‘Cheers!’ Series: Almost in Europe - Clown Travel Vlog by Free-To-Play【Online Programme】

Online premiere in February 2023

Go solo, to where your heart is!

Almost is a clown, but she is very timid and shy. She likes to stay home, doing nothing, daydreaming, and enjoy just being by herself. One day, she has an idea: why don’t I try to go on a trip alone?

So, with her doll friends Boo Boo and Mo Mo, a red camcorder with low resolution, lots of cool-looking hats and glasses, and a pouch she made herself, she plucks up her courage and sets out on an adventure into the unknown. With the fabulous power of the Magic Campfire, Almost begins her fantastic journey. She travels around France, strolling down the romantic streets of Paris, exploring the old fishing port of Honfluer, searching for flamingos in the Carmaque nature reserve and venturing into a century-old mansion! She may be timid, but once she broadens her horizon, her curiosity is awakened like Pandora's box. She becomes more confident and curious about the world. She decides to free herself from the Magic Campfire and embark on a real journey!

Will Almost make it back safe? And what will she discover on her journey?

Chapter I: Courage & Discovery

Chapter II: Now & Lost

Chapter III: Contact & Connect

Chapter IV: Deconstruct & Rebirth

Free-To-Play’s Note

In 2014, when we first encountered the realm of contemporary clown, we were immediately fascinated by this microcosmic world.  In order to explore it further and to share the delight in it, we have not only created performances featuring the contemporary clown, but also applied the art of clowning to other performance formats such as puppetry, mask theatre, short films and actors’ workshops.  Even though the red nose may not be donned, its spirit has long been incorporated into our life journey.

There are many types of clowns, namely the familiar acrobatic circus clown, the villain-joker in the movie Batman, and the mascot ‘spokesperson’ Ronald McDonald of the fast food chain.  Further classification would give us the whiteface clown, the Auguste, the character clown, the court jester, the knave, the idiot, the buffoon and the contemporary clown, all with their own respective characteristics and audience appeal.

Our favourite is the contemporary clown, who is most human, purist, primitive and offering the widest possibilities in characterisation.  He possesses the never-say-die spirit; his silly behaviour may raise eyebrows, but after careful observation, one cannot but be moved by his vitality.  Like a tiny little flower that miraculously sprouts from a crack in the concrete, it wins the admiration of the beholder.

If the times were a canal, the contemporary clown would be standing on its banks, living a life as an outsider and inspiring those on the water to laugh at and make fun of one another.

During the period when the theatre was closed, our red-nosed spirit took us to the screen.  We studied enthusiastically how to transfer the clown on stage to the camera lens.  Can the contemporary clown become a KOL?  Can he feature in a travelogue?  How do we strike a balance?  How do we go about sharing the curiosity of the contemporary clown and what he has discovered about the world?  Nobody else was doing this and there was no model to emulate.  We felt excited by this challenge and were looking forward to it.

After six months of repeated trials, we have, up to the present stage, come up with today’s original Almost Clown Travel Vlog.  Almost will take you on a journey of finding the extraordinary out of the ordinary from a whole new perspective, which will be less on information but more on humour and fantasy.

In Cantonese

The programme does not represent the views of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

The presenter reserves the right to vary the broadcast time of the programme.

Established in 2004, Free-To-Play aims at promoting contemporary and experimental performances and cross-disciplinary collaborations with mask theatre, European clown, object theatre and puppet theatre targeted for "kidult", adults with a young heart or mature kids. Recent productions include: Stardust Alley, a non-verbal clown performance; Community Cultural Ambassador 2021 Dumpy & Dumby, a clown performance about dementia; Two Dumb Chefs, a non-verbal mask performance; International Arts Carnival 2021 When Lonely Meets Lucky, a half puppet performance; The Solstice Family, a clown performance co-produced with The Radiant Theatre, and La Moustiquaire - Time Killer, a non-verbal clown performance (performed in Belgium and Hong Kong).

Types of clowns

Clowns have existed since the 19^th century  appearing in circuses, rituals and festivities.  Clowns usually wear exaggerated clothes, perform acrobatics and act clumsily to provide entertainment for the audience. This image is what the public is familiar with.  Traditionally, clowns have three basic categories: the whiteface, the Auguste and the character clown.  After 200 years of evolution, the nature and types of clowns have changed drastically.  Modern clowns are even more versatile: there are court jesters, knaves, fools, buffoons and contemporary clowns etc.  They are different from one another vis-à-vis their respective positioning, the degree of being language-based, the intensity of their dark side, the extent of audience hostility, purpose and action.

Our favourite is the contemporary clown, which is the most human, purest, most primitive and offering the widest possibilities in characterisation.  He possesses the never-say-die spirit; his silly behaviour may raise eyebrows, but after careful observation, one cannot but be moved by his vitality.  The contemporary clown can do without language; neither does he need a script to begin performing. More often than not, the contemporary clown lives the life of an outsider and inspires humankind to laugh at or to make fun of one another.

The clown and performance training

Since the 20^th century, the evolution of the clown has made performance training an important part of the art form.  Theatrical clowns possess high-level performance characteristics: vulnerability, an adventurous spirit, reaction, wisdom and choice.  Performance training for the clown can broaden a performer’s imagination, creativity, genuineness, sincerity, true emotion and the readiness to explore a more foolish and crazier face so as to inject a richer vitality and surprise into the performance.

Information provided by the arts group

Chapter I: Courage & Discovery

Almost is home vegetating. She is struck by an idea and decides to pluck up her courage to go on a trip alone.  Through the Magic Campfire, she lands on the streets of Paris and Honfluer in France, steps out of her comfort zone and gives herself new challenges.  Can she take up her own challenges after all?

Almost's musings on life: “Others laugh at my infinite courage, but I know I’m a scaredy cat; it’s just that I don’t give up easily.”

It takes courage to bungee jump; it takes courage to confess your love to a loved one; it takes courage to accept failure......

Courage is the superpower that lets you jump over the hurdle.

The contemporary clown’s life is full of difficulties that differ from those of the ordinary people.  This is why he amasses unwittingly a lot of courage that many humans do not understand.

Do you want to own this kind of superpower?

Information provided by the arts group

Chapter II: Now & Lost

The Magic Campfire brings Almost to other parts of France – Le Mont-Saint-Michel and Camargue Regional Natural Park.  A nature-lover herself, Almost is overjoyed!  She wants to set out to look for the flamingos, but suddenly she discovers that Boo Boo the doll is missing. Can she find her dear friend and continue their journey?

Almost’s musings on life: “I always get lost because I don’t like using google maps.”

The word “lost” is unsettling; one feels awful having lost something, be it big or small.

For the contemporary clown, “lost” is an opportunity for a new landscape where he can see things out of the ordinary.  When he gets lost, he is more in a position to live the moment and come upon a path he has not yet taken.

Are you afraid of taking a path not yet taken?

Information provided by the arts group

Chapter III: Contact & Connect

Next, the Magic Campfire brings Almost to Clermont-Ferrand, a town in central France, for an adventure inside a hundred-year-old mansion.  In a secret garden, Almost meets a little boy and a puppy called Sappy. Together, they start unveiling the secrets of the place.

Almost's musings on life: “If you feel you don’t fit in with the others, well, since you cannot change them, why not continue to live happily a life of your own?”

The contemporary clown lives outside the society and has his own way of thinking and likes and dislikes.  Occasionally, he may want to connect with the crowd, but the wire would always short-circuit.  Even if he fails, the process of attempting to make connections would bring a fresh perspective to some people.

Do you know?  When you think other people are very different, they also think you are very different.

Information provided by the arts group

Chapter IV:  Deconstruct & Rebirth

Almost says goodbye to the Magic Campfire and hitches a ride to Italy, Switzerland and Scotland, visiting museums and going to concerts and finds her own path along the way. Can she find the place where her heart belongs in the end?

Almost’s musings on life: “I don’t like playing video games because there are too many interesting things in life to attend to!”

We can restart a video game if we lose; we would learn from the mistakes and hope one day we will win.  The contemporary clowns are the same - they are faithful to their own ideals; they will try their best to overcome setbacks and turn to another way to move ahead.  Their pace may be slow, but every rebirth is the accumulation of tiny bits of experience in living a life that has no regrets.

All of us are learning. Some find learning painful while some find it interesting. What about you?

Information provided by the arts group