Can I go to Clown College?
Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey closed their clown college in the mid 1990's due to the wide variety of other educational choices for clowns. There are currently no schools for clowns out there that operate on a regular basis, however there are clown instructors out there. Check out the Clowns of America International website (www.coai.org) for a list of educators. Personal choice - www.moosebrger.com
Another option is to go to one or more of the many conferences and camps that occur each year.
The best way to educate a clown is to find a clown or group who would be willing to take you on as a student. Call local clowns and ask if there are any local Clown Alleys (group of clowns) around and while you are at it, ask if they would know of someone who wouldn't mind having a student.
Where do I find clown costumes?
Costumes can be purchased from clown suppliers, but if you are just starting out and don't know if this is the lifestyle for you, try finding colorful clothes of your own through more traditional means (go to Goodwill or a thrift store, buy a sewing pattern for a clown costume - or a pajama pattern and use colorful clothes). Before you invest in the expense of having a professional costume made or purchased, try other ideas first. Look at other clowns you know for costume ideas before you invest the expense. My personal choice is www.moosburger.com
What type of makeup should I use?
There are several different types of makeup, there is the water-based face paint and Halloween makeup (best used for face painting and Halloween as this washes off easily - too easily). Cream based makeup used for some theatrical uses, this is a smooth makeup based on cold cream, some clowns use it, but again it washes off easily and can be sweated off. The choice of most clowns is to use greasepaint.
Greasepaint is made up of essentially grease or oil, zinc oxide powder and coloring. This makeup is impervious to all but the heaviest of soakings, holds to your face and retains its color well. There are many different types of greasepaint available; Mehrons, Kryolan, Steins and Ben Nye are the most well known varieties, each having it's own formulation which reacts to different skin types. There are also makeup formulated especially for clowns (Apple White, Pro Face, Jim Howle), they are a little more expensive and in some cases requires experience with greasepaint for best use (especially Apple, which takes a lot of work to get smooth). There is no one best makeup, the best way to try these out is to buy small pots of all of them and find out what works best for you.
Some tips:
1) Apply makeup only thick enough to cover your skin, it is not to be a mask, only highlight your features. If you apply it too heavily, it can flake off.
2) Powder your makeup with baby powder or talc. This sets the makeup and prevents it from running. Do not use any powder with corn starch as it can yellow the makeup.
3) Do not apply colored makeup to your upper lip, the upper lip should be white or flesh to provide some definition between your nose and mouth from far away.
The best resource for makeup application is Strutter's Complete Guide to Clown Makeup by Jim Roberts, published by Picadilly Press.
How do I become a clown?
Practice, hard work and determination.
No really, the first step is that you have to want to be a clown. What does this mean? Do you enjoy making people happy? Do you like working with people, particularly children? Do you have a sense of humor? Does seeing people smile and laugh with you and at you make you feel fulfilled?
If you answered "yes" to most of these questions, than you may be good clowning material. To be a clown, it has to come from your heart. You have to throw yourself into the character of the clown, you have to view the world through the clown's eyes. Clowns are supposed to be funny most of the time, it's their job to bring joy to people's lives through their antics, whether it is a pratfall or a clever play on words. Look at what makes you laugh, what tickles your funny bone, find out why it makes you laugh then see if that can be applied to other situations.
One word of caution though; people get caught up in the fact that clowns do funny things and believe a string of pratfalls, practical jokes and mix-ups is clowning. One quote I like to use is "Clowns don't do funny things. They do things, funny." This means that you have to look at how you could do regular, everyday things in a funny and entertaining way. To become a clown you have to look at the world through a clown's eyes. One good example of this is Gracie Allen, who took things literally to their logical ending.
"Goodnight Gracie"
Another word of caution. Clowns make things funny at the expense of themselves, never at the expense of others. If there is ever a bad thing to happen (getting a pie in the face, getting sprayed with water), it is to happen to the clown, it is the job of the clown to get the laugh through his or her reaction or get the sympathy from the audience.
To be a clown, you have to be a clown.
