September 1, 2020 • 39 mins
Chase Culp delves into the stories of his life as an international clown.
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Intro Voice (00:05):
Welcome to a place where we're thinking together
and thinking deeper about who weare. Welcome to the Billosophy
podcast.
William Forchion (00:18):
And we're sitting here in the same space,
which is really great becausefinally I get to have interviews
in person again. And you mayhear the bit of muffle we're
both wearing masks, protectingeach other from contamination or
cross contamination fromCOVID-19. We're here right now
at circus smirkus summer campwhere I'm the director of the
(00:39):
camp. You can hear the echo thisspace that we're in, we're in
one of the dorms of the circussmirkus camp. We're in the
chaplain dorm.
Chase Culp (00:47):
Okay,
William Forchion (00:47):
fantastic. If not, I'm not coercing you.
There's no gun to your head oranything like this, right? No.
Okay. So I've given you all thelead up to the start of this
thing. And we'll just keepgoing. Let's do this thing.
Okay. Hello, I William Forchion,and this is Billosophy. Today,
(01:11):
my guest
Chase Culp (01:12):
is Chase Culp.
William Forchion (01:14):
Chase Culp.
Unknown (01:16):
Tell me a little bit about yourself because I could
give a whole rundown about you.
And as I said, before I Idecided to interview you. I
said, Chase, I don't normallyinterview someone so young. I
want someone who's got someexperiences, has been down the
road. But Chase has somebeautiful stories. Chase has
lived an amazing life thus far.
(01:38):
And I felt compelled to just sitdown with Chase and talk. So
tell me a little about yourself,Chase.
Chase Culp (01:45):
Well, first of all, thanks for having me on despite
my terrible inexperience oflife, but I'm a clown, physical
comedian, person, Generalschmuck. You know, tripping his
way through life? Yeah.
Unknown (02:02):
Now the first Well, I got first introduced to you
watching you perform with circusSmirkus. And for those of you
who don't know, circus smirkusis a youth performing troupe
where kids go to for the summer,like a summer camp almost. But
it's a traveling circus. And itis amazingly high end traveling
(02:26):
circus. Actually Could you tellme a little bit about circus
Smirkus, and your involvement inthat and how that helps you to
take off from or maybe helpedyou grow in to where you are
now.
Chase Culp (02:38):
Right? So I first auditioned for the for the tour,
which is a seven week tour, allaround New England and New York,
with three weeks of rehearsalbuilding a show that steamatic
with 30 kids from around theworld. And I first auditioned
(02:58):
and I didn't get in. And thenthey said you should really go
to the circus Marcus summercamp. And I had always dreamed
of being a clown. And was just,you know, had seen a lot of
videos and was self taught andtaught myself how to juggle and
didn't know anybody who wantedto do this. never met anybody in
(03:20):
the Houston area who could evenjuggle, there probably were
many, many people. But we wereblissfully unaware at the time.
But and so went to the went tothe summer camp. And then the
next year, I had toured forthree summers with them. And
like you said, it's this veryunique experience with high
(03:41):
level show and, you know, a lotof young people, and I really
don't know what I was doingthere, but but I was there and
was very grateful to thatexperience.
Unknown (03:53):
Well, I have to say that you were a presence. I
mean, you are a presence. Youreally stand out. You're unique.
You have a style that beliesyour age. That just is is. It's
ancient, to say the least of it.
It's it's, it's not that it'sold. It's epically old.
Chase Culp (04:19):
Yes, I, and I've always been that way, for better
or for worse. I've basicallybeen a 45 year old man since I
was six, to the baffling ofeveryone around me. And in
smirkus you know, all childrenexcept for 140 year old man, and
(04:40):
also me, but audience membersoftentimes thought I was the one
adult which is fantastic. I lovethat. I revel in that.
William Forchion (04:51):
So you said you wanted to do circus for a
while, and but you say you don'tcome from a performing or do you
come from a performingbackground I lead where they
performers.
Chase Culp (05:03):
My dad was a was an actor in high school and really
loved performing. But he endedup becoming a lawyer, which is a
different kind of performing, Isuppose he actually ended up
winning the same award that Iwould later win as a dramatic
actor, which is not really thatgreat because it was theater in
(05:25):
Texas. So not that cool. Butanyway,
William Forchion (05:28):
it's an award take it where you can....
Chase Culp (05:29):
it was an award, my only award major award.
Unknown (05:34):
So let's, I'm gonna bounce around a little bit
because you left circus Smirkus.
And then what what happenedafter that,
Chase Culp (05:44):
right, so after I left smirkus, you know, it's,
you know, it's very difficulttransition, you know, you're
wanting to be professionalcircus artist. And, you know,
smirk. His tour gives you thisincredible experience of, in
many ways being like aprofessional artist, but in many
ways not. You know, it's a, it'sa bizarre mix of wonderment. So
(06:09):
I learned a lot. And I was verygrateful for that experience.
And then, you know, tried tofind the next thing and I ended
up going on tour with RinglingBrothers, which was my very
first childhood dream was to bea Ringling clown. And so I
toured them for two years.
William Forchion (06:30):
Well, we have that in common because I also
toured with Ringling Brothersway back when, two lifetimes
ago. So you went to Ringling,you did smirkus, you went to
runway brothers. And then sothis is where I get a little
jealous, because I believe youtook off and you, you headed to
Europe and did some stuff andyou you traveled and you were
(06:52):
hired to be a clown with somereally amazing shows. Can you
just give us that that overview?
Unknown (07:00):
Yeah, so you know, I was with Ringling for two years,
you know, it's solid work, youknow, practically the whole
time. And then I want to be afreelancer, I want to, you know,
go where I can and do my thing.
And life has bounced me aroundand managed, I've managed to
perform in 11 differentcountries and in all kinds of
(07:22):
venues, you know, under circustents, arenas, theaters,
beautiful theaters. I didn'tdeserve any of that. None of it
really, but
William Forchion (07:34):
you're deserving. Let me just tell you,
there's no separate selfdeprecating clowning. Here
again, you're gonna have to liftyourself up, because that's what
my job is to lift you up. So youhelp me with that. All right,
Chase Culp (07:44):
I'll help you with the heavy lifting.
William Forchion (07:49):
Name some of the.. boy just throw out some
of those names, what it showsyou you did, because you have
some prestige there. And thenyou also, you mentioned that you
work for one of the not soprestigious shows. In Europe.
Chase Culp (08:00):
Yes, I have some some wonderful, you know, things
on my resume and then otherthings that I hide behind other
things, but yeah, so you know,I've done tours with certain
music and doing, you know, showswith symphony orchestras and
beautiful theaters and arenasI've I toured with circus guests
(08:22):
for Olympia, which is theoriginal circus of the Gasser
family dynasty, and I think isno longer around. But anyhow, I
also was with Slava's snow sho, which I really don't know what
I was doing there because I dont you know, don't speak Russia
. But it was great. B
Unknown (08:42):
But wait, so Slava's snow. So there's now has this
this notion of it's travelingall over the all over the world
pretty much. Please tell me alittle bit about that
experience.
Well, I never thought I'd betalking about this stuff on on a
podcast To be honest, but Well,yeah, so So Mr. Slava Polunin,
(09:05):
one of the world's most renownedclowns from Russia. So I
originally was familiar withSlava, his work on Alegria with
the snow act. And of course, itwas years after he had left and
I saw the action was just, youknow, truly awe inspiring. And I
(09:26):
remember watching when I wasyounger, the Tony Awards, when
they had been on Broadway and,and they were up for the Tony. I
remember seeing Slava and Idon't think that I even really
seen anything from it, but Isomehow knew of Slava snow show
in the mystery behind it and andcome, Fall of 2017. I went to
(09:52):
Europe to do some workshops. Andfirst I took a three three day
workshop. with Mr. David Shineron my way to France to take a
month long workshop seriesorganised by Django Edwards,
shout out to Django
William Forchion (10:12):
Django, I was also one of the, the clown
hierarchy or seniors or eldersand some wild, wonderful magic
that he makes through clown.
Yeah, so thank you Django foryour influence here.
Unknown (10:24):
One of the wildest humans there ever was, and
hosted at Slavs house, which isknown as the Moulin Jaune, the
the yellow mill, and it's thismagical, you know, land there
where they have incredibleinsulation, it's, you know, it's
(10:45):
hard to describe, but it's themost beautiful place I've ever
been to, it's, it's sostimulating to the mind and the
senses and was a great place toopen my mind further to this
craft that I had been, you know,delving into over the years and
learning as much as I could fromanybody that I could. And took
(11:11):
this month long series in whichSlava, you know, of course,
hosted at his home and alsowould lecture at, and then from
that, they invited me to visitthe show. And, and then,
subsequently went on two toursthus far with them.
William Forchion (11:30):
So now I'm going to do a little, little
hook to the left to the right,or someone or just change it,
change the direction and getinto some of the, the
underpinnings of your clown.
Because there are some clownswhose work comes from their anks
they're not fitting in their,their awkwardness in life. And
there's a humor to when theylook, you know, when they
(11:53):
process that stuff, where doesyour clothing come from?
Chase Culp (11:58):
I think that I think that perhaps part of it, part of
it comes from that I don't thinkthat it's apparent from my work
at all, or from an audienceperspective. But definitely, my
life experience has definitelyformed what I do on stage, being
totally different than mysurroundings, I think every
(12:23):
aspect has really sort of mademe made my character change over
the years. And I find that a lotof my work isn't really from
struggle or conflict, but it's,it's more sort of bringing the
audience along on something thatI'm doing, I find it but it's,
(12:44):
it's less of a bumpy road thanthan many clowns.
William Forchion (12:49):
So do you would you consider yourself a
storyteller in your clowning or,or something else?
Chase Culp (12:55):
I think yes. But not such a not not on such a strict
level. I think that, you know,the audience comes away with a
certain perspective of what, youknow what I did, and they, you
know, maybe there's anotherelement they take away but I
don't have such a such a uniquestory that I tell but but I
think I take them on a certainjourney, whether they like it or
(13:17):
not normally they do. And I hopethat they do with your
William Forchion (13:22):
character with your who you are, what emotion
comes from that Do you like whenyou perform? Is it do you go
into this other state? Or areyou in a rapture is a joy? Is
it? Is there panic, what ishappening when you're in it when
you're performing?
Chase Culp (13:40):
I think when I think about it, it's a mix of all of
it. You know, I both subscribeto the idea that your character
is is the most basic you andit's just you stripped down but
I also subscribe the idea thatyou're putting on a character so
I have a bunch of inconsistencyis in my philosophy and my
(14:02):
perception of what happens. Iyeah, I feel like I put
something on but then I alsofeel like I take something off.
I feel very myself on stage. AndI'm one of those clowns I think
that feels comfortable on stagedespite being comfortable,
uncomfortable the rest of thetime. I am a very shy,
(14:25):
introverted sort of omnivore butI am a very shy person. And
people often are surprised ofwhat I do for for a living when
I have trouble doing publicspeaking or which is also
because for me the voice isdifferent than when I'm a silent
(14:47):
character. I'm I feel much morefree when I don't have to rely
on my voice.
William Forchion (14:52):
So much is mostly for our work. Are all of
your work silent. Do you everhave a voice in their in their
cloud,
Chase Culp (14:57):
right? Almost all of it is silent. You know, some,
sometimes I've done things whereI hosted shows and also did acts
to music that were that weresilent, but probably 98% of my
work has been silent. And that'sreally where I feel most
William Forchion (15:14):
comfortable and do as the silent clown. Do
you feel that you can speakclearly through your body, that
your audience really understandswhat you're saying, in your
physicality?
Chase Culp (15:27):
Right, I think that, definitely, I think that they
understand what I'm saying. Andthat's why I think one of the
great gifts of being a silentperformers that you can
communicate for so manydifferent cultures, and language
barriers through these things,because everyone speaks body
(15:49):
language, body language changeswithin cultures, and, and things
but generally speaking, everyonehas a very common understanding
of it. And what I'm saying as aas a character, you know, it's
not so complex, you know, peoplewon't know what I had for
breakfast, or I'm not going intoa soliloquy, you know, that was
(16:12):
written by, by Bill Shakespeare,I like to call but, but people
people understand where I'mcoming from. And I like when,
when I do get frustrated, orwhen I, you know, when I achieve
something, the audience rejoicesin my, in my success, and thus,
it's their success. It makes mefeel good, real good. But also,
(16:34):
I like that we're both on thesame page, and that they've
understood what my build up tothat and then we have this
wonderful celebration together.
That says some magical moment.
Wow.
William Forchion (16:47):
So if you're just joining me now, I am in
conversation with Chase calledclown. And that just chase
called clown? Is there any otherway you would describe yourself
other than clown? Do you haveother descriptors? Are you a
carpenter or whatever? What isthe thing that he or is it just
takes called? clown
Chase Culp (17:09):
generally just clown You know, sometimes I say, oh,
physical comedian, or, you knowvaudevillian, or whatever. But I
think it all boils down to thesame thing. I like the
overreaching word of clown canmean so many things, I find a
real strength in that. I reallylike that. But generally, I'm
(17:33):
just a person who sometimes ishonored enough to get to
entertain the public. And, butI'm always a person. And I find
that very interesting. Becausesometimes I'll be introduced to
a friend of a friend of a friendwho wants to introduce me as a
clown. And I just want to beintroduced as a person and then
(17:54):
later they might, you know, findout what I do. But I think that
comes from being a shy person.
It's not from being ashamed ofwhat I do. Certainly not.
William Forchion (18:04):
It's, you know, you're not going out
wearing your, your profession onyour sleeve. I guess the same
thing was they wouldn't runaround going, Hey, this is my
buddy chase called plumber, youknow? Yeah. So I have a bunch of
questions wrapped around thiswhole idea of the descriptor the
(18:26):
what is Who are you? If you'renot your profession? And and one
of the other things I wonderabout is, you mentioned you're
being shy. What do you do whenyou're not performing? is are
you? So some clowns are knowthat their process the next
thing they're going to create?
What is your Where's your go to?
Where's your reset place? Whatis your, your meditative happy
(18:49):
spot?
Chase Culp (18:50):
You know, I think that I think oftentimes, it
changes. I think that there'ssome things that I'm sort of
rooted in. I really like towatch other clowns, I watch a
lot of videos. YouTube is mybest friend. I feel really
connected when I watch otherpeople. And I take little
(19:14):
elements, you know, that I see Irealized later that this the
look that I did is very muchlike this person, or that
person. And I don't mean to, youknow, steal that look, but I
love that I think that we're allreally sort of an amalgamation
of, of influences, as well aswhat we bring to it. And so I
(19:36):
feel like, the more I see, themore I get inspired, even if
it's subconscious, I reallythink that a lot of inspiration
is just from the subconscious.
William Forchion (19:47):
So we are step we've, we're in a new normal,
we're in a new space. Where doyou see performance, your comp
performance because everything'son hold right now as theaters
figure out how to put audiencesback in seats. theater is
figuring out how to put peopleback on stage with casts and
crews and all that, where do yousee this evolution at whether
(20:09):
you see it going there, or youwant to work towards the
evolution of performance intheatre and how you play your
craft?
Chase Culp (20:16):
Right? I think that, you know, it's such an
interesting time for for us in asuch a unique craft already
that's so old yet is constantlybeing you know, rethought. I
think that online shows is aroute that I think will be
(20:38):
explored more and more. And it'ssomething that I have gotten to
explore. in this situation we'recurrently in. I think that, you
know, whatever the circumstanceswill be tomorrow, or the next
day, I think that no matter whatwe're gonna find what works
(20:59):
best, or what we findinteresting, or what works. You
know, artistically businesswise, I'm very hopeful for the
future, because, you know,especially in, in the context of
circus in particular, nothinghas really stopped it yet. I
(21:21):
mean, you know, mud and muck,and everything else under the
sun, or under the clouds havemanaged to rain down. And, you
know, just curious, from, from afan perspective from a watcher
of art, I'm very excited to seewhat comes with it, as well as a
(21:41):
participant in the
William Forchion (21:43):
what would you tell yourself, your younger
self, who was confused aboutwhat they could do in life, if
you could just step back in amoment in time, to a younger you
and give them encouragement orgive them advice? Or with the
knowledge that you have, in thismoment going back? Then what
would you say?
Chase Culp (22:03):
I think I would probably say, you know, relax,
you know, breathe, keep itsimple. And, you know, I think
that, I probably remind myself,I've always known this, but I
would probably remind myselfthat it's an adventure. And then
(22:24):
you're just lucky that you getto take part in it. And whatever
comes your way, whatever youfind, it's all gravy, you know,
the, whatever you get to do inthe future is a real blessing.
And, you know, do what you cando a good job, which makes sure
the shoes are tied next time.
William Forchion (22:47):
All right, jumping ahead to future self.
You know, you so your futureself has amnesia, and Miss
missed a lot of this stuff. Andyou're going from what you have
right now, is there anything youwould say to your future self
about getting there? Or is thereanything you want to ask a
future self about proceedingfrom here to there?
Chase Culp (23:09):
I would probably ask myself, you know, how did it all
turn out? How did you need theBunyan surgery? But no, I think
that I would probably I'dprobably be curious to see if I
how vigilant I was about, youknow, trying things and
(23:31):
exploring. writing new materialand how, maybe how fearless I
was, if I was more fearless thanI have been in the past, you
know, venturing out into newterritory. You know, stuff like
that.
William Forchion (23:50):
Do you have any stories, great stories of
your travels? You've been toother cultures, you've been
other countries you've dealtwith other languages? Are there
any? Do you have a story thatone story that stands out more
than another?
Chase Culp (24:06):
I have somebody that comes to mind. Whenever I'm
asked, you know, the Java story,I normally can't think of
anything. You know, normallyjust all the memories flood my
brain, but now that it's not somuch, you know, different
culture or something, but it isan interesting story that that's
very dear to me. And it's veryinteresting, I think but when I
(24:30):
was on Ringling Brothers, youknow, as you well know, we live
on the train, and in when I wason much bigger rooms than then
than you did, and yes, I livedin
William Forchion (24:42):
a room it was the roommates that that when I
was on the train, were six footby three foot and I'm six four,
so that just do the math on thatone.
Chase Culp (24:50):
So we were living in luxury. Later on, and it was my
second year on the show and thestock cars were elephants were
transported on, we're parkedright by the clown car, just on
the next track. And I rememberit was Sunday night. And I came
(25:10):
home from, I think we probablyhad a dinner while everyone else
that wasn't lazy was doing loadout and getting paid a little
bit more. And I realized thatthe stock part the stock cars
had gotten loaded up, and thatthe elephants were now directly
next to my house. And so Ialways had a real love for the
(25:31):
elephants. And, uh, you know,just loved watching them. And,
you know, I never had beeninvolved with an animal circus
before. And I didn't really knowall that much about animals, but
I fell in love with theelephants. And long story short,
the, the elephant closest to myroom was Mabel, the baby at the
time. And she was nine at thetime. And so I would, I went up
(25:57):
to the, you know, to the window,and I put my hand up, and every
time she'd walk past, she'd puther trunk there and sniff me.
And then, you know, as I went tobed that night, I remember
thinking, really just 10 or 12feet away from me, there is an
elephant. And that was one ofthe most magical I slept so
well. I mean, to think that Islept next to a wonderful
(26:21):
majestic animal that I got tosee learn, you know, a few
tricks, and I saw grow up, evenif just for two of the years of
her life was really magical.
William Forchion (26:31):
It does sound magical. And so that reminded me
because you told me a storybecause I we've, you've shared
with me your your love ofelephants, and just how magical
some of the moments have beenincluding that one, which I
hadn't heard before. You, yougot to ride an elephant.
Chase Culp (26:49):
Yes.
William Forchion (26:50):
Tell me about that. Because not everybody in
the world gets to ride anelephant. What does that
experience like riding anelephant?
Chase Culp (26:56):
Right. So, you know, throughout the history of
Ringling, you know, at certainpoints, clowns got to ride
elephants a lot in theproduction in the manage the
elephant act and it publicity.
Well, when I was on the show, wenever got to do that. And so the
elephant crew, you know, Ibecame friendly with them. And
(27:16):
they knew that I loved theelephants a lot. And I used to
help them with this and thatmainly getting acrobats the heck
out of the way when they wouldcome But anyhow, but they they
knew I had a great love of theelephants. And so as a gift to
me, the week before I left theshow, the head of elephants, let
me ride one of the elephants inthe in the tent and in the
(27:38):
elephant compound tent. And notonly that, he got to he let me
ride Asan, who was one ofGunther Gable Williams original
herd that came over from Germanyin the late 60s and was still on
the show was still in greathealth at 58. She didn't do much
she just walked around and youknow, hung out and got fed a
(28:01):
lot. But I always loved watchingher, she was one of my
favorites. I really had a lot offavorites in such a small herd.
But to get to ride an animalthat is so large, was
incredible. And, you know, shewas real gentle. But she was so
powerful. And you know, not onlygetting to ride an elephant, but
(28:26):
I got to ride you know, the realquote unquote, way. You know, no
harness, just ride on, on on herback and feet behind the ears.
Yeah, she, you know, she threwme up the old way of the foot.
Yeah. And I was pretty heavyback then I thought, wow, this,
this old girl still real strong.
You step
William Forchion (28:45):
on the foot, the knee and then the lift,
which almost launches you
Chase Culp (28:50):
completely over the elephant and you swing that leg
around? I mean, I've never flownlike that before. It was really
incredible. And I was verygrateful to that experience, for
sure.
William Forchion (29:03):
And who was the trainer that put you on? Do
you remember?
Chase Culp (29:06):
Terry Frisco was the head of elephants and one of the
other one of the other trainerssort of got him to say, okay,
William Forchion (29:18):
because one of the things that I mean, I throw
that out there ask him who thatwas. Because a lot of times
we'll hear about that story. Andmany times, the trainers or the
handlers who don't aren't thestar power behind things are
really the ones who who make alot of this stuff happen. A lot
of that magic happen. And I justwanted to give that little shout
(29:38):
out that you so you can give ashout out to to somebody who
made one of your dreams cometrue. Yes. And which I think is
also I think that's veryimportant, because it and I'm
going to do a shameless seguethis way. Because you also do
that with your work. You open upthe mirth, the magic, this
(29:59):
initiative. There's a littledoorway to the impossible world
of the clown for every audiencethat you encounter, or that
encounters you. And you're amagician in one way, in that you
transform, the normal, themundane into that clown world.
And you're an alchemist in thatyou take, and you shape and you
(30:20):
shift through your skills intosomething that most people
couldn't even imagine. One ofthe things one of your skills
and I'm looking around on thefloor in front of us is a pair
of silver spoons and which Ialready gave him a really big
razzing about the fact that he'sgot a pair of silver spoons, and
all the things that thatconjures up. What what I'm
(30:42):
telling you about these silverspoons, please?
Chase Culp (30:45):
Well, there's no symbolism involved in these
silver spoons. But these areactually a newer pair that I've
been fooling around with, Iprobably have 25 pairs of
spoons. Not all of them silver,just want to throw that out
there. They were not bought new.
They were bought from a thriftstore for about 50 cents each.
But I love to go to thriftstores and find these different
(31:08):
kinds of spoons. People thinkI'm a little bit strange when I
start to play them in the middleof a thrift store.
William Forchion (31:17):
But you play the spoons, right? That's your
thing.
Chase Culp (31:19):
Right? That's one of my one of my main things. One of
my main sticks at this time, oneof my favorites I've ever done.
And you can indulge us with
William Forchion (31:30):
a little little little school
Chase Culp (31:32):
records, but we'll see. Yeah, I mean, I could give
it a whirl. Anyhow, but it'sit's one of my favorite
pastimes. And it started youknow, as a kid, I love The Three
Stooges. And in one of theirshorts, curly plays the spoons,
(31:53):
probably a couple of them. But Ijust remembered in one in
particular. And I loved curly,he was one of my favorite
influences. Because he was hewas a big guy, I was a big guy
as a kid. So really connectedwith him there. I used to get
haircuts like him, which reallywere not very flattering, but it
was an homage to curly. And so Itried to learn how to play the
(32:16):
spoons as a kid. And I didn'thave the right form. And, you
know, I was watching on a grainyVHS tape, I couldn't really see
how it was. So I was turning thespoons, the concave weight to
each other. I don't know ifthat's the right word. But it's
the opposite, right? The curvedparts against so. But much
(32:37):
later, as a teenager, I startedto play spoons, thanks to the
help of YouTube a little bit.
And so I use just play for funto pocos and all kinds of music
mainly, like, you know, Europeanfolk music. And, and then later
I realized why I should makethat into an act. And so that's
sort of, that's the first onethat led me down the path of you
(32:58):
know, eccentric musical actssort of a nod to the European
you know, tradition of themusical clown, but also a nod to
the you know, the vaudevillianswith centric musical instruments
and centric ways of, of, that'salso word I would use to
(33:18):
describe myself as an aseccentric. I really connect to
those wonderful traditions inthe theater.
William Forchion (33:25):
And as a clown, so you mentioned your the
musicality of the spoons. Whatskills do you bring skills to
your comic? Or and I don't meanto mentalize if that the the
clown character development isnot a skill, but do you have
like, are you a juggler or yourAcrobat? What did you what do
you what skills do you bring toyour clown?
Chase Culp (33:47):
Right So really, the the skills that I showcase are,
you know, musical skills and alittle bit of manipulation?
juggling balanced type stuff inthe last show is in before the
shutdown Bernardo circus I wasdoing. I was doing chin
(34:08):
balancing which is one of myother old loves as a kid. So you
know, I did very just a shortlittle routine with that, you
know, I bounced a cane. And thenI did a chair and then I did a
big ladder.
Unknown (34:21):
So by chin balancing you're balancing these things
actually on your chin?
Yes. Which is you know, I thinkone of the coolest one of the
coolest acts there is but notreally that many people do it
and i i you know grew upwatching John Weiss do it with
gigantic wooden ladder and Ilove that I think it's a
(34:41):
wonderful thing. And I also dolike the cigar box slap stack
like WC fields used to do. But Idon't I don't I'm not Eric
Bates. or anything like that.
No, no. Kris Kremo for sure.
Eric Bates is also a youngperformer is he before you or
Chase Culp (34:59):
before me.
fter you as a Smirko?
Unknown (35:02):
Before you, okay? Also young performer traveling the
world now doing multiple things.
He's an acrobat and he also hasa cigar box juggling that's
absolutely out of this world.
Outrageous really, but wonderfulto watch. But I also do I play
the spoons and I also play thetune cowbells, which is
(35:23):
something I really enjoy doingthe cowbells. Yes, they're
handmade tune cowbells fromAustria. And I love that because
it's especially when I broughtit to Switzerland. It's such a
funny thing. I bring their ownculture to them from America.
But after I bought the cowbellsfrom there anyway. But yeah, I
(35:44):
also like the irony of
William Forchion (35:47):
now and I asked him now because we've
talked about these things thatyou do you got the spoons?
You're tuned cowbells, you gotchin balancing? Is there any way
that folks who are listening tothis podcast can see some of
these videos of you doing stuff?
Or the shows that you havelisted? Or do you have a YouTube
channel? Is there any way tofind your work?
Chase Culp (36:04):
Yes, you can find me on YouTube. Chase Culp cu LP
chase like the verb and a verystrange name. I'm on Instagram,
Chase underscore cope. And thenI also have a Facebook page just
for my work called chase copeclown, slash physical comedian,
(36:25):
I think it's cool. But you cansee sort of what I'm up to and
where I'm what I'm going to beup to, and some videos and
pictures of, of what I've beendoing things like that.
William Forchion (36:37):
Fantastic. And chase as this has been great. I
feel like I can go on and on andon. Because I mean, I can't
believe he's under 30. Okay,just just to let you know, has
had some amazing experiences.
And I've been talking to chasefor the last couple of days, as
we sit around. And I just waslike, I gotta I gotta interview
(37:00):
this guy. And I'm really gladthat I have and I wanted to sit
down and I want to talk more.
And we didn't even get I love toget into the whole metaphysics
and all the deep thinking behindthis stuff. But I just got into
the details of where you're atand not the heady stuff. So I
would love to have you backagain and talk some more at some
time. Is that something you'd beopen to do? That would be one.
(37:22):
Okay. Can you also give us alittle bit more of the spoon
stuff? Can you play us out? Wow.
Chase Culp (37:30):
Everyone says
Unknown (37:45):
thank you Chase Culp for that wonderful podcast.
Thank you so much. I mean, I amI am over the moon. Yeah, thanks
a lot.
Chase Culp (37:54):
Thanks for having me. That was that was a lot less
terrifying. Perhaps.
Unknown (38:03):
Fantastic. So if you are a fan of this podcast or and
you would like to support whatwe do. This is totally funded by
yourself myself right here. Me,just me. So if you would like to
support this podcast, you cancheck out our Patreon site,
become a patron at Patreon,William Forchion. And you can
(38:24):
also check out some of the otherstuff I'm doing on YouTube, the
dreamer station and share thispodcast with as many people as
possible. If you can, pleaseleave a review on whatever
podcast app you're using. Thathelps us to get more
subscribers. Thank you so verymuch. And remember, go forward
with passion and purpose. Andalways remember that You are
(38:50):
enough. Thank you. This has beenBillosophy and I am William
Forchion.
Intro Voice (39:04):
Thank you for listening to the Billosophy
podcast. Keep checking in as wewill be regularly releasing new
episodes.
Welcome to a place where we're thinking together
and thinking deeper about who weare. Welcome to the Billosophy
podcast.
William Forchion (00:18):
And we're sitting here in the same space,
which is really great becausefinally I get to have interviews
in person again. And you mayhear the bit of muffle we're
both wearing masks, protectingeach other from contamination or
cross contamination fromCOVID-19. We're here right now
at circus smirkus summer campwhere I'm the director of the
(00:39):
camp. You can hear the echo thisspace that we're in, we're in
one of the dorms of the circussmirkus camp. We're in the
chaplain dorm.
Chase Culp (00:47):
Okay,
William Forchion (00:47):
fantastic. If not, I'm not coercing you.
There's no gun to your head oranything like this, right? No.
Okay. So I've given you all thelead up to the start of this
thing. And we'll just keepgoing. Let's do this thing.
Okay. Hello, I William Forchion,and this is Billosophy. Today,
(01:11):
my guest
Chase Culp (01:12):
is Chase Culp.
William Forchion (01:14):
Chase Culp.
Unknown (01:16):
Tell me a little bit about yourself because I could
give a whole rundown about you.
And as I said, before I Idecided to interview you. I
said, Chase, I don't normallyinterview someone so young. I
want someone who's got someexperiences, has been down the
road. But Chase has somebeautiful stories. Chase has
lived an amazing life thus far.
(01:38):
And I felt compelled to just sitdown with Chase and talk. So
tell me a little about yourself,Chase.
Chase Culp (01:45):
Well, first of all, thanks for having me on despite
my terrible inexperience oflife, but I'm a clown, physical
comedian, person, Generalschmuck. You know, tripping his
way through life? Yeah.
Unknown (02:02):
Now the first Well, I got first introduced to you
watching you perform with circusSmirkus. And for those of you
who don't know, circus smirkusis a youth performing troupe
where kids go to for the summer,like a summer camp almost. But
it's a traveling circus. And itis amazingly high end traveling
(02:26):
circus. Actually Could you tellme a little bit about circus
Smirkus, and your involvement inthat and how that helps you to
take off from or maybe helpedyou grow in to where you are
now.
Chase Culp (02:38):
Right? So I first auditioned for the for the tour,
which is a seven week tour, allaround New England and New York,
with three weeks of rehearsalbuilding a show that steamatic
with 30 kids from around theworld. And I first auditioned
(02:58):
and I didn't get in. And thenthey said you should really go
to the circus Marcus summercamp. And I had always dreamed
of being a clown. And was just,you know, had seen a lot of
videos and was self taught andtaught myself how to juggle and
didn't know anybody who wantedto do this. never met anybody in
(03:20):
the Houston area who could evenjuggle, there probably were
many, many people. But we wereblissfully unaware at the time.
But and so went to the went tothe summer camp. And then the
next year, I had toured forthree summers with them. And
like you said, it's this veryunique experience with high
(03:41):
level show and, you know, a lotof young people, and I really
don't know what I was doingthere, but but I was there and
was very grateful to thatexperience.
Unknown (03:53):
Well, I have to say that you were a presence. I
mean, you are a presence. Youreally stand out. You're unique.
You have a style that beliesyour age. That just is is. It's
ancient, to say the least of it.
It's it's, it's not that it'sold. It's epically old.
Chase Culp (04:19):
Yes, I, and I've always been that way, for better
or for worse. I've basicallybeen a 45 year old man since I
was six, to the baffling ofeveryone around me. And in
smirkus you know, all childrenexcept for 140 year old man, and
(04:40):
also me, but audience membersoftentimes thought I was the one
adult which is fantastic. I lovethat. I revel in that.
William Forchion (04:51):
So you said you wanted to do circus for a
while, and but you say you don'tcome from a performing or do you
come from a performingbackground I lead where they
performers.
Chase Culp (05:03):
My dad was a was an actor in high school and really
loved performing. But he endedup becoming a lawyer, which is a
different kind of performing, Isuppose he actually ended up
winning the same award that Iwould later win as a dramatic
actor, which is not really thatgreat because it was theater in
(05:25):
Texas. So not that cool. Butanyway,
William Forchion (05:28):
it's an award take it where you can....
Chase Culp (05:29):
it was an award, my only award major award.
Unknown (05:34):
So let's, I'm gonna bounce around a little bit
because you left circus Smirkus.
And then what what happenedafter that,
Chase Culp (05:44):
right, so after I left smirkus, you know, it's,
you know, it's very difficulttransition, you know, you're
wanting to be professionalcircus artist. And, you know,
smirk. His tour gives you thisincredible experience of, in
many ways being like aprofessional artist, but in many
ways not. You know, it's a, it'sa bizarre mix of wonderment. So
(06:09):
I learned a lot. And I was verygrateful for that experience.
And then, you know, tried tofind the next thing and I ended
up going on tour with RinglingBrothers, which was my very
first childhood dream was to bea Ringling clown. And so I
toured them for two years.
William Forchion (06:30):
Well, we have that in common because I also
toured with Ringling Brothersway back when, two lifetimes
ago. So you went to Ringling,you did smirkus, you went to
runway brothers. And then sothis is where I get a little
jealous, because I believe youtook off and you, you headed to
Europe and did some stuff andyou you traveled and you were
(06:52):
hired to be a clown with somereally amazing shows. Can you
just give us that that overview?
Unknown (07:00):
Yeah, so you know, I was with Ringling for two years,
you know, it's solid work, youknow, practically the whole
time. And then I want to be afreelancer, I want to, you know,
go where I can and do my thing.
And life has bounced me aroundand managed, I've managed to
perform in 11 differentcountries and in all kinds of
(07:22):
venues, you know, under circustents, arenas, theaters,
beautiful theaters. I didn'tdeserve any of that. None of it
really, but
William Forchion (07:34):
you're deserving. Let me just tell you,
there's no separate selfdeprecating clowning. Here
again, you're gonna have to liftyourself up, because that's what
my job is to lift you up. So youhelp me with that. All right,
Chase Culp (07:44):
I'll help you with the heavy lifting.
William Forchion (07:49):
Name some of the.. boy just throw out some
of those names, what it showsyou you did, because you have
some prestige there. And thenyou also, you mentioned that you
work for one of the not soprestigious shows. In Europe.
Chase Culp (08:00):
Yes, I have some some wonderful, you know, things
on my resume and then otherthings that I hide behind other
things, but yeah, so you know,I've done tours with certain
music and doing, you know, showswith symphony orchestras and
beautiful theaters and arenasI've I toured with circus guests
(08:22):
for Olympia, which is theoriginal circus of the Gasser
family dynasty, and I think isno longer around. But anyhow, I
also was with Slava's snow sho, which I really don't know what
I was doing there because I dont you know, don't speak Russia
. But it was great. B
Unknown (08:42):
But wait, so Slava's snow. So there's now has this
this notion of it's travelingall over the all over the world
pretty much. Please tell me alittle bit about that
experience.
Well, I never thought I'd betalking about this stuff on on a
podcast To be honest, but Well,yeah, so So Mr. Slava Polunin,
(09:05):
one of the world's most renownedclowns from Russia. So I
originally was familiar withSlava, his work on Alegria with
the snow act. And of course, itwas years after he had left and
I saw the action was just, youknow, truly awe inspiring. And I
(09:26):
remember watching when I wasyounger, the Tony Awards, when
they had been on Broadway and,and they were up for the Tony. I
remember seeing Slava and Idon't think that I even really
seen anything from it, but Isomehow knew of Slava snow show
in the mystery behind it and andcome, Fall of 2017. I went to
(09:52):
Europe to do some workshops. Andfirst I took a three three day
workshop. with Mr. David Shineron my way to France to take a
month long workshop seriesorganised by Django Edwards,
shout out to Django
William Forchion (10:12):
Django, I was also one of the, the clown
hierarchy or seniors or eldersand some wild, wonderful magic
that he makes through clown.
Yeah, so thank you Django foryour influence here.
Unknown (10:24):
One of the wildest humans there ever was, and
hosted at Slavs house, which isknown as the Moulin Jaune, the
the yellow mill, and it's thismagical, you know, land there
where they have incredibleinsulation, it's, you know, it's
(10:45):
hard to describe, but it's themost beautiful place I've ever
been to, it's, it's sostimulating to the mind and the
senses and was a great place toopen my mind further to this
craft that I had been, you know,delving into over the years and
learning as much as I could fromanybody that I could. And took
(11:11):
this month long series in whichSlava, you know, of course,
hosted at his home and alsowould lecture at, and then from
that, they invited me to visitthe show. And, and then,
subsequently went on two toursthus far with them.
William Forchion (11:30):
So now I'm going to do a little, little
hook to the left to the right,or someone or just change it,
change the direction and getinto some of the, the
underpinnings of your clown.
Because there are some clownswhose work comes from their anks
they're not fitting in their,their awkwardness in life. And
there's a humor to when theylook, you know, when they
(11:53):
process that stuff, where doesyour clothing come from?
Chase Culp (11:58):
I think that I think that perhaps part of it, part of
it comes from that I don't thinkthat it's apparent from my work
at all, or from an audienceperspective. But definitely, my
life experience has definitelyformed what I do on stage, being
totally different than mysurroundings, I think every
(12:23):
aspect has really sort of mademe made my character change over
the years. And I find that a lotof my work isn't really from
struggle or conflict, but it's,it's more sort of bringing the
audience along on something thatI'm doing, I find it but it's,
(12:44):
it's less of a bumpy road thanthan many clowns.
William Forchion (12:49):
So do you would you consider yourself a
storyteller in your clowning or,or something else?
Chase Culp (12:55):
I think yes. But not such a not not on such a strict
level. I think that, you know,the audience comes away with a
certain perspective of what, youknow what I did, and they, you
know, maybe there's anotherelement they take away but I
don't have such a such a uniquestory that I tell but but I
think I take them on a certainjourney, whether they like it or
(13:17):
not normally they do. And I hopethat they do with your
William Forchion (13:22):
character with your who you are, what emotion
comes from that Do you like whenyou perform? Is it do you go
into this other state? Or areyou in a rapture is a joy? Is
it? Is there panic, what ishappening when you're in it when
you're performing?
Chase Culp (13:40):
I think when I think about it, it's a mix of all of
it. You know, I both subscribeto the idea that your character
is is the most basic you andit's just you stripped down but
I also subscribe the idea thatyou're putting on a character so
I have a bunch of inconsistencyis in my philosophy and my
(14:02):
perception of what happens. Iyeah, I feel like I put
something on but then I alsofeel like I take something off.
I feel very myself on stage. AndI'm one of those clowns I think
that feels comfortable on stagedespite being comfortable,
uncomfortable the rest of thetime. I am a very shy,
(14:25):
introverted sort of omnivore butI am a very shy person. And
people often are surprised ofwhat I do for for a living when
I have trouble doing publicspeaking or which is also
because for me the voice isdifferent than when I'm a silent
(14:47):
character. I'm I feel much morefree when I don't have to rely
on my voice.
William Forchion (14:52):
So much is mostly for our work. Are all of
your work silent. Do you everhave a voice in their in their
cloud,
Chase Culp (14:57):
right? Almost all of it is silent. You know, some,
sometimes I've done things whereI hosted shows and also did acts
to music that were that weresilent, but probably 98% of my
work has been silent. And that'sreally where I feel most
William Forchion (15:14):
comfortable and do as the silent clown. Do
you feel that you can speakclearly through your body, that
your audience really understandswhat you're saying, in your
physicality?
Chase Culp (15:27):
Right, I think that, definitely, I think that they
understand what I'm saying. Andthat's why I think one of the
great gifts of being a silentperformers that you can
communicate for so manydifferent cultures, and language
barriers through these things,because everyone speaks body
(15:49):
language, body language changeswithin cultures, and, and things
but generally speaking, everyonehas a very common understanding
of it. And what I'm saying as aas a character, you know, it's
not so complex, you know, peoplewon't know what I had for
breakfast, or I'm not going intoa soliloquy, you know, that was
(16:12):
written by, by Bill Shakespeare,I like to call but, but people
people understand where I'mcoming from. And I like when,
when I do get frustrated, orwhen I, you know, when I achieve
something, the audience rejoicesin my, in my success, and thus,
it's their success. It makes mefeel good, real good. But also,
(16:34):
I like that we're both on thesame page, and that they've
understood what my build up tothat and then we have this
wonderful celebration together.
That says some magical moment.
Wow.
William Forchion (16:47):
So if you're just joining me now, I am in
conversation with Chase calledclown. And that just chase
called clown? Is there any otherway you would describe yourself
other than clown? Do you haveother descriptors? Are you a
carpenter or whatever? What isthe thing that he or is it just
takes called? clown
Chase Culp (17:09):
generally just clown You know, sometimes I say, oh,
physical comedian, or, you knowvaudevillian, or whatever. But I
think it all boils down to thesame thing. I like the
overreaching word of clown canmean so many things, I find a
real strength in that. I reallylike that. But generally, I'm
(17:33):
just a person who sometimes ishonored enough to get to
entertain the public. And, butI'm always a person. And I find
that very interesting. Becausesometimes I'll be introduced to
a friend of a friend of a friendwho wants to introduce me as a
clown. And I just want to beintroduced as a person and then
(17:54):
later they might, you know, findout what I do. But I think that
comes from being a shy person.
It's not from being ashamed ofwhat I do. Certainly not.
William Forchion (18:04):
It's, you know, you're not going out
wearing your, your profession onyour sleeve. I guess the same
thing was they wouldn't runaround going, Hey, this is my
buddy chase called plumber, youknow? Yeah. So I have a bunch of
questions wrapped around thiswhole idea of the descriptor the
(18:26):
what is Who are you? If you'renot your profession? And and one
of the other things I wonderabout is, you mentioned you're
being shy. What do you do whenyou're not performing? is are
you? So some clowns are knowthat their process the next
thing they're going to create?
What is your Where's your go to?
Where's your reset place? Whatis your, your meditative happy
(18:49):
spot?
Chase Culp (18:50):
You know, I think that I think oftentimes, it
changes. I think that there'ssome things that I'm sort of
rooted in. I really like towatch other clowns, I watch a
lot of videos. YouTube is mybest friend. I feel really
connected when I watch otherpeople. And I take little
(19:14):
elements, you know, that I see Irealized later that this the
look that I did is very muchlike this person, or that
person. And I don't mean to, youknow, steal that look, but I
love that I think that we're allreally sort of an amalgamation
of, of influences, as well aswhat we bring to it. And so I
(19:36):
feel like, the more I see, themore I get inspired, even if
it's subconscious, I reallythink that a lot of inspiration
is just from the subconscious.
William Forchion (19:47):
So we are step we've, we're in a new normal,
we're in a new space. Where doyou see performance, your comp
performance because everything'son hold right now as theaters
figure out how to put audiencesback in seats. theater is
figuring out how to put peopleback on stage with casts and
crews and all that, where do yousee this evolution at whether
(20:09):
you see it going there, or youwant to work towards the
evolution of performance intheatre and how you play your
craft?
Chase Culp (20:16):
Right? I think that, you know, it's such an
interesting time for for us in asuch a unique craft already
that's so old yet is constantlybeing you know, rethought. I
think that online shows is aroute that I think will be
(20:38):
explored more and more. And it'ssomething that I have gotten to
explore. in this situation we'recurrently in. I think that, you
know, whatever the circumstanceswill be tomorrow, or the next
day, I think that no matter whatwe're gonna find what works
(20:59):
best, or what we findinteresting, or what works. You
know, artistically businesswise, I'm very hopeful for the
future, because, you know,especially in, in the context of
circus in particular, nothinghas really stopped it yet. I
(21:21):
mean, you know, mud and muck,and everything else under the
sun, or under the clouds havemanaged to rain down. And, you
know, just curious, from, from afan perspective from a watcher
of art, I'm very excited to seewhat comes with it, as well as a
(21:41):
participant in the
William Forchion (21:43):
what would you tell yourself, your younger
self, who was confused aboutwhat they could do in life, if
you could just step back in amoment in time, to a younger you
and give them encouragement orgive them advice? Or with the
knowledge that you have, in thismoment going back? Then what
would you say?
Chase Culp (22:03):
I think I would probably say, you know, relax,
you know, breathe, keep itsimple. And, you know, I think
that, I probably remind myself,I've always known this, but I
would probably remind myselfthat it's an adventure. And then
(22:24):
you're just lucky that you getto take part in it. And whatever
comes your way, whatever youfind, it's all gravy, you know,
the, whatever you get to do inthe future is a real blessing.
And, you know, do what you cando a good job, which makes sure
the shoes are tied next time.
William Forchion (22:47):
All right, jumping ahead to future self.
You know, you so your futureself has amnesia, and Miss
missed a lot of this stuff. Andyou're going from what you have
right now, is there anything youwould say to your future self
about getting there? Or is thereanything you want to ask a
future self about proceedingfrom here to there?
Chase Culp (23:09):
I would probably ask myself, you know, how did it all
turn out? How did you need theBunyan surgery? But no, I think
that I would probably I'dprobably be curious to see if I
how vigilant I was about, youknow, trying things and
(23:31):
exploring. writing new materialand how, maybe how fearless I
was, if I was more fearless thanI have been in the past, you
know, venturing out into newterritory. You know, stuff like
that.
William Forchion (23:50):
Do you have any stories, great stories of
your travels? You've been toother cultures, you've been
other countries you've dealtwith other languages? Are there
any? Do you have a story thatone story that stands out more
than another?
Chase Culp (24:06):
I have somebody that comes to mind. Whenever I'm
asked, you know, the Java story,I normally can't think of
anything. You know, normallyjust all the memories flood my
brain, but now that it's not somuch, you know, different
culture or something, but it isan interesting story that that's
very dear to me. And it's veryinteresting, I think but when I
(24:30):
was on Ringling Brothers, youknow, as you well know, we live
on the train, and in when I wason much bigger rooms than then
than you did, and yes, I livedin
William Forchion (24:42):
a room it was the roommates that that when I
was on the train, were six footby three foot and I'm six four,
so that just do the math on thatone.
Chase Culp (24:50):
So we were living in luxury. Later on, and it was my
second year on the show and thestock cars were elephants were
transported on, we're parkedright by the clown car, just on
the next track. And I rememberit was Sunday night. And I came
(25:10):
home from, I think we probablyhad a dinner while everyone else
that wasn't lazy was doing loadout and getting paid a little
bit more. And I realized thatthe stock part the stock cars
had gotten loaded up, and thatthe elephants were now directly
next to my house. And so Ialways had a real love for the
(25:31):
elephants. And, uh, you know,just loved watching them. And,
you know, I never had beeninvolved with an animal circus
before. And I didn't really knowall that much about animals, but
I fell in love with theelephants. And long story short,
the, the elephant closest to myroom was Mabel, the baby at the
time. And she was nine at thetime. And so I would, I went up
(25:57):
to the, you know, to the window,and I put my hand up, and every
time she'd walk past, she'd puther trunk there and sniff me.
And then, you know, as I went tobed that night, I remember
thinking, really just 10 or 12feet away from me, there is an
elephant. And that was one ofthe most magical I slept so
well. I mean, to think that Islept next to a wonderful
(26:21):
majestic animal that I got tosee learn, you know, a few
tricks, and I saw grow up, evenif just for two of the years of
her life was really magical.
William Forchion (26:31):
It does sound magical. And so that reminded me
because you told me a storybecause I we've, you've shared
with me your your love ofelephants, and just how magical
some of the moments have beenincluding that one, which I
hadn't heard before. You, yougot to ride an elephant.
Chase Culp (26:49):
Yes.
William Forchion (26:50):
Tell me about that. Because not everybody in
the world gets to ride anelephant. What does that
experience like riding anelephant?
Chase Culp (26:56):
Right. So, you know, throughout the history of
Ringling, you know, at certainpoints, clowns got to ride
elephants a lot in theproduction in the manage the
elephant act and it publicity.
Well, when I was on the show, wenever got to do that. And so the
elephant crew, you know, Ibecame friendly with them. And
(27:16):
they knew that I loved theelephants a lot. And I used to
help them with this and thatmainly getting acrobats the heck
out of the way when they wouldcome But anyhow, but they they
knew I had a great love of theelephants. And so as a gift to
me, the week before I left theshow, the head of elephants, let
me ride one of the elephants inthe in the tent and in the
(27:38):
elephant compound tent. And notonly that, he got to he let me
ride Asan, who was one ofGunther Gable Williams original
herd that came over from Germanyin the late 60s and was still on
the show was still in greathealth at 58. She didn't do much
she just walked around and youknow, hung out and got fed a
(28:01):
lot. But I always loved watchingher, she was one of my
favorites. I really had a lot offavorites in such a small herd.
But to get to ride an animalthat is so large, was
incredible. And, you know, shewas real gentle. But she was so
powerful. And you know, not onlygetting to ride an elephant, but
(28:26):
I got to ride you know, the realquote unquote, way. You know, no
harness, just ride on, on on herback and feet behind the ears.
Yeah, she, you know, she threwme up the old way of the foot.
Yeah. And I was pretty heavyback then I thought, wow, this,
this old girl still real strong.
You step
William Forchion (28:45):
on the foot, the knee and then the lift,
which almost launches you
Chase Culp (28:50):
completely over the elephant and you swing that leg
around? I mean, I've never flownlike that before. It was really
incredible. And I was verygrateful to that experience, for
sure.
William Forchion (29:03):
And who was the trainer that put you on? Do
you remember?
Chase Culp (29:06):
Terry Frisco was the head of elephants and one of the
other one of the other trainerssort of got him to say, okay,
William Forchion (29:18):
because one of the things that I mean, I throw
that out there ask him who thatwas. Because a lot of times
we'll hear about that story. Andmany times, the trainers or the
handlers who don't aren't thestar power behind things are
really the ones who who make alot of this stuff happen. A lot
of that magic happen. And I justwanted to give that little shout
(29:38):
out that you so you can give ashout out to to somebody who
made one of your dreams cometrue. Yes. And which I think is
also I think that's veryimportant, because it and I'm
going to do a shameless seguethis way. Because you also do
that with your work. You open upthe mirth, the magic, this
(29:59):
initiative. There's a littledoorway to the impossible world
of the clown for every audiencethat you encounter, or that
encounters you. And you're amagician in one way, in that you
transform, the normal, themundane into that clown world.
And you're an alchemist in thatyou take, and you shape and you
(30:20):
shift through your skills intosomething that most people
couldn't even imagine. One ofthe things one of your skills
and I'm looking around on thefloor in front of us is a pair
of silver spoons and which Ialready gave him a really big
razzing about the fact that he'sgot a pair of silver spoons, and
all the things that thatconjures up. What what I'm
(30:42):
telling you about these silverspoons, please?
Chase Culp (30:45):
Well, there's no symbolism involved in these
silver spoons. But these areactually a newer pair that I've
been fooling around with, Iprobably have 25 pairs of
spoons. Not all of them silver,just want to throw that out
there. They were not bought new.
They were bought from a thriftstore for about 50 cents each.
But I love to go to thriftstores and find these different
(31:08):
kinds of spoons. People thinkI'm a little bit strange when I
start to play them in the middleof a thrift store.
William Forchion (31:17):
But you play the spoons, right? That's your
thing.
Chase Culp (31:19):
Right? That's one of my one of my main things. One of
my main sticks at this time, oneof my favorites I've ever done.
And you can indulge us with
William Forchion (31:30):
a little little little school
Chase Culp (31:32):
records, but we'll see. Yeah, I mean, I could give
it a whirl. Anyhow, but it'sit's one of my favorite
pastimes. And it started youknow, as a kid, I love The Three
Stooges. And in one of theirshorts, curly plays the spoons,
(31:53):
probably a couple of them. But Ijust remembered in one in
particular. And I loved curly,he was one of my favorite
influences. Because he was hewas a big guy, I was a big guy
as a kid. So really connectedwith him there. I used to get
haircuts like him, which reallywere not very flattering, but it
was an homage to curly. And so Itried to learn how to play the
(32:16):
spoons as a kid. And I didn'thave the right form. And, you
know, I was watching on a grainyVHS tape, I couldn't really see
how it was. So I was turning thespoons, the concave weight to
each other. I don't know ifthat's the right word. But it's
the opposite, right? The curvedparts against so. But much
(32:37):
later, as a teenager, I startedto play spoons, thanks to the
help of YouTube a little bit.
And so I use just play for funto pocos and all kinds of music
mainly, like, you know, Europeanfolk music. And, and then later
I realized why I should makethat into an act. And so that's
sort of, that's the first onethat led me down the path of you
(32:58):
know, eccentric musical actssort of a nod to the European
you know, tradition of themusical clown, but also a nod to
the you know, the vaudevillianswith centric musical instruments
and centric ways of, of, that'salso word I would use to
(33:18):
describe myself as an aseccentric. I really connect to
those wonderful traditions inthe theater.
William Forchion (33:25):
And as a clown, so you mentioned your the
musicality of the spoons. Whatskills do you bring skills to
your comic? Or and I don't meanto mentalize if that the the
clown character development isnot a skill, but do you have
like, are you a juggler or yourAcrobat? What did you what do
you what skills do you bring toyour clown?
Chase Culp (33:47):
Right So really, the the skills that I showcase are,
you know, musical skills and alittle bit of manipulation?
juggling balanced type stuff inthe last show is in before the
shutdown Bernardo circus I wasdoing. I was doing chin
(34:08):
balancing which is one of myother old loves as a kid. So you
know, I did very just a shortlittle routine with that, you
know, I bounced a cane. And thenI did a chair and then I did a
big ladder.
Unknown (34:21):
So by chin balancing you're balancing these things
actually on your chin?
Yes. Which is you know, I thinkone of the coolest one of the
coolest acts there is but notreally that many people do it
and i i you know grew upwatching John Weiss do it with
gigantic wooden ladder and Ilove that I think it's a
(34:41):
wonderful thing. And I also dolike the cigar box slap stack
like WC fields used to do. But Idon't I don't I'm not Eric
Bates. or anything like that.
No, no. Kris Kremo for sure.
Eric Bates is also a youngperformer is he before you or
Chase Culp (34:59):
before me.
fter you as a Smirko?
Unknown (35:02):
Before you, okay? Also young performer traveling the
world now doing multiple things.
He's an acrobat and he also hasa cigar box juggling that's
absolutely out of this world.
Outrageous really, but wonderfulto watch. But I also do I play
the spoons and I also play thetune cowbells, which is
(35:23):
something I really enjoy doingthe cowbells. Yes, they're
handmade tune cowbells fromAustria. And I love that because
it's especially when I broughtit to Switzerland. It's such a
funny thing. I bring their ownculture to them from America.
But after I bought the cowbellsfrom there anyway. But yeah, I
(35:44):
also like the irony of
William Forchion (35:47):
now and I asked him now because we've
talked about these things thatyou do you got the spoons?
You're tuned cowbells, you gotchin balancing? Is there any way
that folks who are listening tothis podcast can see some of
these videos of you doing stuff?
Or the shows that you havelisted? Or do you have a YouTube
channel? Is there any way tofind your work?
Chase Culp (36:04):
Yes, you can find me on YouTube. Chase Culp cu LP
chase like the verb and a verystrange name. I'm on Instagram,
Chase underscore cope. And thenI also have a Facebook page just
for my work called chase copeclown, slash physical comedian,
(36:25):
I think it's cool. But you cansee sort of what I'm up to and
where I'm what I'm going to beup to, and some videos and
pictures of, of what I've beendoing things like that.
William Forchion (36:37):
Fantastic. And chase as this has been great. I
feel like I can go on and on andon. Because I mean, I can't
believe he's under 30. Okay,just just to let you know, has
had some amazing experiences.
And I've been talking to chasefor the last couple of days, as
we sit around. And I just waslike, I gotta I gotta interview
(37:00):
this guy. And I'm really gladthat I have and I wanted to sit
down and I want to talk more.
And we didn't even get I love toget into the whole metaphysics
and all the deep thinking behindthis stuff. But I just got into
the details of where you're atand not the heady stuff. So I
would love to have you backagain and talk some more at some
time. Is that something you'd beopen to do? That would be one.
(37:22):
Okay. Can you also give us alittle bit more of the spoon
stuff? Can you play us out? Wow.
Chase Culp (37:30):
Everyone says
Unknown (37:45):
thank you Chase Culp for that wonderful podcast.
Thank you so much. I mean, I amI am over the moon. Yeah, thanks
a lot.
Chase Culp (37:54):
Thanks for having me. That was that was a lot less
terrifying. Perhaps.
Unknown (38:03):
Fantastic. So if you are a fan of this podcast or and
you would like to support whatwe do. This is totally funded by
yourself myself right here. Me,just me. So if you would like to
support this podcast, you cancheck out our Patreon site,
become a patron at Patreon,William Forchion. And you can
(38:24):
also check out some of the otherstuff I'm doing on YouTube, the
dreamer station and share thispodcast with as many people as
possible. If you can, pleaseleave a review on whatever
podcast app you're using. Thathelps us to get more
subscribers. Thank you so verymuch. And remember, go forward
with passion and purpose. Andalways remember that You are
(38:50):
enough. Thank you. This has beenBillosophy and I am William
Forchion.
Intro Voice (39:04):
Thank you for listening to the Billosophy
podcast. Keep checking in as wewill be regularly releasing new
episodes.
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