What's Your KOOZA?

I just bought tickets to go see KOOZA. In researching what the story is about, I discovered that in KOOZA, Cirque du Soleil tells the story of The Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world.

From the site: KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil: It combines two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor.

Many of the Cirque shows remind me of journeys. The Innocent's journey brings him into contact with a series of comic characters. This contact no doubt will result in experiences for both the character and us, the audience. In anticipation for another feast on the language of movement, I thought it fun to imagine some possibilities for the types in the story:

• the King - this is one of the most fascinating images in the history of tales. For a medieval history buff like me, King can take so many forms. I think of King Lear and the transferal of identity in the connection between the King and the Fool. The King can be a benevolent and magnanimous character, or he can be a real ass, depending on the circumstances. Straight from legend, King Arthur was the former. King of the Hill, Burger King, Mattress King, the noun lives on. And so does the metaphor - living like a king.
     
• the Trickster - a less than flattering term. While nobody would take that name, we sometimes feel cheated in our experience, tricked into a situation, or into thinking something that is not. Tricks can also be acts of magic. By and large we do not think of them that way.
     
• the Pickpocket - rarely do we think as a hand in our pocket as being a good thing. This and the previous character are in fact the Cat and the Fox in Pinocchio (Carlo Collodi). Classic characters introduced to create the conflict in the story.
     
• the Obnoxious Tourist and his Bad Dog - the antithesis of The Innocent. Another really popular character in old tales and sometimes a less popular character in cities and places around the world. It is how the journeyman responds to the taunts and influences of this type and his side-kick that will carry him to the end of the tale.

Like every strong story, this one promises to weave itself between strength and fragility, laughter and smiles, turmoil and harmony - touching every human emotion in a way that leaves plenty of room for the imagination of the individual to fill in the blanks. The set will be visually stimulating and appeal to the auditory sense, but it will be the surprises, the turns, the audacity of the visuals and sounds that will evoke total involvement.

As it provides an experience, KOOZA brings together and explores some timeless themes: fear, identity, recognition, power. We buy, our customers buy, on the strength of some basic emotions and desires: love, hope, and fear. Which industry are you in, and what's your story?

Comments

[Christine]

My secret dream job? Acrobat for Cirque du Soleil!

I've always wondered why we have to give up the mystical and magical the older we get. Cirque brings out the child in its audience -- try watching the show without your mouth agape or constant wow's and how-do-they-do-that's coming out. Impossible!

Now try moving business audiences to have the same response to your messages. That's when you've really connected. Seemingly impossible, but perhaps if we can start with something compelling to share, and we may actually be onto something.

Enjoy the show!

[Valeria Maltoni]

This will be my third. I saw Alegria and Quidam - both very good stories and experiences yet very different from each other. There is usually a part in the story where the cast involve the public on stage. That is quite enjoyable!

A few years ago I read Melinda Davis "The New Culture of Desire". In it, Davis got into many of the reasons why certain messages appeal to us - what people want and why.

Loner and rebel - a powerful cocktail in Wild, Wild, West movies; has the world wide web moved us in to a new direction?

[Karen Hegmann]

Great post Valeria. I haven't seen a Cirque performance yet, but everyone who has says it's absolutely amazing. Talk about an engaging and interactive experience with a range of characters that draw you into the story!

To answer your question, my industry is marketing (in various shapes and forms over the years) and I think that this industry plays off the plight of the "melancholy loner" in all of us. We're all somehow searching for meaning - and for our place in the world - and marketers have always been keen to show us the way through well researched branding techniques and products that served our key need "to belong."

Hollywood movies that used the techniques of Joseph Campbell were almost always blockbusters, as they were geared towards the loner and rebel in all of us.