VIRGA TÍMEA clown
He began his career at the Jókai Theatre in Békéscsaba, and is currently a guest artist at the National Theatre, where he appeared in the film Semmelweis, which premiered in 2023.He was the artistic director of the CommandARTe Company between 2015 and 2022, and graduated from the Academy of Artist Training in 2023. He is currently studying clowning at the Budapest College of Circus Arts and Contemporary Dance. For him, this profession is not only a professional development, but also a philosophy of life. He has been performing at the Budapest Circus since 20 July.
How did your journey lead you from the Jókai Theatre in Békéscsaba to the Budapest Circus?
I completed the Clown / Mime course at the Baross Imre Artist Training Institute and stayed on for the third year. I am currently starting my second year at the Budapest College of Circus Arts and Contemporary Dance as a clown from September. I have previously worked as an actress in several theatres in the countryside. I was a founding member of the CommandARTe Company and then artistic director for seven years. As a freelance artist, not only circus arts but also the world of film has come closer to me, for example in István Szabó’s Zárójelentés and Lajos Koltai’s Semmelweis.
What attracted you to these genres?
I felt that I could express myself not only through speech and touch, but also through my body. I became more and more attracted to physical theatre. I felt that there was something modern in me. I wanted to move, I wanted to move and I wanted the cameras to follow. I wanted excitement, not monotony.
The clown shows the human fallibility and naivety, as a kind of contrast in a series of breathtaking, often high-altitude artist productions. Why is the figure of the clown close to you?
Theatre was a rage in my life for a long time, and then I found myself once that my text knowledge was starting to work on a panel basis and I was missing the art of surprise. In the clown department, it was like learning the art of acting all over again. We learned to lose and deal with conflict during the loosening up games. The clown has no concept of sexuality or death, he is not moved by drama but by the possibility of discovery. He sees the world through the eyes of a child. As an actor, if someone forgets a line or makes a false sound, it is for him a failed production. The clown’s art begins when, as much as he wanted to dress up nicely, he was in such a hurry that he couldn’t button his shirt, for example. He gets deeper and deeper into the problem and interacts constantly with the audience. It’s a partly improvisational genre, so there’s a lot of potential.
What is object manipulation?
It means when I take an umbrella, a shoe, a bag and start to exist with it on a much more interesting, higher level than the average use. I look for all its possibilities and its fun. An umbrella is good for standing under with your best friend in the rain. If the umbrella is red, it can tell you that love can protect you from the storm, but it can also be a walking stick or turn into a sword.
A clown gets up from every situation. What message does that send to you?
I think a good clown plays to both adults and children. It’s worth standing up if trouble happens to him, that’s the point. Why not represent an unbreakable beauty in this difficult world? Few professions have remained so pure!