the Way of the Showman

The concept of the carnival of dreams seems so abstract. This is the opposite of a real world carnival. Today we explore the tarot as a possible tool for creating a mental midway, a carnival that comes to your town as you lay them out on the table, and thus by looking at them we can take a more concrete walk down a manifestation of the Mythopoetic Midway.I want there to be some more practical aspects to this project. This is one such attempt. Show notes:Jung and TarotJung's lecture on tarotAlejandro Jodorowski on tarotJung's collective unconsciousT S Eliot Four quartets 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.auIf 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.comor 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

The path we walk in todays episode goes from the gutters and all the way into sacred, religious territory. We start with the lowbrow, in the trash stratum, we explore the gutter, dreaming of the stars. We then explore dreams and the night, and its transformative powers, before morphing from the dream landscapes into transcendent experiences and how they have the power to change your life and your view of the world.Before we start our main walk we try to understand what a metaphor is, and what kind of metaphors are the most fertile. We also get another poem by The Australian Master Showman turned poet, Shep Huntly, called the Reprobates Lament. Show notes:Scott Nery's blog - A daily source of ideas, and inspiration.Shep Huntly - poet and Showman. This is his website, but if you want to find his poems look him up on Facebook.Art inspired by dreamsFreud - the Interpretation of DreamsMircea Eliade Interesting dude, philosopher and historian of Religiona chapter from Eliade's book the Sacred and the Profane, on homogeneity of space and hierophany. Johns Hopkins study - on trancendental experiences drug induced and non drug induced.   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.auIf 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.comor 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

Strange days are upon us. Some are calling for the abolishment of 2020, others are asking for their money back and are refusing to add this year to their sequence of birthdays. But I am asking for a radical rethinking of the time given to us by the Pandemic. Get cracking with the creating!Revolution, evolution, sexual and other selection as how the female of the species shapes the males to their liking.The Carnival is an organism subjected to the same laws of nature the rest of biology struggles under. Like the constrictions placed on us Showfolk by the current pandemic there are various selection processes working on the carnival, both the Outer and the Inner. We learn one of the great secrets of Illuminated Showmanship, how it came to mirror the human soul.Show Notes:Alan Watts - What if money was no object.Austin Kleon - Steal Like an ArtistBefore and after shots of clean air in India.Tolkien quote "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."Little Egypt article with links to clips.Little Egypts filmed by EdisonDarwin's letter to Asa Gray where he says: "The sight of a feather in a peacock’s tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!"Evolution of Whales - 2nd episode of an excellent PBS documentary.Pakicetus - Dog-like whale ancestorSupport 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.auIf 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.comor 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

We try to understand what this special carnival is, what's its nature? It is not your regular down and out collection of rides and crooked, rigged carnival games. One way of looking at it is by comparing it to Plato's Theory of Ideas. We also take a look at the real world inspiration that lead me towards the idea that the carnival would be a fertile place for our mythopoetic seeds to grow. This place was a homegrown carnival Showgrounds in Adelaide, South Australia called the Garden of Unearthly Delights. So come with me on a journey to better grasp the nature of the Mythopoetic Carnival. Show notes:The Space CowboyPlato's Theory of Ideas or FormsNancy Rommelmann's article: Lives of the CarniesGarden of Unearthly Delights - The nature of this garden has changed now from the pioneer days, but its still amazing.The Happy Sideshowthe Tiny TopTrent "Birdmann" BaumannCaptain Frodo's Can Balance - Follow Your dreamsCircus Princess - The concept is well known throughout Scandinavia and as this link shows has made it into the danish dictionary.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.auIf 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.comor 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

Mythopoetic means myth making. A grand voyage is undertaken, a quest is begun, we set sails on the Showmanship and seek a mythic continent, a land of tales, and characters, manifestations of the Showman's Craft. We seek a firm foundation in the lowest of the low. Arguments are made that this low ground is the Carnival. In all unearthing of meaning there is some digging needed, things will get a little dirty, but when the discoveries are resonant and fertile enough to plant a mythopoetic seed then perhaps we can grow an entire mythology of Showmanship. A mythological underground for the Circus and the Carnival. This theme of myth creation is so expansive it will follow us for the next few episodes. A few Show notes:Joseph Campbell - Hero with a thousand Faces. Influence on Star Wars (& others).Imposter Syndrome.Owen Barfield - Evolution of Consciousness and words as fossilised reflections of consciousness. Mythopoeia - J. R. R. TolkienThe Inklings.Freemasonry's two historiesMidway Chicago World FairBikini Kill - Carnival Ferris wheel 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.auIf 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.comor 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

A beautiful poem sent in as a response to an earlier episode and then dig into a bit of showbiz history to get a better grasp on how to view the pandemic and apparent death of showbiz. I also go on a bit of a philosophical exploration in a quest to find the elusive thing which is my art. As you shall hear the reason for its elusiveness might be that it isn't a thing at all but a process.Some show notes:Shep Huntly Master Showman and for our purposes, poet.Marx Brothers.Joe Adamson's book: Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A History of the Marx Brothers and a Satire on the Rest of the Worldthe Spanish Flu, (which did kill 50 million people, I got that right.)Wolf diorama American Museum of Natural HistoryAlfred North Whitehead - process philosophyCircus. Carnival. Showmanship. Art of Entertainment.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.auIf 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.comor 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

The circus, the cycles of life and of the year all come together in todays episode. The very first of my Carnival Cinema blog posts influenced the very first Way of the Showman podcast, which again is one big swirling mirror of the tumultuous relocations in my own life. The times they are a' changing and we showfolk are still struggling to find our feet in this new liquid reality. This is a show about beginnings and ends and how it is hard to tell them apart sometimes. Is this the end? or is it a glorious new beginning? A great leveller. show notes: (not so many today)I talk about my dear friend Søren Østergaard from Zirkus NemoSupport 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.auIf 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.comor 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

Today the lens of Showmanship becomes a microscope that looks deep into the nebulous connections between Showmanship and the mystical art of Alchemy. By looking at the two things side by side we can develop a more majestic and esoteric perspective on the frivolous art of Showmanship. In many ways the whole project of the Way of the Showman is to go beyond the first and simplest level of jokes and tricks. This episode dives deeper. We sail our Showmanship out onto the Sea of Illumination and struggle our way into our brass helmeted diving suit before letting ourselves sink down to the Abyssal Planes to seek for hidden and forgotten treasures.Some of the things I mention.The Clown Manifesto by Nalle LaaneleThe Lost Knowledge of the Imagination by Gary LachmanPhilosophers Stonethe book of the Law by Aleister CrowleySupport 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.auIf 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.comor 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

I have a few more things to say about constraints and limitations as catalysts for new work. I also spend some time contemplating other sources for meaning, now that the Pandemic has made Crowds and Shows into entities on the brink of extinction. We Showfolk must explore other avenues for meaning in our lives.Then I delve into a deep look at children and how their attitude can be most informative and beneficial, not just for clowns, but for all the characters of the Grand Big Top of the World, as a Way to approach our new reality.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.auIf 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.comor 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

It has been said that the Clown is the Soul of the circus, and this pivotal figure, the fool, the jester, and his strange visions and very intricate dance with truth, is the topic of today. The Clown is at once the most ridiculous of all characters, yet there is another, much deeper and powerful side of the Crazy Wise Holy Fool. How did the fool become the first card in the Tarot, the alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end? The truth is that I don't know the full extent of it but "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time."So, come with me, I will as always be your Captain, you are most welcome to dine at my table aboard the Showmanship.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.auIf 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.comor 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