In traditional pantomime and wearing an oversized tramp outfit,
Charlie Chaplin’s look-a-like waddles towards us.
We laugh as he bends into the water barrel to take a drink.
His simple antics remind us to enjoy the moment.
Charlie is in awe at clowns throwing bright, luminous lights in the air.
Masterfully they juggle three, four and five orbs simultaneously.
A clown drives a cart with monkeys who light fire loops around the ring.
Charley panics and orbs conk him on the head.
He reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously,
enjoy simple things and stay grounded in breath and water.
Waddling frantically, Charlie tries to put a fire out
with a ladle of water but the monkeys just light it again.
Between shuttles, Charlie becomes tangled and falls head first into the water barrel.
All we can see are skinny legs waving frantically
and oversized shoes on wrong feet.
Agnes the elephant comes to his rescue.
She drains the whole water barrel with her trunk and sprays the fires out . . .
creating a ring of smoke and mirrors.
Stepping into the second ring,
Charley starts fresh with dignity intact.
He reminds us to have some style. Because after all, we are here
for just a little while.
Charley sits on top of a barrel and applauds thinking
we have forgotten his previous antics.
He stretches out his arms, yawns and waits for something to happen.
Destiny arrives but not in the way he expected, for he falls into the barrel and gets stuck.
Seeing this as a grand opportunity, the clowns roll him around until he spills out.
No matter; Charlie brushes himself off, takes a deep breath and dances.
Hope, the Elephant, follows behind mimicking his every step.
Sensing something, Charlie stops. Hope stops. Then startled by the elephant, Charlie runs helplessly in place.
Hope scoops him up with her powerful trunk and dances.
When she is finished, she lovingly places him back down on the dirt.
Disheveled, Charley pretends to regain his composure.
He reminds us that dreams take courage and patience.
During his younger years as an orphan, he roamed the streets
trying to find food to keep his brother and himself alive.
But even then, despite everything, he thought himself a great actor.
Every event in his desperate childhood supported his vision of the great actor he already thought himself to be.
Charlie looks up at us with his sparkling blue eyes. They remind us that every potential is already here. No magic date, it is the “ now moment” that holds potential.
The future is an illusion.
In the third ring, Charlie holds a red flag while elephants, Faith, Hope and Agnes chase him. The clown cart whizzes by, and rescues Charlie but then there is a reversal in the ruckus. Now, Charlie is driving the cart and chasing the clowns.
The audiences’ laughter blends into its own song until
the atmosphere shifts and everything is still.
Faith Hope and Agnes, monkeys and clowns disappear as the lights go out.
The band plays as a lime light searches and finds lonely Charlie sitting on a trunk.
He lights a cigarette. A monkey steals the show by grabbing it and won’t give it back. The monkey smokes it instead.
Charlie, unfazed, brushes his suit in dignified fashion.
He reminds us to be hopeful, not let the little stuff bother you.
A beautiful woman appears and collects his hand.
His face shows stirred passion while scuffling off with this equally stylish companion.
The spotlight fades as the couple walk towards the dawn of a new day.
There is a stunned silence instead of applause, until we hear Charlie’s angelic voice singing back to us,
“Though the sky should fall, remember I shall always be,
forever true and loving you, eternally.” Keep the faith.
