Podcasts by the Way of the Showman
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 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
Further podcasts by Captain Frodo
Podcast on the topic Darstellende Kunst
All episodes
42 - the Way and the Universe - Poetic Midseason Finale from 2022-02-08T06:00
To celebrate that we have reched the magical and intensly meaningful number 42 broadcasts here on the carnival underground I have put together a special sonic treat for you all. I have written a...
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41 - A Year of Creation w Jay Gilligan from 2022-01-25T06:00
On this leg of the journey I am joined by Juggler Extraordinaire Jay Gilligan, a man who needs no further introduction amongst the practicioneers of the art of juggling. Or, perhaps to those of ...
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40 - Who is the ShowMan - theWay15 from 2022-01-11T06:00
In this episode I propose a new way of looking at the distinction between Audience and Showman. I also use this new inclusive view inform me in my pursuit of meaning in life.
You can c...
39 - Finding Your Calling - theWay14 from 2021-12-28T06:00
In this episode I take a deep look at what the mechanisms are of finding ones way in life. I do it through a metaphorical exploration. How do we find what we love in life? This is not something ...
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38 - the Eye in the Triangle - the Way:13 from 2021-12-14T06:00
In this episode I tell the story of how I really discovered that a triangle would be a good symbol for Showmanship. I also reveal how Attention is perfectly represented in the symbol. The Eye. W...
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37 - REFLEX: On Creative Process and collaborating with Jay Gilligan from 2021-11-30T06:00
This episode will be different. This is the first time you will hear other voices than that of your trusted guide along the Way, Captain Frodo on this podcast. This is because for a year and a h...
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36 - the Geometry of Showmanship - theWay:12 from 2021-11-16T06:00
Metaphoric thinking is fundamental to our understanding of the world. It is by likening one thing we understand to something else which we might not quite understand that we learn about the worl...
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35 - the Anatomy of Showmanship - theWay:11 from 2021-11-02T06:00
In this episode I explore what the essense of Showmanship is. What is the difference between a Show and Showmanship? How are they related? What are the fundamental aspects of performance? These ...
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34 - the Flowing Bedrock of Showmanship - theWay:10 from 2021-10-19T06:00
Now we start looking at the heart of the Way, what is Showmanship. This episode and the next we look into this. The faithful listener might recognise some of this episode from the first season w...
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33 - The Anatomy of Shows - theWay:9 from 2021-10-05T06:00
In this episode I share what I see as the essentials of what makes a show. I divide it up into three constituents which helps me to analyse and to understand my own shows and shows that I see. F...
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32 - A Human Map to Guide Creation - theWay:8 from 2021-09-21T06:00
This episode explores what makes us human in a way that will become a practical tool for asking questions about our work and art. The understandings we will journey through is an important key t...
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31 - Inspiration - theWay:7 from 2021-09-07T06:00
Today I talk about inner exploration. We look at a few ways of mapping our internal geography and then how to mine it for use in creation. I also talk about developing a sense of ones inclinatio...
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30 - Inner and Outer Exoloration - theWay:6 from 2021-08-24T06:00
When we take the two geographies of Inner and outer space seriously we immidiately see that their landscapes are quite different and that to journey within them would need different approaches. ...
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29 - a Life and a Living - theWay:5 from 2021-08-10T06:00
In this episode we look at how being an artist and performer affects both our lives and our livings. These to domains merge for many of us. There is often very little separation between what w...
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28 - the Frontier of Authenticity - theWay:4 from 2021-07-27T06:00
I believe we find authenticity at the frontier between our inner and outer geographies. Todays leg along the Way explores what that means, and to understand that we have to look at what authenti...
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27 - A Campfire by the Wayside - a personal catch-up from 2021-07-20T06:00
This is an episode that's a little more personal, just a little catch up really. A few people have said they miss the little bits of personal updates about my current situation. I have deci...
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26 - the Secrets of ShowMan - theWay:3 from 2021-07-13T06:00
Today we set off and our trailhead will be the word ShowMan. As we ask ourselves not just what that word means from an etymological point of view but more importantly as a way pointer towards th...
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25 - What is the Way? This is the Way - theWay:2 from 2021-06-29T06:00
In this second trip down the Way of the Showman we will look at what the Way actually is. Right off the bat we discover that it has a kind of dual nature, which is revealed first around the fact...
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24 - Introducing the Way - theWay:1 from 2021-06-15T06:00
In this episode we begin our grand, exploratory journey of the Way of the Showman. In the last season I offered glimpses of what the world looked like through the lens of Showmanship. As this se...
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23 - Riffing on my Artistic Process from 2021-06-01T06:00
Welcome back to season two! This first episode is a response to the short bonus episode on I published on my birthday, which I share with the pandemic. In that episode I asked you listeners if y...
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22- Pandemic Birthday Ramble from 2021-03-12T06:00
Happy birthday pandemic and happy birthday to me. My birthday and the day Showbiz Died is the same day. I told all about that in episode one. In this episode I reflect on my life in this crazy t...
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21 - Captain of the ShowmanShip from 2020-10-27T06:00
In this final episode of season one, I attempt to give a few indications of just how grand and sacred our Craft can be seen. I do a deep dive into symbolic and mythological territory unlike anyt...
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20 - Homesick for Shows (or: how plague made me homeless) from 2020-10-20T06:00
I have been feeling lost, like so many of you.
My Show was My home, now its destroyd by plague and I can't get home.
The Showman has his home in the space that arises in the meetin...
19 - Seeing Through Illusion (Mystery&Science) from 2020-10-13T06:00
What will our firewall be between ourselves and the Svengali scamsters of the world? To day we look into science. We check out if there are any lessons to be learnt from looking at the Black Dea...
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18 - Suckers Are Born Every Minute from 2020-10-06T06:00
This week we talk about deception. By learning about the many ways our senses, our thinking, and our limited understanding of logic can be used to deceive us, I am hoping to get us all a little ...
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17 - Carny Wise at the Social Media Circus from 2020-09-29T06:00
After our mythic and imaginative explorations I think it would be good to remind ourselves that there is a real world out there. We must not get lost in day dreams and "As If" thinking...
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16 - As If! We Can Change the World. from 2020-09-22T06:00
We go on quite a wander this episode. Starting with the satanic principle of the Intellectual Decompression chamber, we then do a little loop around the importance of employing and becoming awar...
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15 - the Imaginary Circus from 2020-09-15T06:00
After I began releasing the episodes about the Mythopoetic Carnival I discovered a concept within the field of sociology which maps uncannily well onto our own project. I explore these similarit...
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14 - the Kingdom of Childhood from 2020-09-08T06:00
This time we take a short break from the Mythopoetic Explorations and instead take a look into the strange and beautiful Kingdom of Childhood. We try to understand the denizens with their peculi...
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13 - Get Into It (Secret Doorway) from 2020-09-01T07:00
The concept of the carnival of dreams seems so abstract. This is the opposite of a real world carnival. Today we explore the tarot as a possible tool for creating a mental midway, a carnival tha...
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12 - Strange Loops from 2020-08-25T07:00
The path we walk in todays episode goes from the gutters and all the way into sacred, religious territory. We start with the lowbrow, in the trash stratum, we explore the gutter, dreaming of the...
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11 - Sexual Selection of Carnival Attractions from 2020-08-18T06:00
Strange days are upon us. Some are calling for the abolishment of 2020, others are asking for their money back and are refusing to add this year to their sequence of birthdays. But I am asking f...
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10 - the Carny&the Circus Princess from 2020-08-10T22:00
We try to understand what this special carnival is, what's its nature? It is not your regular down and out collection of rides and crooked, rigged carnival games. One way of looking at it i...
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9 - Mythopoetic Carnival from 2020-08-03T06:00
Mythopoetic means myth making. A grand voyage is undertaken, a quest is begun, we set sails on the Showmanship and seek a mythic continent, a land of tales, and characters, manifestations of the...
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8 - Where's My Art? from 2020-07-28T05:00
A beautiful poem sent in as a response to an earlier episode and then dig into a bit of showbiz history to get a better grasp on how to view the pandemic and apparent death of showbiz. I also go...
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7 - the Showbiz Devil from 2020-07-21T10:00
The circus, the cycles of life and of the year all come together in todays episode. The very first of my Carnival Cinema blog posts influenced the very first Way of the Showman podcast, which ag...
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6 - the Soul Spectacle from 2020-07-14T08:00
Today the lens of Showmanship becomes a microscope that looks deep into the nebulous connections between Showmanship and the mystical art of Alchemy. By looking at the two things side by side we...
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5 - In Defence of Children from 2020-07-07T05:00
I have a few more things to say about constraints and limitations as catalysts for new work. I also spend some time contemplating other sources for meaning, now that the Pandemic has made Crowds...
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4 - Clowns&Truth from 2020-06-30T10:00
It has been said that the Clown is the Soul of the circus, and this pivotal figure, the fool, the jester, and his strange visions and very intricate dance with truth, is the topic of today. The ...
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3 - Secret Knowledge from 2020-06-23T05:00
I make a case for the constraints of these strange times becoming a catalyst for the future of Showmanship, and I share a personal tale of the two kinds of secrets which permeated my childhood. ...
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2 - Welcome to the New World from 2020-06-15T06:00
There is a new reality dawning for show business. It's still illegal to do shows in Las Vegas. How can a Showman find his Way in this new world? I have been delving into the Lost Knowledge ...
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Teaser from 2020-06-04T21:00
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