105 episodes

Philosophical and esoteric perspectives from a modern day Showman. Each season is different in its approach. S1 is essays. S2 is one book length attempt at Understanding Showmanship, S3 is conversations with remarkable Showfolk. The brand new Season 4 explores the relationship between Showmanship and Play.The host, Captain Frodo, internationally renowned circus performer, director, writer, husband and dad lays out, in great detail, his practical performance philosophy for performers who seek to deepen the conversation with their audiences and themselves. You can find him, and more of his writing at: www.thewayoftheshowman.com

the Way of the Showman Captain Frodo

    • Arts
    • 5.0 • 13 Ratings

Philosophical and esoteric perspectives from a modern day Showman. Each season is different in its approach. S1 is essays. S2 is one book length attempt at Understanding Showmanship, S3 is conversations with remarkable Showfolk. The brand new Season 4 explores the relationship between Showmanship and Play.The host, Captain Frodo, internationally renowned circus performer, director, writer, husband and dad lays out, in great detail, his practical performance philosophy for performers who seek to deepen the conversation with their audiences and themselves. You can find him, and more of his writing at: www.thewayoftheshowman.com

    104 - Play in 5 Easy Steps (Showmanship & Play 7 of 30)

    104 - Play in 5 Easy Steps (Showmanship & Play 7 of 30)

    In this episode I unpack the five criterias of play. The five are as follows:

    1 - Play is fun. It’s intensely pleasurable and enjoyable. So when we play we don’t want it to stop.
    2 - Play is self motivated, which means it has to be entered into voluntarily.
    3 - Play is apparently purposeless. We play for the sake of playing not to achieve some further goal.
    4 - Play has rules.
    5 - Play is imaginative and improvisational.

    Links:
    The Norwegian book called Lek og Læring i et Nevro perspektiv  (play and learning in a neuro perspective) Here are some links, One, two, three. The third one is a link to a podcast with an interview with one of the two authors. BE WARNED the links are all in Norwegian, but with the help of google and our AI overlords you'll be reading it in no time, in a language more suitable to your horizon of understanding.

    the Kingdom of Childhood episode of the Way of the Showman

    Peter Gray's Aeon.co article on Play Deficit

    For your selfstudy: Henri Bergson on the possible and the actual.

    Finite and infinite games by James Carse

    This is a link to a talk by Doctor Stuart Brown who's the author of “Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul” (2010) by Stuart Brown
    Support the Show.
    ...

    Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way.
    You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au

    If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify.
    If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com
    or find out more on the Way of the Showman website.
    you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman.
    If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at:
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo

    • 35 min
    103 - What is Play (Showmanship & Play 6 of 30)

    103 - What is Play (Showmanship & Play 6 of 30)

    In this episode I take you on a walk with my little dog Teddy and along the Way we encounter play in a very direct way.
    Then I let you take a sneak peak at my daughter and her kind of play.
    Then we look at trying to define play is like pinning a butterfly.
    From all these examples I distill the nature of play down to five criteria which will be the backbone of all our future explorations. SO, being this important I will write them out here so the two or three of you who reads this can benefit.

    The five criteria of play:
    1 - Play is fun. It’s intensely pleasurable and enjoyable. So when we play we don’t want it to stop.
    2 - Play is self motivated, which means it has to be entered into voluntarily.
    3 - Play is apparently purposeless. We play for the sake of playing not to achieve some further goal.
    4 - Play has rules.
    5 - Play is imaginative and improvisational.
    Support the Show.
    ...

    Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way.
    You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au

    If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify.
    If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com
    or find out more on the Way of the Showman website.
    you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman.
    If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at:
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo

    • 36 min
    102 - Jay Gilligan Questions Showmanship & Play episode 2

    102 - Jay Gilligan Questions Showmanship & Play episode 2

    In this episode Jay Gilligan asks me to explain and elaborate some details about a previous episode. The main part of this season (4) is the 30 episodes that explores and makes my argument for how the very deepest origins of Showmanship can be found in human play as well as building a powerful argument for this dual trait of Showmanship & Play lies at the heart of what it means to be a human being.
    The episodes deals with some very deep and philosophical ideas and my friend and co-host thought it would be good to make me explainmyself some more. For this I am truly greatful and I hope it is useful and interesting for you to Fellow Traveller.

    Link:
    This is a link to an essay by Henri Corbin about the Imaginal. It's called Mundus Imaginalis or the Imaginary and the Imaginal
    As I mention in the opening comments of the episode I confuse Henri Corbin with the wonderful french philosopher Henri Bergson. My mistake only goes as far as claiming I watched a lecture course on him, but that course was actually about Bergson, not Corbin. So, when it comes down to it I know more about Bergson than Corbin and this lecture course is why. Here is a link to that lecture series about Henri Bergson. Its from the excellent youtube channel Absurd Being.
    Support the Show.
    ...

    Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way.
    You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au

    If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify.
    If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com
    or find out more on the Way of the Showman website.
    you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman.
    If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at:
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo

    • 1 hr 41 min
    101 - Connect & Play - (Showmanship & Play 5 of 30)

    101 - Connect & Play - (Showmanship & Play 5 of 30)

    In this episode I seek general features of what happens in the Area of Interest, or in Shows. I talk about Nalle Laanela's book the Clown Manifesto and how it helped me understand that two key features of performance and Shows are Connection and Playfulness.

    links:
    Nalle's wonderful book the Clown Manifesto
    Support the Show.
    ...

    Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way.
    You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au

    If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify.
    If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com
    or find out more on the Way of the Showman website.
    you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman.
    If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at:
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo

    • 41 min
    100 - the Clown and the New World - epic poem audio extravaganza

    100 - the Clown and the New World - epic poem audio extravaganza

    This is a celebratory episode along the lines of my previous audio poetic endeavours in episode 21 and 42. This is an epic poem which initially was called The Rime of the Ancient Merrier.
    Merrier |ˈmerēər|
    noun (mer•ri•er)
    1 one who brings happiness to others.
    2 a simple or special person, trad. considered blessed or touched by God.
    3 a fool or a clown
    ORIGIN Old English myrige [pleasing, delightful,] of Germanic origin; related to mirth.

    This ode to Caliope, (which is both the Muse of epic poetry and a steam organ played along the midway of carnivals) chronicals one lone showman making his Way through the world. After life falls apart in the old world he boards a ship to the New World but life does not become any easier, in fact it gets a whole lot worse before he even gets there.
    Follow it through to the end. Remember when the dark is the most complete we become able to spot even the tiniest lights.
    Support the Show.
    ...

    Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way.
    You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au

    If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify.
    If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com
    or find out more on the Way of the Showman website.
    you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman.
    If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at:
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo

    • 41 min
    99 - Jay Gilligan Questions Showmanship & Play episode 1 (94)

    99 - Jay Gilligan Questions Showmanship & Play episode 1 (94)

    In this episode we try something new. Jay Gilligan has listened to my new season about Play & Showmanship and he found that there were several points in the episode  he wanted to know more about. He recorded some snippets with some AI app that he has and he reads me the unedited transcriptions of these and we have a great and DEEP conversation about 
    the morals of Attention. 
    How paying close Attention actually shapes what it is - or at the very least your perception of it. 
    How you are and what you think will bleed through what you do in your act. 
    How we understand what we do is of the utmost importance for ourselves.
    What does Captain Frodo mean when he says that someone is "authentic" and how do we get to this point with our characters?
    About the importance of the ACTUAL ENCOUNTER. About really being present in the moment, the miracle of sharing time together, not apart but together.
    Support the Show.
    ...

    Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way.
    You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au

    If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify.
    If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.com
    or find out more on the Way of the Showman website.
    you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman.
    If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at:
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo

    • 1 hr 4 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
13 Ratings

13 Ratings

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