Nick Chase, Local Theater Company’s Associate Artistic Director, hopped on a call with celebrated actor and dear friend Cassandra Freeman (Atlanta, Inside Man) to talk about physical comedy/clown teacher and upcoming Living Room Local guest Christopher Bayes.
Nick Chase: You worked with Christopher Bayes when you were in the MFA program at New York University. He taught a workshop and directed you in a show by Ruzzante (a 15th century Venetian playwright of rustic comedies). How was Christopher different from other directors?
Cassandra Freeman: Most directors say, “No, do it like this.” With Chris, he lives in this space that’s...let’s explore, let’s see what’s there. I didn’t have to have answers right away. It was just play. I had room to explore my own identity as a clown. It was very liberating. It’s only happened like that a few times in my career. Tracy Morgan is like that. He’s a natural clown. He’s a liberated artist and human.
Nick: What is a clown as you experienced it with Chris?
Cassandra: Everyone has a soul…If you believe that everyone is born with a soul, then everyone is born with a clown. Your clown is your own thumbprint in the silliness or lightness. Your clown is your spirit in the world of lightness. The more you excavate the world of lightness, that’s where you find your clown.
Nick: How does the clown feed into your work as an actor?
Cassandra: It’s funny, I used to be a professional clown before I met Chris. But that version of clown, it had this heavy energy. That clown was suppressing a truth. It was a performance. When I landed in the world of Chris Bayes’ clown, I realized that it was all about the releasing of the truth.
Nick: So you can apply the clown, Chris’ practices, to non-comedic characters?
Cassandra: No matter how heavy a character might be, I never lose sight of the fact that there must be lightness in this person. Where in people’s lives do they have permission to be light? The less access to that lightness, the more suppressed a character must be.
Nick: And what about the clown in your personal life? Has Chris’ work affected you personally?
Cassandra: It’s interesting. Ru Paul says, “We’re all born naked; the rest is drag.” The clown is the part of you that’s not in drag, the part that’s begging to come out and play. It’s not a grown up. It's your essence, and it’s multi-dimensional.
