ok...Let's say when I become a clown I wanted to perform in a circus...not just any circus though, a Ringling Brothers Circus. How could I do that. I know I would have to be really good first and work really hard. But would I have to start with other little circuses first? I think it would be the coolest job ever to be in the Ringling Brothers Circus as a clown. Do they have auditions? Have any of ya'll performed in circuses? And if so, what kind? Ya'll are awesome! Thanks.

Neeco :-D

Hi, Neeco. Welcome! Every time the RB circus comes to the Washington, DC area, there are open auditions and they invite anyone who wants to be a clown to come down and try out. I did this years ago, but was in really bad physical shape and didn't really believe I'd get in, so I didn't follow through with the paperwork they gave me to fill out at home. (Kicking self now!) :roll:
I would check your area when the circus comes to town and go down and try it. What do you have to lose, right? Basically, they had us do group activities, which they videotaped, and then each of us were told to say something into the camera and give our names. I think they mostly look for ENERGY and natural funnyness.
Hope you get to do it. I plan to tryout next time they're here!
Sharone - Jubilee the Clown

Okay, I did a little research. If you don't have the circus coming to your area anytime soon, you can go to www.feldentertainment.com and click on careers to get info on how to audition.
Take care and keep bumping noses!
Jubilee

I was happy just lurking, but with the current topic I couldn't hold my tongue.

It has been ten years or so, but when I began to look into the Ringling Bros Circus and got to talk to quite a few of the clowns I soon realized that the little boy clowns apparently spent a lot of time on the train with the other little boy clowns...if you know what I mean. It was obvious from the onset of the meeting. Based from what I have read from the majority here, you might want to explore other options.

I ran away and never looked back perfectly content in my own little normal clown world. There's an oxymoron to leave you with...

Thanks for the 411 Jinx.

I don't know who you talked to, Jinx, but if you let rumors keep you from your dream, that's just sad. My understanding is that circus clowns have very little time to themselves while on tour. Again, I don't know for sure, but I doubt it's some kind of crazy orgy aboard train. Sometimes things get blown out of proportion. There may have been a couple of guys who were into each other or something and it became the whole train in certain people's minds. You never know.
Jubilee

Hey guys! Thanks so much...I won't listen to Jinx..sorry jinx. I will still follow my dream. Their are gay men in theatre, but that doesn't stop me. I still do it because it's what I love. And I love clowning. And also Jinx, the RB has changed some in the past 10 years. Anyways, I'm going to be receiving training in march for clowning and go to the Giggle Masters Club meeting. I'm really excited! My friends think I'm crazy...Some have told me that my excitement about being a clown have made them want to be a clown also. My friend Jonathan actually got to be a clown in a RB show when he was little. (I'm so jealous!) So he is going to do this with me! lol Thank you for the link Jubilee. :D Oh yea, Today (aug.10) is my birthday! I'm 20! No more being a teenager. :roll: lol...Thanks again! byee!

Happy Birthday! :mrgreen: I agree. Follow your dream! I may follow you in that one day. For now, I'm just plugging away at being a clown in my local area. :wink:
Jubilee

Happy Birthy Neeco and go for it..

20 years ago I would gladly have joined the Circus. Today, I have three boys under the age of ten, a wife, a home, parents that someday might need more help than they do now, a great gig as a musician playing lead guitar with a country gospel group and a good clientle as a guitar repairman. My plate is full. I intend to do as much as I can as a Clown.
If I became a professional clown (read Circus). It would have to be a situation where My family traveled with me, perhaps in a motor home. My wife and I wish to help our local 4-H clown group (We went to their judging the other day, they need help!) and do parties and thing.
Iguess Iam trying to be the best clown I can be. If I do that, then "Fame" will follow, through with more opportunities and maybe some day a circus audition.

Don't forget though, Professional means it is your means of supporting yourself and family. a lot of clowns have done that over the years and never stepped into the sawdust circle :D

I don;t know if i would accuse people you don;t know of being as you put it, little boys with little boys. You can be sued for libel, you know? There are many fine family real men wo work in that circus. I am friends with many. Sure, there must be some of a different peruasion, but if you blaspheme like this, it could land you in trouble. It is also people like you who spue this trash, even in jestor to bea smart aleck that gives good pros a bad name. Better to keep those rumors where the sun don't shine! This burns me real bad. I have a bus driver that I ride with that says he knew John Wayne Gasey (spelling?), the serial kiler that dressed like a clown,. he has all these "supposed to be's" about Ringling clows that are pure crap, like mis of them being alcoholics, and such. It's pure crap! If ou are so suspicious and unworldly as to not know better, then you ought to go spend some time with sme of those guys, before you let some voice on theinternet tarnish your dream, or make your impression of those people abad one. I for on know this is a heap of @#$% and it pisses me off to start osting on this group in defense and ang mode. But I couldn;t let it pass. I know MANY of them, Why would you even care to spoil someone's image of something you know nothing about, which is a rumor. Grow up and teach tolerance .... Honeybunch

I hope that wasn't a post for me honeybunch...I want to be in the Ringling Brothers Circus..that is one of my biggest dreams. I have met and had taken pictures with some of the nicest clowns in the hometown edition RB circus this year. I would never talk bad about that circus...it kinda upset me too when that person said that. Anyways...I just wanted to clear that up! ....Neeco :P

It was for whomever the idiot was that talked about little boys being with little boys on the trian. Was that you? No! I was someone else, and it really angered me and I meant what I said!

ok honeybunch, chill out. You don't have to be mean about it...it upset me too. I just ignored it.

Defending my beloved clown profession, Neeco, and if it makes me sound mean, so be it. Every now and then bad things happen to circus people, but it's not like the whole circus is a pit of vipers! I know past and present members and what that person said was VERY offensive to me. So, of course, I defend it. This is how bad reputations get started and are perpuated, And if the person who said it is offended by my response, I do not care, at all. Anyone involved in clowning who would make a sarcastic remark like this, needs to be told to back off. I certainly wouldnlt regard this as a joke or anything else. 365 days a year in make up for almost 25 years in a profession that I have loved more than you know and made life lng friends of sme very wonderful people, made me real angry to see someone who isn;t on the show, and doesn;t really know what it is all about, felt like rubbing salt in an open cut. I need to unjoin from this group. Honeybunch

Honeybunch,
I understand your frustration. However, do try to be civil, okay? We're all friendly here and I'm sure that Jinx wasn't trying to pass on gossip. Just wanting to give a word of caution. At least, I try to think that intentions are the best until I'm proven otherwise.
Jubilee

It's easy to see the tone of voice this was written in, by the person who wrote it. That person is not with that circus company and this is GOSSIP, and heresay. I am a really nice lady, who really loves her friends and her profession more than anyone will ever realize, and this kind of thing riles me no end. It speaks of gossip and bias and I am sorry YOU all don't see that. That person needs a warning about libel and slander. If you people tolerate this kind of thing, and prefer to think the perosn was giving "advice", this is a place I don't belong. If you say you are Christians, exactly what kind of Christian is so blind sighted as to miss this. Are you prejudiced against gay people. Shouldn;t you be teaching th young to be open minded and teach lovingkindness to all even if they are not like you? As soon as I can figure it out, I will unjoined this group, as I said before. Honeybunch

It's easy to see the tone of voice this was written in, by the person who wrote it. That person is not with that circus company and this is GOSSIP, and heresay. I am a really nice lady, who really loves her friends and her profession more than anyone will ever realize, and this kind of thing riles me no end. It speaks of gossip and bias and I am sorry YOU all don't see that. That person needs a warning about libel and slander. If you people tolerate this kind of thing, and prefer to think the perosn was giving "advice", this is a place I don't belong. If you say you are Christians, exactly what kind of Christian is so blind sighted as to miss this. Are you prejudiced against gay people. Shouldn;t you be teaching th young to be open minded and teach lovingkindness to all even if they are not like you? As soon as I can figure it out, I will unjoined this group, as I said before. Honeybunch

Hi Honeybunch,
If you don't mind me saying , I think you may be over-reacting a little bit. It seems Jinx was merely stating something he "Heard". He did not present it as fact. As much as we all know its not true, this is an open forum and he was merely discussing the fact that he did hear it.

this is a place I don't belong
On the contrary. I think if you disagree it is your DUTY to stay and explain why you do not think it is so.

If Sir Nelson M. ran away because he was called bad names, where would the world be now? Just a thought.

On a final note, it is refreshing to see someone actually (almost) standing up to it.
We are not ganging up against you. Were all just fans of free speach and sharing of ideas.

Hey honeybunch,
you don't have to unjoin this group. Being a RB clown or a clown in any other circus is my biggest dream. It really upset me too. I think almost all except maybe one that had read that was pretty pissed off about it. We are all on your side. No need to unjoin because of one person. If it was anybody who needed to unjoin it was that one person. So stay! Besides...I may need some good advice from the best clowns in this forum! Who all clowns from the RB circus do you know anyways? I have a so many that are my favorites! :D

I do agree with cianuro and jubilee...

Rimors and gosip are the stuff of nosey old women, and people who wish others harm. Gossip does nothing positive for anyone. Understand why i react so harshly. This stuff is my life. It is my career and everything and anything that touches it negatively, touches me, and it touches us all. We want people to view the entertainment world in a positive light, not as though there is something wrong with it. Spoiling a young person;s view, due to heresay is wrong. I am totally tolerant in life. What you do as an adult is your own business. I don;t prescribe my way of life or any other to be "the" one people should follow. t takes 100's of different things to build a world. And who says what is right or wrong. Gay per se is not wrong or right, neither is Buddhism, skin heads, or ultra-religious. It becomes wrong when you poke a negative fingre at it and become some quasi-accuser. Ooooh ... we all have to be scared and hide under the sofa from the big bad whatever .... A little caution might be indicated! I have known MANY gay folks in this profession, male and female. It just so happens I have the good sense not to care about someone;s sexual orientation, when I know it doesn;t really matter. Honeybunch

What are balloon points? I have 6 what does that mean?

What are balloon points? I have 6 what does that mean?

You wait and see :wink:
Hopefully next week it will be ready.

In the meantime, you can ignore them

OK, for anyone that was NOT watching this discussion, it may look a little strange.

HoneyBunch requested that her account be deleted as she was too offended.
We are sorry to see you go HoneyBunch

If anyone has any questions or comments about this thread, please feel free to send me a Private Message (PM)

Thanks

Dave

Dave,
I'm sorry to see Honeybunch go. I tried to send her a private message letting her know that we're all friends here and that the last thing we want to do is offend or discriminate against people, but I guess she was just overly sensitive. At least that's what it seems like because she just seemed to not be able to get beyond her anger.
Jubilee

I totally agree Jubilee,
A forum is a discussion outlet. Just like in real life. If someone says something that you do not agree with to your face, you fight your point.

It is just unfoortunate that the anger got to her. Personally, I have seen more insulting posts in my day and it never caused me to leave. Most people would have fought their point, and thats how a point gets made. In a forum, everyone can see ALL the replies and make their OWN decision as to whats true and whats not.

Oh well... some people just cannot be reached.
I wish her all the best in whatever she chooses to do.

I work with Honeybunch in Vegas, and we are roomates and life long friends. "Figithing" and pushingpoints on forums that are less informational and mre argmentative are not her way.

She views all childrens entertainemnt and the entertainmet of adults as something to be held as near scared and not the stuff off arguments or discussions that include themes such as were put here. Both of us and our other roomates ar old hippies. We are, all of very acceptig of others and don't deel that throwing rocks at anyone's personal choice of lifestyle has a place in a forum dedicated to clowning or anything else. Live and let live, is how we both feel.

Her professional demeanor is one she will not back down from. Petty and shallow attempts to belittle someone or point out soemone's supposed lesser points are not something she ever puts up with. She is a giving friend to everyone she comes in to contact with. However, she bows out of anything controversial, for the most part, esecially sexual themes, as she feels it is not her personal view of what we should be talking about as family entertainers. What has anyone's sexual status have to do with clowning? Especially where the truth was not supported here. What was alluded to was that those clowns are somehow wrong.

She will kill me if she findsout I responded to this. but I found it necessary to support her and defend herposition. I know of no one so extremely passionate about the state of the clowning arts as her, and know no one as passionate about live and let live and finger pointing ust isn't her way, unless someone is shining a very dim light on her profession, or being negative.

She has 25 years invested in the positive advancement of the art, and positive imagery, and helping people to advance. I am greater for kowing her. if she seems over sensitive to you all. put yourself in her shoes and understand how she feels when she sees something like this.


Rainbowdaclown

Thanks, Rainbow. I guess I just felt like Honeybunch's point was made in her first reply and she just couldn't see that anybody was agreeing with her. That's why I tried to reach out to her privately. Oh well. If you talk to her, please say that I hope I didn't hurt her feelings.
Jubilee

Thanks for the reply Rainbowdaclown and for the update.

It was not at all the intention of this forum to upset her in any way whatsoever. In fact, personally I agreed with her and I am sure most others did.

Some poeple react differently to certain situations and her reaction was COMPLETELY understandable. Some people can deal with things differently and personally aslwell, I bow our of sexual discussion.

I really hope that she is not too upset and I apologized personally on behalf of the forum for what happened.

Dave

wow!
All I said was that my dream is to be a RB clown and it led to that... :?
neeco :P

Well...sometimes things get a little off topic. But thanks for making an interesting post

I wouldn't worry about it. Some people just get miffed and have trouble letting it go. It's cool We're all still friends here. I'd LOVE to be a circus clown too! Once I lose a little more weight and such, I may just try out myself. Grin.
Jubilee

The great thing about clowning, is there is so many different areas to work in. I think the circus would be great fun, but I know it's not for me. You have so many venues to clown, you can do it, in the area you have the most fun. :D

wow, what a sensitive bunch...

Scruffy was right, it was just information...with the disclaimer that this was quite a few years back. It was not second-hand information...it was not my passionate dream that was crushed in a fateful, yet slightly lispy fall from glory...etc

I had merely noticed from reading various post that we were dealing with a crowd of moral, God loving people that just happened to be obsessed with all things clown. I wanted to pass on non-inflated information that I thought might be taken in stride.

My lurking is done here.

Clowns don't scare me as I am one...forum people scare me.