Clown

"Clowning" redirects here. For the dance movement known as clowning or krumping, see Clown dancing.

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Clowns

Clowns are stereotypically characterized by their colored afro wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, and unusually large footwear. Clowning, in its most basic form, can be described as drama without a fourth wall. In other words, a clown acknowledges his audience. The clown's humor today is often visual and includes many elements of physical comedy or slapstick humor.

Clowns spread in cultures of any time and place, because they meet some deeply rooted needs in humanity: violation of taboos, the mockery of sacred and profane authorities and symbols, reversal of language and action, and an ubiquitous obscenity. An interesting example can be found in the Native American clown societies.

History

Clown

Clowning is a form of entertainment that has appeared in some manner in virtually every culture. In most cultures the clown is a ritual character associated with festival or rites of passage and is often very different from the most popular western form. In Europe, up until as late as the 19th century the clown was a typical everyday character, and often appeared in carnivals. The performance is symbolic of liminality - being outside the rules of regular society the clown is able to subvert the normal order, and this basic premise is contemporarily used by many activists to point out social absurdity.

A popular early form of clown was the fool, a role that can be traced back as far as ancient Egypt and appears as the first card in the tarot deck. Most fools suffered from some physical or mental deformity, and were given to the local landlord as a charge, because their families were unable to look after them, and the surrounding communities often feared them. They were the butt of jokes, and their masters had the power to inflict violence upon them and even take their lives. However, being perceived 'idiots' they were often the only people in court who enjoyed free speech, and during the 16th century, especially in France, actors began to train as fools often in order to have the ability to make satirical comment. This is mainly where we get the contemporary idea of the court jester, immortalised and romanticised by actors such as Danny Kaye in The Court Jester. There is evidence of the 'wise fool' similar in function to the jester in many other cultures.

Clowns of this era and eras previous to it were also associated with jugglers, who were seen as pariahs of society alongside actors, prostitutes and lepers, and thus (at least in Europe) wore stripes, or motley - cloth associated with marginalised people such as the condemned, with strong associations with the devil. Jugglers often used clowning techniques, and the later court jesters often danced, performed acrobatics and juggled.

During the 16th century the Commedia dell'arte also became a huge influence on perceptions of the clown in Europe, and influence which passed through pantomime, into vaudeville and on to the touring circuses of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Commedia took influences from the grotesque masked clowns of carnivals and mysteries, and began in market places as a way to sell vegetables. It became incredibly popular throughout Europe amongst both the general public and the courts. The stock characters of the commedia originally included the Zanni - peasant clowns, Pantalone, the old Miser, Il Dottore - The Banal Doctor, and then grew from there to incorporate the Lovers, Arlecchino, Pedrolino, and Brighella, who have survived into the twentieth century in one form or another.

Clown types

• Please Note: It is important to remember that a whiteface character doesn't always wear the classic whiteface makeup. Additionally, a character can wear traditional whiteface makeup and be an auguste character

Main article: Circus clown

Whiteface

Classic Appearance

Traditionally, the whiteface clown uses "clown white" makeup to cover his or her entire face and neck with none of the underlying flesh color showing. In the European whitefacemakeup, the ears are painted red. Features, in red and black, are delicate. S/he is traditionally costumed far more extravagantly than the other two clown types, sometimes wearing the ruffled collar and pointed hat which typify the stereotypical "clown suit".

Character

The whiteface character-type is often serious, all-knowing (even if not particularly smart), bossy, and cocky. He is the ultimate authority figure. He serves the role of "straight-man" and sets up situations that can be turned funny.

Some circus examples include Pipo Sossman, François Fratellini, Felix Adler, Paul Jung, Harry Dann, Chuck Burnes, Albert White, Ernie Burch, Bobby Kaye, Jack and Jackie LeClaire, Joe and Chester Sherman, Keith Crary, Charlie Bell, Tim Tegge, Kenny Dodd, Frankie Saluto, Tammy Parrish, Pennywise, and Prince Paul Albert.

Auguste

Character

The auguste character-type is often an anarchist, a joker, or a fool. He is clever and has much lower status than the whiteface. Classically the whiteface character instructs the auguste character to perform his bidding. The auguste has a hard time performing the task given which leads to funny situations. Sometimes the auguste plays the role of an anarchist and purposefully has trouble following the whiteface's directions. Sometimes the auguste is confused or is foolish and is screwing up less deliberately.

The Contra-Auguste

The contra-auguste plays the role of the mediator between the whiteface character and the auguste character. He has a lower status than the whiteface but a higher status than the auguste. He aspires to be more like the whiteface and often mimics everything the whiteface does to try to gain approval. If there is a contra-auguste character, he often is instructed by the whiteface to correct the auguste when he is doing something wrong.

"Character Clown"

The character clown, adopts an eccentric character of some type, such as a butcher, a baker, a policeman, a housewife or hobo. Prime examples of this type of clown are the circus tramps Otto Griebling and Emmett Kelly. Red Skelton, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin would all fit the definition of a character clown.

The character clown makeup is a comic slant on the standard human face. Their makeup starts with a flesh tone base and may make use of anything from glasses, mustaches and beards to freckles, warts, big ears or strange haircuts.

American Character Clown Types

The most prevalent character clown in the American circus is the tramp, hobo, or bum clown. There are subtle differences in the American character clown types. According to American circus expert Hovey Burgess, they are (in order of class):

• The Tramp Migratory and finds work where he travels to.
• The Hobo Migratory and does not work where he travels to.
• The Bum Non-migratory and non-working.

Some circus examples include Barry Lubin, Tom Dougherty, Bill Irwin, David Shiner, Geoff Hoyle, John Gilkey, Peter Shub, Poodles Hanneford, Bluch Landolf, Larry Pisoni, John Lepiarz, Bobo Barnett, Happy Kellams, Fumagalli, Charlie Cairoli, Bebe, Jojo Lewis, Abe Goldstein, Rhum, David Larible, Kenny Raskin, Oleg Popov, Rik Gern and Bello Nock.

Joey, the Auguste and the Ringmaster

In clown duos, Clowns often rely on the Joey & Auguste framework, or Manipulator/Victim. The Joey & Auguste Framework is often used widely in such comic works as Looney Toons. Simply put, the two clowns, who for whatever reason are competing for survival, desperately rely on each other; without each other, they live a meaningless, and perhaps even more perilous adventure. For example, when Sylvester finally catches Tweety Bird (or thinks he does) he becomes so ridden with guilt that he nearly commits suicide.

The Ringmaster relationship is the addition of an ur-manipulator, or ur-victim to this chemistry. This often takes the form of a mutual enemy or nemesis. An example of this situation might be as follows:

A husband comes home late, he's drunk, and has a collar covered in lipstick. His wife wants to know where he's been, and a manipulator-victim relationship occurs. Suddenly their child enters the scene, and the dynamic changes in an attempt to avoid traumatizing him/her. The child wants to know why there's a strange man in their bedroom, and the manipulator-victim dymnamic shifts during the next argument. Then it turns out that the child has constructed this elaborate ruse in order to steal cookies and watch late-night TV without notice, giving him ur-manipulator status.

This is an example of a ringmaster situation. Clowns in the ringmaster position are often character clowns, where Joey and Auguste duos are typically made up of a Whiteface Clown and an Auguste.

Other types

Native American Clowning

Many Native Tribes have a rich history of Clowning. The Canadian clowning method developed by Richard Pochinko combines European and Native American clowning techniques.

In this tradition, masks are made of clay while the creator's eyes are closed. A mask is made for each direction of the medicine wheel. During this process, the clown creates a personal mythology which explores his or her personal Experiences and Innocenses.

Rodeo

The rodeo clown has one of the most dangerous jobs in all of show business. A rodeo clown is a courageous and hard-working cowboy, or animal wrangler, dressed in wild costumes — almost always oversized and consisting of loose fitting layers of clothing to protect them from, and to distract, rodeo bulls, broncos, etc. The looseness of the layers allows a rodeo clown to shed portions of their attire in the event of its being snagged -- as on an enraged bull's horn. This professional — whose highly dangerous job is to protect other performers from bucking horses and charging bulls while at the same time entertaining the audience with the antics of a clown — might tell you: "Druther lose a shirt than lose my life".

Commedia del Arte

There are two distinct types of clown characters, which originated in Commedia del Arte but which still hold some favor today, Pierrot and Arlecchino.

Pierrot/Pirouette

The Pierrot, or "French clown", derived from the commedia dell'arte character Pedrolino - the youngest actor of the troupe, deadpan and downtrodden. Although Pedrolino appeared without mask, Pierrot usually appears in whiteface, typically with very little other color on the face. Like Arlechinno, Pedrolino's character changed enormously with the rising popularity of pantomime in the late 19th century, becoming Pierrot. This clown character prefers black and white or other a simple primary color in his or her costume. (le Pierrot is often female, and has also been called "Pirouette" or "Pierrette". When Bernard Delfont was made a life peer, he chose "Pierrot and Pierrette" as the heraldic supporters of his coat of arms.).

The tragic Robert Hunter song "Reuben and Cerise" mentions Pirouette twice, in symbolic colors:

...Cerise was dressing as Pirouette in white

when a fatal vision gripped her tight

Cerise beware tonight...

Cerise is Reuben's "true love", but Ruby Claire was a temptress:

...Sweet Ruby Claire at Reuben stared

At Reuben stared

She was dressed as Pirouette in red

and her hair hung gently down...

Both women have names which translate as "red", but Reuben's true love is dressed in pure white. The other, to whom he played his fateful song, is the "lady in red." This symbolism might imply that Reuben was Pierrot's companion, Arlecchino:

Arlecchino/Harlequin

Harlequin, or Arlecchino, a character originally from Commedia dell'Arte, is a "motley" clown — in "commedia", Arlecchino always carries a cane to "whack" the other performers, however this is normally taken from him by the other performers and used against him. This is believed to be the origin of "slapstick" a form of physical comedy. A slapstick (battacio in Italian) is a prop with two flat flexible wooden pieces mounted in parallel, the two sticks slap together when the implement is struck, causing a slapping sound, exaggerating the effect of a comedic blow. Despite the slapstick, Arlecchino is not malicious, but mischievous, the slapstick being a classic example of carnivalesque phallic imagery (see also the commedia masks' noses). Like a cross between the characters of Puck and Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Arlecchino is spritely and adept at the same time as being clumsy and dim, and is normally the 'messenger' character in a comedy — the catalyst for mayhem. Arlechinno has a female counterpart, Arlechinna, or Rossetta, however more often he is in love with the character of Columbina, a straightforward and intelligent maid, who is usually given the prologue and epilogue. Arlechinno has other derivatives with slightly different features: Traccagnino, Bagattino, Tabarrino, Tortellino, Naccherino, Gradelino, Mezzettino, Polpettino, Nespolino, Bertoldino, Fagiuolino, Trappolino, Zaccagnino, Trivellino, Passerino, Bagolino, Temellino, Fagottino, Fritellino, Tabacchino, whose names could all be considered funny-sounding names, even to an Italian. Arlechinno's name is probably from "hellech" "inno" - little devil, "inno" is little, so "Trufflino" is little Truffler, Trivellino is (Arlechinno's) "little Brother". The Harlequin often loses much of Arlechinno's character during pantomime, as he becomes more of a ballet character, stripped of dialogue and subversive content to a wide extent.

Skills

In the circus, a clown might perform another circus role:

• Walk a tightrope, a highwire, a slack rope, or a piece of rope on the ground, though in the last case, the predictably unpredictable clown might be just as likely to wrestle around on the ground with it, as if it were a boa constrictor.
• Ride a horse, a zebra, a donkey, an elephant, or even an ostrich.
• Substitute himself in the role of "lion tamer".
• Act as "emcee", from M.C. or Master of Ceremonies, the preferred term for a clown taking on the role of "Ringmaster".
• "Sit in" with the orchestra, perhaps in a "pin spot" in the center ring, or from a seat in the audience.
• Anything any other circus performer might do. It is not uncommon for an acrobat, a horse-back rider, or a lion tamer to secretly stand in for the clown, the "switch" taking place in a brief moment offstage.

Superstition

It is common for clowns to avoid the use of blue face paint, as this is considered bad luck.

Clowns do not wish each other good luck, an old show business custom, however, among clowns the expression "knock 'em dead", or "Bump A Nose" seems more prevalent than the customary expression, "break a leg." Wishing a fellow performer, "good luck" is considered a jinx. It has been suggested that this stems from the Bouffon Tradition.

Clowning frameworks

Frameworks are the general outline of an act that clowns use to help them build out an act. Frameworks can be loose, including only a general beginning and ending to the act, leaving it up to the clown's creativity to fill in the rest, or at the other extreme a fully developed script that allows very little room for creativity.

Shows are the overall production that a clown is a part of, it may or may not include elements other than clowning, such as in a circus show. In a circus context, clown shows are typically made up of some combination of Entrées, Side dishes, Clown Stops, Track Gags, Gags and bits.

Gags, bits and business

"Business" is the individual motions the clown uses, often used to express the clown's character. A "gag" is a very short piece of clown comedy which when repeated within a bit or routine may become a "running gag". Gags may be loosely defined as "the jokes clowns play on each other". Bits are the clown's sketches or routines made up of one or more gags either worked out and timed before going on stage or impromptu bits composed of familiar improvisational material. A gag may have a beginning, a middle and an end to them, or they may not. Gags can also refer to the prop stunts/tricks or the stunts that clowns use, such as a squirting flower.

Menu

Entrées are feature clowning acts lasting 4-8 minutes. They are typically made up of various gags and bits, and usually use a clowning framework. Entrées almost always end with a blow-off. (The blow-off is the comedic ending of a show segment, bit, gag, stunt or routine.)

Side dishes are shorter feature acts. Side dishes are essentially shorter versions of the Entrée, typically lasting 1 - 3 minutes. Side dishes are typically made up of various gags and bits, and usually use a clowning framework. Side dishes almost always end with a blow-off.

Interludes

Clown Stops or interludes are the brief appearance of clowns while the props and rigging are changed. These are typically made up of a few gags or several bits. Clown Stops almost always end with a blow-off. Clown stops will always have a beginning, a middle and an end to them.

Prop stunts

Among the more well-known clown stunts are: squirting flower; the "too-many-clowns-coming-out-of-a-tiny-car" stunt; doing just about anything with a rubber chicken, tripping over ones own feet (or an air pocket or imaginary blemish in the floor), or riding any number of ridiculous vehicles or "clown bikes". Individual prop stunts are generally considered to be individual bits.

Cooperative bits and 'improv'

A clown duo might employ a number of cooperative "bits" to help them create an improvisational performance. Using this technique allows both clowns to participate in what looks like a well-rehearsed sketch, but might well be a mere placeholder/spacefiller for a missing act, or used to cover "prop failure" etc. Particularly in a Circus or Variety show, clowns are often relied on to perform "at the drop of a hat" and a well-prepared clown will not only have a large repertoire of bits, but will remain alert when off-stage. In accordance with the well-known "show biz" tradition that "The Show Must Go On", the best clowns will always be ready to save the day, even in the midst of a tragedy — such as an injured performer.

Pete and re-Pete

In "Pete and re-Pete", the first clown narrates the gag, the second "repeats" the main elements of the first clown's exposition:

"I see you bought yourself a new hat"

— "Yeah, a New Hat (big happy smile of contentment with his battered stovepipe hat)

— Yeah, you're not gonna get a Fine New Hat like this one down town" (taking the hat off again for another satisfied look at the hat, and rocking up on to the balls of his feet and back on his heels, proudly).

"You can say that again"

— "OK: Got it Up Town, yeah, not gonna get one of these downtown" (another proud look at the hat, picking an imagined piece of lint from the torn brim of the bedraggled Fine New Hat), yep, nothing like an Up Town Hat."

"Uhuh ... they pay you much?"

The first clown narrates the gag, the second repeats main elements of this exposition, and finally delivers the punch line.

"That's good/that's bad" routine

In the routine called "that's good/that's bad", the first clown narrates the gag, the second responds alternately with "that's good / that's bad":

"I found a dog."

"That's good" (noncommittally).

"It wasn't a hot dog though" (showing the dog).

"That's too bad" (looking at the dog, wistfully).

"He's really friendly ..."

"Oh, that's good" (agreeably).

"... with people's legs."

"Well that’s bad" (appalled).

"He doesn't eat much."

"That's good" (nodding agreeably).

"He sure poops a lot though."

"That's bad" (that stinks expression).

"He's housebroken."

"That’s good" (of course it is).

"No that's bad: he did some jail time for the last housebreak."

"Okay, then that's bad" (willing to be corrected).

"No that's good: it was his second offense. He's gone straight now."

"That's ... uhhh ... good?" (confused now).

"No that's bad, he's gone straight for your pastrami sandwich!"

This bit is also seen with other "good/bad" interjections: perhaps "that's fortunate/unfortunate" or even (with a pair of two "Surfer Dude" clowns) as "Dude that rocks!/Man, that bites".

Note that a clown would likely choose the word pastrami rather than corned beef, because pastrami is a funny word and corned beef is not. So clowns prefer:

• monkey wrenches to "spanners"
• doohickeys to "gadgets"
• kitchen gadgets to "small appliance"
• monikers to "nicknames"

and a clown would much prefer to be

• fidgety than "restless".

Each clown has his own gags or bits, these techniques are used to share gags with other clowns that are unfamiliar with the material, by using "Yes, and..." techniques ("Yes and" has become a technique commonly taught in "improv" classes) such as "Pete and re-Pete", and "That's good/that's bad", the clowns avoid conflicting gags, supporting each other in whatever they may say, and keeping the performance flowing.

It is considered bad improvisational form to "deny the proposition" as in:

"Hi Dewey, looks like you got yourself a new pair of shoes"

"No, Tiny, these are my regular shoes."

Contradiction tends to stop the show, "killing" the "comedic momentum" crucial to keeping the attention of the audience.

The "That's good/that's bad" act has also been used in the Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror III"

Famous clowns

See main article under Famous clowns.

According to circus historian Hovey Burgess, the three most important clowns historically were:

• The Fratellinis
• Grock
• Joseph Grimaldi

It is also interesting to note that the famous American political character known as "Uncle Sam" was based upon famous clown, Dan Rice.

Further reading

• I'm In Love With A Clown Named Joe By Adam Clark
• My Poor Clown Friend By Scottie Pinker
• Poor Clown by Charlie Rivel
• Don't Be Clowin' Around By Kayla Alberstett
• Clowning... or Cloning? By Garrett Thomas
• Behind My Greasepaint by Coco
• Bert Williams - A Biography of the Pioneer Black Comedian by Eric Ledell Smith
• The Book Of Clown by George Speaight
• Bring On The Clowns by Beryl Hugil
• Clown, My Life In Tatters and Smiles by Emmett Kelly and F. Beverly Kelly
• The Clown In Times (Volumes 1-6) by Bruce Johnson
• Clowns by Douglas Newton
• Clowns by John Towsen
• Clowns Of The Hope - Tradition Keepers and Delight Makers by Barton Wright
• Felix Adler by Anne Aull Bowber
• The Fool and His Scepter by William Willeford
• Fools and Jesters At The English Court by John Southworth
• Greasepaint Matadors - The Unsung Heroes of Rodeo by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor [1]
• Grimaldi - King of Clowns by Richard Findlater
• Grock - King of Clowns by Grock
• Here Come The Clowns by Lowell Swortzell
• Jest In Time: A Clown Chronology by Bruce Johnson
• Life's A Lark by Grock
• A Ring, A Horse And A Clown by John H. McConnell
• Russian Clown by Oleg Popov
• The Tramp Tradition by Bruce Johnson

• Woven Gods: Female Clowns and Power in Rotuma (book review)
• Handelman, D., Models and Mirrors: Towards an Anthropology of Public Events
• Little, K., Clown Performance in the European One-Ring Circus. Culture, 1981. 2(1):61-72.
• Rudlin, J., Commedia Dell'Arte; An Actors Handbook[2]
• Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope of the American horror-core group Insane Clown Posse (ICP).

• sociological work on the fool: Anton Zijderveld Reality in a looking-glass
• Barbara Swain Fools and Folly (New York, Columbia University Press, 1932)
• Enid Welsford The fool: his social and literary history [1935] (1966)
• William Willeford The fool and his scepter 1969
• Ron Jenkins Subversive laughter (New York, Free Press, 1994), 13ff

Maxwell Henrie the pantless cowboy/clown

External links

Clown organizations

• Clowns International
• Clowns of America International
• World Clown Association
• Annual Clowns Directory

Clown training

• Clown Resource Directory
• List of Clown Educational Events
• Clown Conservatory at the San Francisco Center for Circus Arts
• Clown Forum

See also

• Bouffon
• Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army
• Clown car
• Clown society
• Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns.
• Evil clown
• Jennifer Miller
• Mime artist
• Send in the Clowns, song by Stephen Sondheim