My life currently consists of a lot of shows. In particular, it was sketch and improv, which has me presenting a lot of characters. I’m always hoping to have a wide variety of characters so that it’s easier to cast me in all sorts of roles. However, I realized a curious happenstance as I reflected on three characters that I have been sharing to promote my current shows.
The three characters are strikingly similar. They share a lot of similarities and the small differences between them are also telling.
For me, when I am having to create a new character for a show or even something like playing Dungeons & Dragons, I may consider a few options, but the ones I feel strongest about and wind up doing are usually connected to thoughts, ideas, and reflections I’ve been chewing over in my life. They are characters that are not that far removed from me in ideals and even characters that I wish I was more like.
That’s why the similarities and shared traits of the characters struck me. Especially since I did not plan on them lining up to be scheduled in shows so closely together like this, but now that they have, it has me thinking about where I find myself right now.
This past year at yegDND, I’ve been playing a character named Clarence Smoot, a simple man who is based loosely on my brother and especially the traits I most admired about him. He is not really a capable adventurer, but rather out of a sense of duty to where needs are, he answers the call to step up. He’s almost like a biblical character in that he may be considered to be a weak choice by others but due to this faithfulness to doing what’s right, he may have an impact and make the world a better place. Maybe he’s overwhelmed by the situation, but the purity of his heart and his kindness in the face of it all, is what makes him admirable.
When we were working on doing a special marathon show for yegDND, it was offered that we could bring back a character from the past that we really enjoyed. I immediately thought of Ziggy. He’s a frost giant child who happens to be 6’4” and is strong as a bull, but naive like a child with wonder in his eyes. He wants to make the world better and become a hero. He has overly simplistic view of how the world works and has an undying hope in the idea that bad situations can be made better. He sees the good in things and loves discovering new things and believes that he can do anything. He is always welcoming to people even if they secretly mean to take advantage of his strength for their own means.
Finally, this summer, I am doing a one-person show where I will be doing a physical comedy that involves little to no talking of a character, named Filliam Crowe, who is wracked with social anxiety, but a desire to embrace life in its fullness and trying to do things to the best of his ability and fumbling and bumbling his way through it. The situation will get more and more out of hand as he tries to stay on top of it all until it turns into a full blown disaster. Throughout all of this, he is fuelled by an undying optimism no matter how much it gets out of hand. He may moments of defeat, but the idea that tomorrow is a new day keeps him from staying in defeat.
You can see why it struck me. It feels like I talked about the same character three different ways. They are different from each other in enough ways that makes watching the three characters a different experience.
Clarence has an awareness of his lack of talent as an adventurer, which makes his choice to be one who tries to be an adventurer admirable. He goes not because he believes that he will survive necessarily, but because someone has to do something about the woes of the world and maybe he can.
Ziggy is gullible and is simply unable to grasp the idea that people would lie to him. He trusts others implicitly and explicitly. He believes that the world can change.
Filliam is not trying to save the world, he just doesn’t want life to pass him by. He doesn’t want to miss opportunities to love, to experience, and to understand.
It’s that shared trait of eternal optimism that I desire the most. The idea that despite how bad things are (And they are. They are really bad in this world) that it is not over and regardless of how incapable that I may be to make things better, maybe my faithfulness to doing my best is rewarded. Not to me necessarily, (although if that is in the cards as well, awesome!) but rather this world is made better.
I feel like a lot of losses have come my way personally and I’ve done my best to do what is right but my optimism and drive to keep pushing for a better world is taking the hit. Especially when, in outside of my life, it seems like a callousness to other people continually seems to win. A leader can declare that the most vulnerable people are a threat and must be treated like animals or subhuman and they win elections or continued support.
It’s the thing that separates me from my three favourite characters that I’ve created is this knowledge that the worst parts of humanity currently have the upper hand and that I personally am playing short-handed. I am having a tough time maintaining optimism in the face of it.
I think that’s why the characters I’ve been drawn to to play are optimistic and the pinnacle of genuine hope and kind action. These characters are a part of my personal mythology that inspire me to still be as kind and hopeful as I can be. It is true that all the world’s problems are overwhelming and impossible to overcome by one individual, but at the very least, I have done my part to do the best an individual can in the face of it. Not inspired by the fear of hell, but rather by the love for this broken world.
This all brings me back to the world of Psalms. The Psalms are the poetry and song book of the Bible.
The idea that there are people who seem to go unstopped for their greed and vindictiveness was a thing that my own namesake raged against in these ancient texts. David was furious that people who abuse the poor and flagrantly flaunt their selfish ways go unpunished and it all boils him up.
The three characters are strikingly similar. They share a lot of similarities and the small differences between them are also telling.
For me, when I am having to create a new character for a show or even something like playing Dungeons & Dragons, I may consider a few options, but the ones I feel strongest about and wind up doing are usually connected to thoughts, ideas, and reflections I’ve been chewing over in my life. They are characters that are not that far removed from me in ideals and even characters that I wish I was more like.
That’s why the similarities and shared traits of the characters struck me. Especially since I did not plan on them lining up to be scheduled in shows so closely together like this, but now that they have, it has me thinking about where I find myself right now.
This past year at yegDND, I’ve been playing a character named Clarence Smoot, a simple man who is based loosely on my brother and especially the traits I most admired about him. He is not really a capable adventurer, but rather out of a sense of duty to where needs are, he answers the call to step up. He’s almost like a biblical character in that he may be considered to be a weak choice by others but due to this faithfulness to doing what’s right, he may have an impact and make the world a better place. Maybe he’s overwhelmed by the situation, but the purity of his heart and his kindness in the face of it all, is what makes him admirable.
When we were working on doing a special marathon show for yegDND, it was offered that we could bring back a character from the past that we really enjoyed. I immediately thought of Ziggy. He’s a frost giant child who happens to be 6’4” and is strong as a bull, but naive like a child with wonder in his eyes. He wants to make the world better and become a hero. He has overly simplistic view of how the world works and has an undying hope in the idea that bad situations can be made better. He sees the good in things and loves discovering new things and believes that he can do anything. He is always welcoming to people even if they secretly mean to take advantage of his strength for their own means.
Finally, this summer, I am doing a one-person show where I will be doing a physical comedy that involves little to no talking of a character, named Filliam Crowe, who is wracked with social anxiety, but a desire to embrace life in its fullness and trying to do things to the best of his ability and fumbling and bumbling his way through it. The situation will get more and more out of hand as he tries to stay on top of it all until it turns into a full blown disaster. Throughout all of this, he is fuelled by an undying optimism no matter how much it gets out of hand. He may moments of defeat, but the idea that tomorrow is a new day keeps him from staying in defeat.
You can see why it struck me. It feels like I talked about the same character three different ways. They are different from each other in enough ways that makes watching the three characters a different experience.
Clarence has an awareness of his lack of talent as an adventurer, which makes his choice to be one who tries to be an adventurer admirable. He goes not because he believes that he will survive necessarily, but because someone has to do something about the woes of the world and maybe he can.
Ziggy is gullible and is simply unable to grasp the idea that people would lie to him. He trusts others implicitly and explicitly. He believes that the world can change.
Filliam is not trying to save the world, he just doesn’t want life to pass him by. He doesn’t want to miss opportunities to love, to experience, and to understand.
It’s that shared trait of eternal optimism that I desire the most. The idea that despite how bad things are (And they are. They are really bad in this world) that it is not over and regardless of how incapable that I may be to make things better, maybe my faithfulness to doing my best is rewarded. Not to me necessarily, (although if that is in the cards as well, awesome!) but rather this world is made better.
I feel like a lot of losses have come my way personally and I’ve done my best to do what is right but my optimism and drive to keep pushing for a better world is taking the hit. Especially when, in outside of my life, it seems like a callousness to other people continually seems to win. A leader can declare that the most vulnerable people are a threat and must be treated like animals or subhuman and they win elections or continued support.
It’s the thing that separates me from my three favourite characters that I’ve created is this knowledge that the worst parts of humanity currently have the upper hand and that I personally am playing short-handed. I am having a tough time maintaining optimism in the face of it.
I think that’s why the characters I’ve been drawn to to play are optimistic and the pinnacle of genuine hope and kind action. These characters are a part of my personal mythology that inspire me to still be as kind and hopeful as I can be. It is true that all the world’s problems are overwhelming and impossible to overcome by one individual, but at the very least, I have done my part to do the best an individual can in the face of it. Not inspired by the fear of hell, but rather by the love for this broken world.
This all brings me back to the world of Psalms. The Psalms are the poetry and song book of the Bible.
The idea that there are people who seem to go unstopped for their greed and vindictiveness was a thing that my own namesake raged against in these ancient texts. David was furious that people who abuse the poor and flagrantly flaunt their selfish ways go unpunished and it all boils him up.
David is often overwhelmed by the injustice of it all. He knows it because he has been on the run from the man who has power over the land and he wants to kill David.
David often feels like he is unable to stop it. And he was even king during some of these Psalms!
However, regardless of his position and social status, he came back to the idea that he would be faithful to what is right because that is what is required of us. We may not be able to stop the power of our enemies and those who do wrong to those most vulnerable, but we actually do not know for sure what could make the difference. It may be something small and because we are faithful, then those small moments may be what matters.
It should be pointed out that David was also, at times, a selfish man. He did things that were awful and shortsighted. He was willing to kill a man in order to preserve the perception of his righteousness. He is one of the best examples of a person who has high-minded ideals and can be a paragon of faithfulness and perseverance and yet is susceptible to making awful mistakes.
He is not Clarence or Ziggy or Filliam.
He is more selfish.
He is more realistic.
It makes sense that I am more like King David than those three characters I created. A man who was given so much by God and was one that made decisions that hurt people.
I will continue to pursue being more like Clarence, Ziggy, and Filliam, because it is people like that that love people more and make this world a better place. It is not the self-righteous who thinks they are morally better who necessarily make it better for others.
I should mention that one of the traits that I admire in the character of King David is his ability to realize his mistakes and his drive to make things right.
I would like to think I share that trait and it propels me to be more like those three characters and it will me to be remembered like Clarence or Ziggy or Filliam would be. An inspiring, kind optimist who loves unconditionally and truly makes the world better.
“I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah.”
- “Hallelujah” from the Leonard Cohen album “Various Positions”
