Starting on March 1st we are going to start accepting nominees for the 2008 Felix Adler Awards which will be announced at 12:00 PM on April 1st.
That gives us one month to hash out a few questions that need to be resolved by "The Academy" but I'd like to gauge reader response to the following questions...
1) Do we keep it to the three awards given in 2007 (Otto Griebling Award for Solo Clowning, Paul Jung Award for Ensemble Clowning and Lou Jacobs Lifetime Achievement Award)? Do we add some? Subtract some?
2) The awards are for American circus clowning. They are open to all circus comedians who have performed in an American circus during the calendar year 2007. Does that exclude American circus clowns who performed in the three major festivals that took place in China in 2007? There was far more American circus clowning going on there than there was in the circus industry stateside!
3) In a given calendar year Big Apple has two productions, the one that premiered the previous fall and the one that premiers THAT fall. Are both, or only the new show, eligible for award?
We have a few more questions to resolve before the voting begins but let's start the discussion with those.
~P
4 comments:
What I want to know is: Who did that gorgeous painting?
My two cents: If the awards are for American circus clowns during a given year, they should go to American circus clowns for work done within that year. That includes work done in China or at the Monte Carlo Festival or anywhere the work was good. Also, as work evolves each time it is performed, the second half of a tour should be as valid as the first, be it with Big Apple or Ringling or anywhere.
As to which awards and how often, I might suggest that lifetime achievement awards be awarded with discresion. They honor a lifetime of work. There may not be someone new each year who has that kind of canon of work yet.
That said, I nominate James Gandolfini and the ensemble cast of The Sopranos. They get overlooked so often...
How is "American Circus Clowning" to be understood, ultimately? What if an American does a more traditionally European style act? What if a European clown does an act in an American circus?
How does something like the stage clowning of James Thierree's show fit in? While it isn't, strictly speaking, a "circus" with what might be considered "American" style clowning, it was certainly marketed as "Cirque Nouveau." The most recent edition, "Au Revoir Parapule", did show in the U.S. (Chicago and New York) and there was a tent in one scene offering allusion to traditional circus. It also offered circus skill based acts. Does it count?
What of a purely stage show, in the "cirque" manner? May I nominate an excellent act from Cirque Eloize's "Rain" (which is one of the shows I saw in 2007), for example?
Must the nomination be for a particular act during a show, or would the entire body of work over a show (or over the year in various venues) suffice?
If "circus clowning" in China is to be allowed for nomination, do we also enable clowning in the U.S. which may have not taken place in a circus setting?
I'm not certain that I have any well developed opinions on what direction the rules of voting ought take, ultimately, but just some other thoughts to put out there which would definitely influence my own nominations.
Honestly, almost more than mere selected winners (what, exactly, is the tallying process, after all?), I think that I might, personally, find it more interesting to read accounts of the actual nominations which we all send in. What did one witness in the world of clowning during 2007? Why was it interesting? Perhaps it will lead us all to be better on the lookout and pay greater attention to the many clowns who we may have the opportunity to encounter THIS year!
Pat,
I commend you on your efforts to define, and improve your fine award system. Other holier then thou's would do well to take heed, and study the example set. Not being a memeber of your noble society, I don't feel qualified to offer suggestions. To the disgruntled who may protest, "Is this the best those clown's could come up with?", I suggest yes, as they seem to truly care.
Wade Burck
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