Dimitri the Clown Speaks!

Apparently a rare occurence, Dimitri the Clown, founder of the Dimitri Theatre and the Scuola Dimitri gave an all-school talk on Friday.  Tutti in Italiano! 

Now I'll admit, as a US citizen, and even as a US citizen with clown training, I had only a vague notion of who Dimitri the Clown was before coming here.  I perhaps had an image of his distinctive smile somewhere in my cultural consciousness, but that is about it.  All I knew was that I needed to be in Switzerland in order to write Particle Play, and that I needed to be based in a place where I could be in a community of artists and where some of the people in that community would have experience devising physical theatre.  I wrote to my former teacher Joan Schirle, who immediately responded with a short email stating, "Well, the Dimitri School is in Switzerland...", and so I wrote to them and Corinna Vitale (head of the MA program here) agreed that I should come to Verscio for my Fellowship.  And I am so glad that I did!

Aside from the picturesque landscape, the Swiss cats, the hot chocolate, and the Fart train (photos coming soon, I promise!), this really is an excellent place for me to work this spring.  I am able to take some courses with the MA students and observe some courses with the BA students.  And then spend a lot of time writing and researching in a peaceful mountainside apartment.  I have quiet space and a community of people with which to work.  And every time I talk to a new person (teacher or student), my work becomes more clear to me.

One such moment of clarity came on Friday when Dimitri gave his all-school talk and I experienced one of those rare moments of being intensely aware of my gratitude for having been able to listen to a true master discuss his work.  On top of that, I also realized that I have been extraordinarily lucky to have other such moments in my life, namely when listening to Carlo Mezzone-Clementi, founder of the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre, discuss his work.  I remember Carlo saying, "You don't understand now, but in ten years you will understand this exercise...", and he was right.  Some things get simpler.  Aha.  Although Dimitri wasn't necessarily teaching a course, he was sharing his experience, many of his formative experiences, and discussing bits of his philosophy. 

My Italian is still pretty iffy, but because Dimitri is a physical performer, I think I was able to understand quite a lot of it.  He speaks slowly and clearly and uses a lot of body language to express himself.  Dimitri is now in his seventies, I believe, and he trained with Marcel Marceau, and Etienne DeCroux, and Grock!  (You can see more details about his biography if you follow the link to the school on the blog.)  I know I missed a lot of the details, but I understood that as a young performer he was not satisfied with the corporeal mime taught by Etienne DeCroux, which was very serious.  Too serious.  And I understood that it was Marcel Marceau who opened up a new world for him by telling him, "Dimitri, I don't think you are a mime.  I think that you are a clown."  And I wish that I could have understood more of his stories about Grock, who is an icon of European clowning.  Maybe he will talk again later in the spring and I will understand more Italian and will be able to understand more and even ask some questions - I want to know about his elephant!

So I missed many details, but I did understand that he learned quite a lot from all of these masters (even if DeCroux's mime was not for him).  Now a true master himself, I believe that his main message to us was similar to the message that Marcel Marceau  imparted to him and that is to listen.  Listen to yourself.  Do what it is that you need to do.  Train, yes, train (take your showers, write your pages, show up, wake up, etc...).  But express yourself in the form that is true to you.

Perhaps I'm imagining a lot of this inspirational talk, and it is difficult to talk about a half-understood lecture given by such a figure without waxing a bit melodramatic.  But that is why I am here!  To lose myself in the material.

That said, I'm off to observe Tragedy!  Wish me luck...