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 brand new Season 4 explores the relationship between Showmanship and Play.
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
Episodes
180 episodes
179 - What If The Real Art Is The Archive - Hamish McCormick Part 2 of 2
Christian Slater paying £100 for a hat might sound like a throwaway festival story, but it’s also a perfect time capsule of a moment when a whole scene was coming into focus. We pick up our conversation with Hamish McCormick, founder of Carniva...
178 - Carnival Cinema founder Hamish McCormick Part 1 of 2
A broken arm, a cheap camera, and a circus scene that did not wait for permission. We sit down with my old friend Hamish McCormick, known worldwide as Carnival Cinema, to trace how a performer becomes the person quietly documenting everyone els...
177 - Piff the Magic Dragon on How You Turn 20 Minutes Into 90
A dragon suit doesn’t make you memorable. The work does. I’m sitting down with Piff the Magic Dragon in the Flamingo’s basement studio to get brutally honest about what it actually takes to build a successful comedy magic career and keep a Las ...
176 - Artifact - Jay Gilligan talks creating a show with Erik Aaberg
What happens when you have a clear artistic vision for a new circus school show, but the funding catalog expires, the gatekeepers want something “easy to book,” and the words you use accidentally make it sound like a museum? Captain Frodo sits ...
175 - What if Money was no Object? With Jay GIlligan - Malmö Conversation 3 of 4
Free tickets should fill a theater, right? Then why do so many “sold out” charity nights play to rows of empty seats, and why do artists keep returning to ticket price as a stand-in for value? Jay Gilligan and I pick up our Malmö hotel-room con...
174 - How A Magician Builds A Full Theater World - Malin Nilsson 2 of 2
You can feel the difference between a performer who “does tricks” and a performer who builds a world. We sit down with Malin Nilsson to get inside that world building process: how stagecraft, mentors, and sharp editing turn variety magic into s...
173 - Malin Nilsson - Why Art Still Matters when the World is on Fire - 1 of 2
When the world feels like it’s burning, making a show can start to feel absurd and even selfish. We sit with that discomfort and ask the question out loud: what is the purpose of magic, theater, and live performance when war headlines and daily...
172 - Building Real Connections With A Crowd - Jay Gilligan - Malmö Conversations 2 of 4
A crowd cheering can feel like love, right up until it wrecks the timing of the act. From a Malmö hotel room while props are being prepped, we dig into a surprisingly deep question: what does a performer owe an audience, and what does an audien...
171 - Rolling Balls And Facing Mortality with Jay Gilligan & Captain Frodo- Malmö Conversations 1 of 4
The brutal part of juggling isn’t the hard trick. It’s the simple demand that never changes: once the object leaves your hand, you either catch it or you don’t. From a snowy, sleety Malmö cabaret week at Victoria Theater, we sit down in a hotel...
170 - Juggling Tango with Menno Van Dyke - Part 2 of 2
You can feel it when an act is more than a list of tricks, but why does that feeling happen? I sit down with Menno van Dyke, artistic director of Circusstad Festival in Rotterdam, to dissect one of my favorite examples of contemporary circus cr...
169 - Menno Van Dyke Juggler and artistic director of Circusstaad - Part 1 of 2
I’m joined by my good friend Menno van Dyke, artistic director of Circusstad Festival in Rotterdam, for a conversation that starts with a recent circus trip to Stockholm and quickly turns into a masterclass on how audiences decide what to belie...
168 - Art in the Brain with Captain Frodo
What if a performance could borrow your memories and hand them back changed? We dive into the hidden link between music, juggling, and dance by exploring the brain’s precuneus—the region that lights up when art stops being “out there” and becom...
167 - Comedy, Character & the Fakir Academy - the Headmaster of Pain Håvve Fjell part 2 of 2
Pain stunts can shock anyone. The real question is: how do you turn shock into something people actually want to come back for? I sit down again with Hoverfiel, the Norwegian pioneer behind Pain Solution, to talk about the hard-earned craft of ...
166 - The Headmaster of Pain Håvve Fjell Part 1 of 2
Fire looks clean from a distance. Up close, it can leave you chronically ill for life. We’re joined by Håvve Fjell, known to many as the Headmaster of Pain and the driving force behind Norway’s legendary Pain Solution, for a frank talk about wh...
165 - A Philosophical Map Of Showmanship - A live talk about my upcoming book
What if showmanship isn’t just flair, but a way of seeing the world? I open up the first public talk about my forthcoming book, born from years of touring, early mornings, and 160+ podcast episodes, and share how a single poem became the spine ...
164 - Redefining Progress with Jack Denger Part 2 of 2
Skill can thrill, but can it also tell the truth? We sit down with Jack Denger to explore how a world-class technician turns juggling into story by weaving speech, music, and intentional structure into his act. Jack explains why he started with...
163 - Redefining Progress with Jack Denger part 1 of 2
What if world-class technique isn’t the point, but the vehicle? We sit down with extraordinary juggler Jack Denger to unpack how a high-skill act can carry story, emotion, and authorship—without dumbing down the craft. Jack is in a season of ch...
162 - How Artists Edit Reality To Tell Emotional Truths with Ivar Hackscher, Jay Gilligan & Frodo
Ivar Hackscher can also be heard sharing his wisdom in episode 90 &
161 - Folk Circus is Real Showmanship with Jay Gilligan & Captain Frodo
What if the most compelling part of a show isn’t the illusion, but the honesty? We sit down with juggler and creator Jay Gilligan to unpack “folk circus,” a performance style built on concrete skill, visible tech, and a fearless embrace of the ...
160 - From Poolside Jam to Cabaret Juggernaut with Paul Dabek & Captain Frodo
We trace the unlikely arc that carried poolside pandemic brainstorms into London Calling, a high-velocity variety show that’s genuinely all-ages without sanding off its edge.As the Pandemic hit Las Vegas Paul Dabek and Captain Frodo drea...
159 - The Paradoxes of Juggling - Michael Staroseletsky & Niels Duinker Publishing
In this episode I read the first chapter of the Paradoxes of Juggling by Michael Staroseletsky, a book published by NDjuggling.com which of course is run by
158 - Jesus, Bananas, And Baby Unicorns Walk Into A Church w Clay Hillman & Captain Frodo
Do yourself a favor before reading any more of this: Listen to the Road To Joy now! Also! Listen to Clay Hillman’s wonderful piano
157 - Serious Play and The Road To Joy with Clay Hillman
Step aboard the Punky Steamer and watch everyday moments turn into portals. -> listen to the fantastic tale here! I highly recommend ...
156 - Ringling Trains, Three Rings, And The Craft Of Comedy with Adam Kuchler
A hat flips, a wig sails, and an arena of sixteen thousand goes from breathless to thunderous—this is where Adam Kugler learned to make comedy work under pressure. We trace his path from the Ringling Brothers train to the Mad Apple stage in Las...
155 - Chainsaws, Pumpkins, And Philosophy w JellyBoy the Clown
A chainsaw mounted to a sword. Seventeen pumpkins in a minute. And a philosophy that says a show only becomes real when the audience completes it. That’s the ride we take with Jelly Boy the Clown—writer, record-setter, and sideshow artist who t...
