Clowns have fascinated children for decades. It has been the dream of more than one child to grow up to be a clown. So now, here you are, all grown up and you still want to become a clown? Never fear, you aren’t alone. Besides, where would the world be without a clown to make us smile once in awhile?
It use to be that every person who dreamed of becoming a clown also dreamed of attending the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Clown College. Unfortunately this legendary institution closed in the mid-1990’s because, well, there were enough clowns to stock their circus show.
That doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of clown schools available to attend. Some of them include Mooseburger Clown Camp, clownschool.net (an online clown school) and the California Clown School.
While many people attend a school to become a clown, many people are self-taught. There are several books about how to become a clown or about the skills you might need to become a clown. Check out this list of clown skill books at amazon.com.
So, if you live to far away from a clown school and you want to become a clown, what skills will you need to become a clown? Many clowns choose a few specific skills and focus their act around them. Some of those skills are balloon art, magic tricks and juggling. It also does not hurt to take some lessons in acting, dance and even speech.
Here is the point when a want-to-be clown’s mettle is tested. The number one thing to realize and remember when becoming a clown is that children are not always nice, but you must always be nice to them. Being a clown is hard, demanding work. If you are dealing with a bratty child, you still have to keep the show going and you have to keep smiling. Once you realize this, you are ready to perform.
The first thing you need to do is to develop your persona. Chose a name and a personality. Will you be Tugs the Clumsy Clown or perhaps Willy-Nilly the Sad Clown? What will your make-up look like? Come up with your own and have a bit of fun with it.
Take the skills that you have chosen to learn and put them together into a loose program. Try to come up with some funny and amusing banter (this is where the speech classes come in) to go along with the actions. Remember to keep your program in the theme of your clown persona. If you have chosen to be a clumsy clown and you do juggling, you’ll want to drop things a few times, for example. Developing a program will help you to remember your skills and your best acts.
Once you have developed your persona and your program, you are ready to try them out on some people. Start small. Maybe you can borrow your friends’ kids or the kids in the neighborhood. See what sort of reaction you get from them. What worked and what didn’t? Develop your persona and program based on their reactions.
Once you have tried it out on the smaller groups, work your way into larger ones. Offer to do free shows at places like the library, hospital and children’s homes. As you become more comfortable with your act you can start to advertise your services. You may even find that you will get a few paying jobs from the free shows you put on while developing yourself. Always make sure you have a few business cards or flyers with you just in case.
After you have done all this, you can call yourself a bona fide clown. It is long, hard road to become a clown but if you have the dedication and dream to become a clown, it will seem more like fun than work.
For more information on becoming a clown, try visiting the Coalition of Clowns at www.coai.org