The Extreme Joey - A History

by Jan Henderson

In 1977 I was in Halifax, N.S. with fellow clowns Jan Miller, Marsha Coffey, Robert Pot and Ian Wallace, in rehearsal for a show called Clown Chowder, directed by master clown teacher, Richard Pochinko. For some reason rehearsal wasn’t going as well as expected that day and I think Richard was looking for a way to empower us so we would trust our impulses more, and strengthen our trust in our clowns.

When we seek our personal clown, we discover that we have a version of the Auguste and Joey archetypes inside of us - our knowledgeable Adult side and our innocent inner Child. The blend of those two energies - the emotional, impulsive follower, and the bossy, confident leader - make up the essence of our most authentic self, our Wise Fool. Richard wanted us to draw more on our Joey energy. He told us about a fashion show of Joeys which he had seen at Cirque L’Hiver when he was studying with Lecoq in Paris. It was held every year and the goal was for each performer to design a version of the traditional Joey style of costume (*) that would outdo all the other competitors in beauty, glitter and glamour. During the show they would vie for attention, often by standing in front of their opponents, edging them out of the way. He showed us some examples of classic European Joey makeup which was full white face with stylized, minimal lines, and said the traditional Joey costume and makeup colours were black and white and red. White represented silence, black was for power and red for emotion. To help us find our version of this makeup he suggested we look for a minimalist, stylized version of our current clown makeup. He sat us at a mirror, cleared us out, and gave us this script to internalize before we started : Absolute Selfishness, Beauty, Power and Knowledge without Guilt.

As a guilt ridden recovering ex-Catholic, I was surprised at how quickly and intuitively I found my makeup. I had never felt such power - the kind which comes from absolute self acceptance and unbounded self trust, and puts you into a state of deeply rooted calm. You are so strongly in the moment you can truly see whatever is around you, without the filter of second guessing self doubt. In this extreme form of our Joey aspect we had permission to feel anything, to feel nothing, and to do absolutely nothing, thus finding exquisite economy. We also knew we could do anything we wanted, and would only do what we wanted - every impulse we followed, every action was done purely for our own amusement. This resulted in a palpable, radiant presence that filled the venue.

We had very little on hand to adapt our costumes so we used whatever we could find in the room, to the point where, to the stage managers horror, Jan Miller’s Joey pulled the black velvet theatre curtains from the wall and draped herself in them. There was no conflict among us, no need for bravado or vying for space like the Paris Joeys, because we were a very strong ensemble, and besides- we each believed we were the best.

The photographer Richard had hired to do promo shots that day arrived in the middle of this exploration. The Joeys loved to be photographed, of course, so he got great shots, despite the fact that the Joeys refused to do anything he asked in terms of poses or positioning. Because Extreme Joeys have no self doubt, their focus is completely outward, and when they look at you, you feel more seen than you’ve ever felt before - so the photographer was very uncomfortable and we were amused and entertained by his fear.

By the end of the day we had all found a makeup and costume element that empowered us, and as rehearsals progressed, I could see that this experience had strengthened our core clowns’ confidence. I was inspired by this, and in 1985, after I’d been teaching clown for a few years, I decided to add Extreme Joey to my advanced workshops. At some point, as the process evolved, I asked students to add their clown noses to their Extreme Joeys, and then keep, or change, whatever aspect of makeup and costume felt most true when they returned to their clowns. The result was an expansion of the emotional, intellectual, and physical spectrum and range of their core clowns. They found it easier to trust instantaneous, impulsive shifts of attitude - changing in a heartbeat from playful, foolish, vulnerable, stupid, emotional Auguste energy, to clever, bossy, glamorous, haughty Joey energy.

Eventually I explored the Extreme Auguste as well, and found it to be always on the brink of joy or heartbreak, bliss or panic - its absolute innocence and stupidity leading to the endless problems and glorious failure that is the root of all comedy - and my duo workshops now focus on the relationship between the Extreme Joey and the Extreme Auguste. The personalities of these two aspects are complementary opposites - and the strangely Yin Yang nature of their relationship generates material that can easily be turned into polished routines. (**)

*(Classic Whiteface Joeys, Clowns, John Towsen)