Zappo Diddio spreads joy at The Marsh.
After growing up in social activist clown Wavy Gravy’s Hog Farm Commune, being labeled a “hippie kid” may seem inevitable. But rather than shy away from it, Zappo Diddio embraces the term. Not only is it the title of his solo show at Berkeley’s Marsh Theater that runs through Oct. 12, it’s the way he lives his life. The hippie ethos — instilled in Diddio early on by Hog Farm mentors such as Wavy and spiritual teacher Ram Dass — has led Diddio to a life dedicated to spreading cheer and laughter to people in need. This love all, serve all approach to life led him to a stint as a hospital clown in Peru for Dr. Patch Adams (of the hit Robin Williams film Patch Adams) working with the doctor’s Gesundheit! Institute that provides clowns to children who are suffering. When he’s not spreading joy through performing, these days Diddio also runs the Cedar Center, an arts and recreation enrichment program he founded for young people. I tracked down the multitalented multitasker recently as he took a break from one of his favorite activities, tending to his Berkeley garden, to talk about what is hippie.
Paul Kilduff: You are by definition a hippie kid. What’s the connotation of hippie kid today?
Zappo Diddio: I wonder about that actually. Folks who are my age or older would probably have one definition of hippie kid in mind and that’s the one I’m working off of, which is a scrappy little crumbsnatcher who spends a good amount of time on some buses and has been to some music festivals and seen not just the vegetarian, sugar-free aspect of life but also a little nit and grit.
PK: How about the negative perception of hippie kids. Did you ever experience that? How did you react?
ZD: One could hear the title Hippie Kid and think OK, is that a little neglected maniac or is that a kid who’s never really seen the harder part of life, because they’ve just been pampered in organic granola their entire life? What version of hippie kid are we talking about? And I think for me, it’s all versions. It’s like we certainly grew up being exposed to and immersed in just all sides of the spectrum of hippiedom. So certainly, somebody could have a negative reaction to it or even that I’m mocking the hippie kid experience by titling a show that. But I’m thinking here in the Bay [Area] and attracting folks my age and older and hopefully younger crowds as well, we’re going to get in touch with something that was a huge part of a lot of lives in the Bay Area and beyond. And some of these younger folks might get brought into an awareness that they maybe weren’t aware of before, haven’t seen before.
PK: Today of course “helicopter parenting” is predominant — do you hover around your own kid?
ZD: That’s a great question. I’ve worked with kids my entire adult life. And it certainly informs my parenting quite a bit. But then growing up in a commune, some things were scary, and I wouldn’t want my kids to have to experience [them], certainly not without me being right there to help her figure out why that guy just vomited or whatever. So in that aspect, I do find myself helicoptering. Say for example if she’s going off to a sleep-away, for me, there were enough weirdos that we were around — whether they were angry or intoxicated or just scary for any number of other reasons — that I don’t want her to have to bump into people like that. And of course, there’s way less people like that around now. There’s other assholes and they have a different costume. So in that way, I do find myself being a little bit too overprotective. But at the same time, having worked with thousands of kids, I recognize the importance of letting kids grow, get out from under the wing and find the soft boundaries.
PK: How would you describe the show?
ZD: Yeah, good question.
PK: Great questions r us.
ZD: By all means. So it’s a combination of stories about my life both growing up in the hippie commune and also my work with kids and folks that I’ve bumped into growing up here in Berkeley and whatnot. And then there’s some poems and songs that I’ve written. And those are all very much informed by experiences. I’ve also experienced quite a bit of grief in my life. I’ve had some difficulties in regards to just my father leaving our family when we were kids and then my mother passed away when I was 23 and my little brother was still in high school. A best friend that was shot and killed in a weed deal back in the late ’90s — he was one of the hippie kids we grew up with in the commune who just started trying that line of work out and didn’t quite make it to retirement. And then a lot of friends and family, some really close mentors and father figures, that stepped in after my father’s departure. One of them overdosed on heroin and another one crashed his car and died. So point being, just that grief has been a really profound part of my life and coming in contact with death and trying to do it with a sense of humor. I’ve spoken at a lot of memorials and brought a lot of humor, and it’s been a wonderful experience. And I think that that’s a big part of the show. It’s a healing journey. Also, the last 13 years, I have been dealing with autoimmune disease and chronic pain likely caused by Lyme disease. And so my life has been profoundly informed by that experience and finding healing but also recognizing how it’s all tied in to mental and emotional trauma. Every cell in your body wanting to heal. Every memory wants to heal. Every aspect of a human being wants to find its way back to wellness. When we have emotional and social traumas, they’re going to influence our physical bodies, but the story of the show is how do we take all of the nit and the grit and turn it into something beautiful?
PK: Oftentimes a lot of pain informs comedy. Agree?
ZD: Yeah, absolutely. One of my uncles that I was referencing who passed away some years back, he used to say that life from up close is tragedy and life, zoom out, is comedy. I sort of consider myself a rodeo clown. And the thing with that is you’re all dressed up silly and being a goofball, but you’re also shielding other folks from danger and putting yourself in a bit of a hectic situation because you love it. Because it’s exhilarating and wonderful, not because you’re some kind of martyr. You feel incredibly alive to be in a very sketchy situation where there’s pain and suffering and also be able to do a delicate dance where you’re able to make people smile and laugh.
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Age: 46
Birthplace: Los Gatos, in a geodesic dome where hippies were camping out
What’s your sign, man? Aquarius
Book on nightstand: The Prophet
Go to sando? Grilled cheese and avocado
Favorite yoga move: Lying down. It’s called “acetaminophen.”
With a name like Zappo … The Marx brothers have filed a lawsuit against me
Full name: Zappo Diddio Whiterabbit Dickinson
Website: www.CedarCenter.org
To contribute to Zappo’s wellness fund: www.GoFundme.com/cedarcenter-zappo