an audience�. He feels that �relating to the audience� can occur when �it is another solid position where you can actually again look at the audience.�
Forming a relationship with the audience is also a pivotal aspect of
circus performance. Laurie (322-325) believes that while physical skill
is important it is also equally important for the performer to have �a
pleasure in the connection with the audience�. This connection is important
so that the performers can discover a sense of �the pictures that your
body is making.� She (Lines 332-336) says:
| �I think that�s what like people say in music. It�s feel. It�s like feel in music. That you can have the most highly trained concert pianist or someone has a really good feel and someone doesn�t. Someone captures your imagination and someone doesn�t.� |
Gasser (Lines 11 5-1 24) considers portraying personality to the audience
is important. He compares his performers with those of Russian and Chinese
circus, and feels that the Australian public is not comfortable with their
rather esoteric on-stage personalities. He (Lines 119-123) feels it is
much better for the performer to connect with the audience:
| �a good performer knows exactly, when he comes into the ring or even behind the curtain, he knows what for an audience and a certain act, he knows.., he picks his people out, where he starts with them so he can get them on side.� |
This is what Olsen (Lines 624-625) calls �an ability to project beyond
what you�re doing.� She (Lines 625-629) explains this projection:
| �You get some jugglers who get up there and go, �Look! Seven Balls!� Not, �Look at me doing seven balls!� It�s making that change because I have no interest in getting up and showing tricks. There has to be something else projected through that.� |
Olsen achieves this through the use of comic characterisation (see Chapter
3). This is a particularly effective way to achieve connection with an
audience because clowns are low status, which can be interpreted by audiences
as a kind of humility of the part of the performer. This humility is an
important feature of the relationship between performer and audience and
is yet another one of the contradictions that contribute to the performance
ego, as Coldwell (Lines 130-1 32) demonstrates:
| �as far as I�m concerned I�m only doing it for them [the audience]. If they weren�t there to watch, it wouldn�t work.� |
While circus has experienced something of a revival in Australia over
the past fifteen years, audiences still have a relatively low understanding
and recognition of circus skill. Yates (Lines 219-228) fee[ that Australian
audiences generally lag behind Russian, Chinese and European audiences
in this regard. It is perhaps symptomatic of this that Oates can use a
whole season to perfect a trick, as with the three separation on the hoola
hoops mentioned earlier, without the audience being aware. She (Lines 380-382)
says, �I can cover it up because the audience don�t know if I�m doing a
trick or not, you know I�m just sort of doing a bit of this�. Olsen feels
that it is possible to educate your audience about the complexity of some
tricks:
| �If you�re doing something and you�re doing it really fast and you get it, and you stop and you ask people what they saw, it�ll be slightly varied or they�re not quite sure, or they were looking at one part and it was happening in another place. By dropping that a couple of times you actually set up that pattern where they see what you are going for.� |
Yates considers that a more educated audience would encourage performers to develop higher levels of skill. He (Line 223-224) feels that performers can �dress things up a bit� and get away with lower skill levels. He feels there is no incentive to work harder if audiences do not recognise that effort.
2.3. CONCLUSION
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Training and development of performers are areas where the interests
of traditional and non-traditional circus are most likely to converge.
It is a commonly held belief, in order to capitalise on the resurgent interest
in circus, that a coordinated approach to industry development is vital.
The development of performance skills is pivotal to the development of
the industry of the whole. This area sidesteps some of the more contentious
issues that stand in the way of the evolution of a single industry with
a single voice. The reason for this lies in the distinctive nature of circus
performance. It is an experience common to all circus performers regardless
of the type of circus with which they identify themselves. This common
experience remains the one constant in
the midst of the multifarious changes that have taken over the circus
industry in the last twenty years. The way in which circus performance
is further developed into narrative structure, however, represents very
different approaches to circus form by traditional and non-traditional
circus.