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| Jonathan Goodwin – “Stupid Like a Fox” |
Certain articles cry out to be read. The February 1st edition of Communication Quarterly published a study report, “Get ‘Real’: Does Practicing Speeches Before an Audience Improve Performance?” was one.
Public speaking texts and instructors typically encourage students to practice speeches as a means of managing anxiety and enhancing performance. The effectiveness of various speech practice methods has received little attention. In addition, students who practiced their speech before larger audiences received higher evaluation scores than students who practiced before smaller audiences.
The other article is from Catherine Jones of Wales Western Mail. Its title “I’m with Stupid” is a real grabber.
Jonathan Goodwin is a 24-year-old escape artist who one day hopes to be a 25-year-old escape artist.
Unlike Billiard Ball production or Silk Fountain presentations, those who practice the theatrical art of escape (as opposed to fleeing felons) are required to innovate in some new death-defying manner.
For us Billiard Ball guys, we’re kind of tapped out at approximately four balls for each hand.
But for the escape artist, it is now commonplace to be securely bound, wrapped in really itchy wool blankets, tied to the back of a drunk spring-break student, and given only minutes to escape before the student falls from a hotel balcony in his drunken attempt to climb to another room.
So how extreme does Jonathan Goodwin take his craft in an effort to be seen and loved?
We are not making this up. You can read the article for your own self. Mr. Goodwin suggested to Channel 4 he “be sewn up inside a dead cow and have to escape through its backside.”
Channel 4 said they would not air the escape. We agree with them. Now, if Mr. Goodwin came out some other opening in the dead cow carcass, we could see how it might have educational purpose. Still you have to hand it to the guy (hopefully he has washed his hands), he’s on the edge.
Where do you go after pitching a live presentation of the old Sewed-Up Cow Carcass escape? By the way, we note U.F. Grant used to sell a similar escape so perhaps Mr. Goodwin’s idea is not that novel. [In fact, we saw two of Grant's Whale Intestine Whopper Escape on eBay just this weekend. One looked well-used but the other was still new and in its protective wrapper -- of course it will be bid up to some crazy amount thanks to the magic collectors].
So, Mr. Goodwin moves from the rejected and perhaps cliche cow carcass escape to “being tied up, from a vacuum-sealed plastic bag buried in a…
Continue reading Jonathan Goodwin Featured for “Stupid” Escapes
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