In our last Worker's Section Bio we did a write up on the polymath legend Birdie Mcclaine an old school king of the streets who could do just about any form of art.
Today we are going to meet the New School Legend, with the same types of polymath abilities.
His name is Will Flederman.
Both of these gentlemen call themselves Mimes, and both of these gentlemen can also do spoken shows, in fact Will Flederman goes by the stage name The Loud Mime, the world's only talking mime.
This bio has been sorely needed here, but I have been putting it off for a long long time.
The reason is, Will is too good at too many things, and no article is going to do him any justice.
He is quite frankly so talented in so many ways, everything begs to be examined individually, and we can't fit that into an article.
Will Flederman doesn't need an article, he needs a book written about him.
So I am going to attempt to convey, merely a brief view of who he is, and what he is doing, with the understanding from the reader, that there is so much more to know.
I will be writing about him in the future to try and pick up the slack I have left off here.
I first met Will, years ago in Jackson Square, in New Orleans.
This was back when he just came to town, up from Key West. He fell in love with New Orleans and decided to move there. The rest is history, he is now the best known act in the city of New Orleans.
The first thing I noticed about him was that somewhere, somehow, he knew Vaudevillian show and stage craft technique.
He had expertise in make-up and costume, and he knew all the techniques of the historical masters.
His persona, props, dress, and make-up wasn't just slapped together with a guessing game, it was pro.
The next thing I noticed was his presentation, his voice projection, his tone, his inflections, all of it, was educated and pro.
His lines were perfectly timed, and hit every time, no doubt from trial and error a thousand times.
The performance skills, like juggling, balance, contortion, mime, dance, and crowd organization, were all advanced beyond the years of his age.
He simply shouldn't have been alive long enough at that time, to be doing such advanced work, in so many fields.
I realized when I met him, he had the ability to learn quicker than normal people, not only that, but he had the natural ability to do what most people will never be able to do. He had among other things natural ability and instincts.
Sure he worked hard and honed his skills, but he was gifted.
Here's a taste of his work in a trailer.
Instead of dissecting his work, strategies, and talent, which would be pretty extensive, I thought I would focus on what kind of person he is off stage.
Maybe in the future we will touch on these other things.
So, what kind of guy is he?
In short, a Master.
He is a good friend, because he knows how to be.
He is a servant and diplomatic and a leader to his fellow buskers.
He is generous to everyone, and respectful to our tradition and those who came before us.
He is smart and imaginative, yet he can see the world objectively. He is not stuck in a single ideology when it comes to his work.
When he is working, it is his art, his quality, his audience, and his technique that always comes first.
Off stage he is humble, sympathetic, and realistic.
He is observant and quietly analytical.
Some of you may think, that I have missed the mark here about ideology, especially after watching his risque show.
I assure you, I have not.
His show touches everyone's heart, whether it be the Flamboyant Decadent or the Prudish Disciplinarian gawking in disbelief at his apparent bold libertine spectacle.
Even though his show is over the top circus burlesque, in it, there are kernels of truth, humility, and humanity that cannot be denied and strikes us, where we all live.
I don't need to tell you that our country has been divided into two camps, but Will's show is one of those few shows where both camps laugh, cheer, and aahh, granted sometimes at different times, but the fact is he has won them all over.
This is evident, in that he is not limited to sophisticated venues in New Orleans, New York, or San Francisco.
I have personally seen him perform in a tiny forgotten cowboy town, in Texas, at a redneck festival, on an outdoor stage with a religious backdrop, and when the crowd watched him, they roared with laughter and love.
They loved him.
He did not need to rewrite his show for that type of audience that day, because he wrote his show originally years ago, from an honest heart.
His show, underneath the huge flash he projects, tells us the story we all can relate to.
It's the story of struggle, struggle in a big world that seems like it's trying to hold us down.
And Will has tapped into what we are all going through, like Houdini in the beginning of the last century, he has found the means of escape.
They loved Houdini for the same reason they love Will.
He has shown us that we can break free.
Will has shown us, that we can be ourselves, that we can win, and that there is still beauty in the world, even if we have to look for it in strange places.
Speaking of which, I am an Old Punk, and much of me still holds onto the values of that old movement, and I find it very hard to see any glimpses of that mentality in young people anymore, but I see it in Will.
Thank You Will for your life's work.
Thank you Will for everything you do for all of us buskers every day out there on the pitch especially when we don't deserve it.
Thank you for making our industry look better.
And even though I know this article will be a surprise to you, I am sorry for not acknowledging you enough in my writing for all this time.
And I only hope you can forgive me for not being able to show my readers how much you have done to further our art to levels not seen in years.
Hopefully I will be able to do that in upcoming articles here at the newsletter.
Your Pal Jimmy.
P.S.
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