Imperfect Paradise: Hollywood’s flopping, send in the clowns

California Love

LAist Studios

Music

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A surprising performance art has taken off in Los Angeles – clowning – against the backdrop of an entertainment industry that has barely recovered after a lengthy strike. Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido and producer Victoria Alejandro look into the rise of clown culture in L.A., how Hollywood actors, writers and other creators found their way to it, and ask why this art form is resonating now.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	We could all use a little help navigating the news these days. The Consider This podcast wants to give you a hand.
0:05.3	Six days a week will help you make sense of the day's biggest news story and what it means for you in less than 15 minutes.
0:11.5	Listen now to the Consider This podcast from NPR. Hey, it's Antonia Serejido. Right now we're putting out this episode during our year-end fundraiser at LAist.
0:21.2	Listeners like you keep Imperfect Paradise going strong.
0:24.0	So please give what you can before the year is over.
0:27.4	Your support goes a long way.
0:29.4	Donate now at lais.com slash join. Thank you.
0:33.2	You're listening to Imperfect Paradise, a show about the gap between the dream and reality.
0:39.3	I'm Antonia Serejido, and today I am joined in the studio by my colleague and pal, Victoria Alejandro.
0:48.7	Hi, Victoria.
0:49.5	Hello, Antonio.
0:50.5	I love being called a pal.
0:52.2	Victoria, you and I recently went on a little field trip together.
1:01.2	So August, we go to the Elysian Theater in Frogtown. It's like this little black box
1:05.6	theater. I think it's like 100 seats. It's very old squeaky seats and then a little stage.
1:12.2	And you have to imagine just one full half of this theater, essentially full of people
1:16.7	wearing all black and knee pads waiting for their turn to go up on stage.
1:21.6	So what we're going to do now is each of you is going to come up to the stage.
1:26.5	I'm going to play a song. And then you're going to come out and dance sincerely for one minute.
1:33.1	So a great clown teacher named Chad Damiani yelling a lot of things at a room of about 20 improvisers, comedians, writers, actors, just folks around the city who wanted to get on their feet and try some stuff out.
1:49.5	And we're loud and supportive, yeah?
1:55.8	As you can hear, it wasn't like a big, like, I feel like if I'm like, what's the sound of a clown?
	...

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