

the Way of the Showman
Captain Frodo
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
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 13, 2023 • 49min
77 - What's the spirit of Circus & much more with Garreth Bjaaland pt 2 of 2
In this second part of the conversation with Gareth Bjaaland we talk about the spirit of circus. He sugests wonderfully that it might bethe show must go onyou can put anything in the ringandeveryone is welcome.I loved this!we then talk about games, finite and infinite, we talk about serious play and serious games. This was a really fun conversation for me. Real deep and real organic and alive.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

May 30, 2023 • 1h 4min
76 - Laughing in the Face of Death & other matters of importance with Garreth Bjaaland pt 1 of 2
This is the first part of a great flowing conversation I had with Garreth Bjaaland, whom regular followers of the Way will remember well from our conversations about the ingredients of comedy. In this conversation we go far and wide and surprisingly deep on matters related to comedy, we look at Gareths revisions and developments on this thinking about the Ingredients of Comedy, but we also ask and play at answering some bigger questions. We start from asking what is the core notes, or meaning and intention behind performances. Can we deliver only bleakness or is it really all about love?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

May 16, 2023 • 1h 4min
75 - What's your Gift to the Audience - Talking with Tom Greder pt 2 of 2
In this epidose comes the first part of a wonderful conversation I had with the knowledgable and deep thinker Tom Greder. He is a clown, a teacher and innovative creator. We talk about how to decide what to put in a Show. What does Audiences take away from your show, beyond whatever tricks or Material you present. About performing a Show and after 24 years of doing it, getting the experience that the Show was perfect. When you laugh - you ARE. How to craft what's in your gift to the Audience. What's the heart of your performance. What's important to you and How to tell the Truth. You can find lot's of information about Tom Greder here: 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

May 2, 2023 • 58min
74 - Choices, Road's Taken and Not - Talking with Tom Greder pt 1 of 2
In this epidose comes the first part of a wonderful conversation I had with the knowledgable and deep thinker Tom Greder. He is a clown, a teacher and innovative creator. We talk about the pandemic and how we dealt with having no Shows. About forests real and metaphorical. We talk about choices. So much about what we do is to choose what to. include. in our show and what to leave out. About circus schools and clown's or lack thereof. About accepting that EVERYTHING that happens during a performance is part of the show. Structure of jokes and pattern recognition in the Audience and how this leads to us being very aware of the choices we take in what to include. Be aware of what you choose to share and how that adds up to what the Audience will take away from the performance.You can find lot's of information about Tom Greder here: 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

Apr 18, 2023 • 52min
73 - Captain Frodo's Secret Approach to Creation - Helsinki Conversations pt 3 of 3
In this episode Jay Gilligan and I start talking about authenticity and pretty quick Jay steers the conversation into an area of my artistic process and indeed my approach to life, philosophy and art in general. I share, off the cuff my approach which I call active reading, or trasformative conersation with the environment.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

Apr 4, 2023 • 1h 14min
72 - Presentation and Character - Helsinki Conversations w Jay Gilligan part 2 of 3
In this conversation Jay Gilligan and I dig deeper into how the best presentations of any kind of Material seems to emerge, in a holistic way, from an authentic character. We arrive back at magician Dani DaOrtiz's techniques and how his whole persona, the way he uses language, is completely fused that to use some of his techniques every magician would have to go through a proper translation process to make the techniques her own. We talk about translation, we talk about Indiana Jones juggling, we talk about "the Genre of Good," we pick apart the comment "you can't just juggle..." Jay talks about his obsession with Cirque de Soleil, and using "indiana jones" to grab Attention and from this make the Audience be able to connect to and appreciate juggling which they would otherwise not have paid Attention to. To end it all Jay says "how cool it would have been if that guy that said, "you can't just juggle" in stead said "you can't just juggle - you also have to be yourself."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

Mar 21, 2023 • 1h 22min
71 - Magic, Character & Dani DaOrtiz - the Helsinki Conversations with Jay Gilligan pt 1 of 3
In this episode Jay Gilligan and I start the conversation talking about magic and Dani Daortiz. If you haven't seen Dani's act from Penn & Teller's Fool Us then do that first. This is a link to Dani DaOrtiz's act.If you want to see Dani's unbelievably awesome, indepth explanation of all the theory which lies behind his seemingly chaotic but masterfully crafted Showmanship then you can find that on Vanishin Inc's website here. It's a three and a half hour masterclass.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

Mar 11, 2023 • 45min
70 - 3rd annual Birthday Ramble
The pandemic and I share a birthday. Sometime in the depths of the pandemic I made a broadcast trying to share some more personal goings on in regards to how I was holding up one year after the events taking place in the very first episode of this podcast The Day Showbiz Died. Then I made another birthday update, more personal and more rambling than the first. So here we go third year in a row. All good things are in threes. Will the third be breaking the mold, be the punchline for the two punch set up? I wont tell. You Be the Judge. Click on into the third annual joing Birthday ramble for me and the Pandemic.I read a very personal poem in this episode. Just so you're warned. Shit's getting real.To all you long termers, fellow travellers, thanks for sticking with me in sickness and in health, through the hard times and the pain. Worry is a bully that just wont let me be but sharing the journey with lovely intelligent and beautifully people, such as yourself makes the Way, with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, the most wonderful, and only way for me.Lots of Love to you.Your's truly - Captain FrodoSupport 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

Feb 21, 2023 • 58min
69 - the Ingredients of Comedy pt 3 the Final Ingredients - a conversation with Gareth Bjaaland
In this third and final part we look at more of the different types of jokes there is. This is really useful thing. Anyone who is stuck with "writers block" when they are trying to write new funny Material for a show or and act will be able to use these Ingredients as a check list for ways to make their jokes varied and hitting on all kinds of levels. You can contact Gareth or find out more about him here. 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

Feb 7, 2023 • 1h 4min
68 - the Ingredients of Comedy pt 2 The First Ingredients - with Gareth Bjaaland
In this episode we jump into the first of the ingredients, or joke structures and themes from Gareth Bjaaland bold and exciting attempt to reign in comedy's seemingly endless and chaotic scope. I am so into projects like this. It's valuable and useful practically as a tool to improve our craft, like getting more and varied laughs in our shows, but further its a beautiful example of deepenings one's relationship to the Craft of Showmanship. To go through such a detail and indepth process as Gareth has done is a great example that there is depth, structure and gold to be found wherever one looks.Towards the end of the episode I start talking about taboos and the underlying themes of swearing. In this bit I mention many words that in certain contexts are not considered polite. The conversation is rather academic, but you're now warned that bad words will be mentioned.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