In the advice from amazing clowns category, here is an interview with David Shiner where he talks about what he feels makes a clown.
Excerpt:
"At the core of the clown's character are the ultimate questions of life: Why am I here? Where do I fit in? Many people who go into clowning are trying to heal the world, but in fact they're just trying to heal themselves. By taking our deepest human weaknesses and making them funny, the clown confronts us with tragedy and suffering, but also with the fragile beauty of the world."
Shiner Interview