hi to all my new friends im piccalily from nottingham in the uk i would love to hear from any clowns in my area as i there are not many willing to talk.
my name is nikki im 33 with two young children i have been clowning for 6 mths but never done a gig i want to be i auguste clown, ive done face painting classes and have a clown to teach me balloons once a fortnight i have learnt some magic but have not put a show together yet i would love to hear from anyone with some advice to a new comer on putting a act together it is mainly kids parties i wish to do

Hi Piccalily
You say you are going to be a clown, then talk about magic are you going to be a clown or a magician, sorry but I dont believe they are the same thing, just my predudice I guess but I believe clowning should be in the tradition of circus.
I regularly do 2hr parties with all ages, 3 to 103, plus loads of faits, fairs carnivals and other stuff and do not use magic in any of it, I was told once by a very old and wise clown "the magic must be in your profomance" and I have tried to always remember that and live up to it.
When putting a show together think about what makes you laugh, what makes children laugh, watch children at play, think about the magical world they already live inside their heads and try to remember what it was like for you, take the everyday world stuff and twist it so that it becomes supprising, odd and then think again is this funny,
An example of this would be, although I am always ready on time for any show, I mightstart the show with putting up my table and trying to put the table cloth on this is very hard for my clown to do and it could take 15mins and need help from one or two children, it could take several more mins to get my hat on and my case open. I hope this is all making some sort of sence, let me finnish with one plee if you are going to do magic as a clown please be funny.
sorry if this feels like Im moaning or nagging its not ment that way
Take care
Furry Foot

hi furry foot sorry when i say magic i mean silly magic like pushing plate threw a mug and stuff like that nothing like paul daniels thanks for your advice every bit helps i will remember what you said i dont want to do magic i want to be silly and child like

hi furry foot sorry when i say magic i mean silly magic like pushing plate threw a mug and stuff like that nothing like paul daniels thanks for your advice every bit helps i will remember what you said i dont want to do magic i want to be silly and child like

Hi, I'm not in your area but great to meet you. A great thing for kid parties, if they're out doors or in a large room is rocket balloons, and balloon yo yo's, bringing the activites and suppliing party favors, it increases the amount you have to charge for a party but it will quickly make you a favorite among the kids, they'll want the clown with the cool stuff. And you can include a small picture with your autograph and # making it easier to families to contact you.[color copy]

hi great idea one way of getting your face out there. where are you from?

I'm from South Carolina, US. I always keep business cards in my pocket, You can make them yourself on the computer and add a picture to it as well. One other thing I've done is network with a couple of people who do petting zoos that travel to birthday parties. I've gotten several of my referrals from them and I do the same, I'll refer others back to them.

Hi piccalily, I'm from Salisbury in Wiltshire. Probably your nearest clown in this forum. Great to see you. You will find some great stuff in this forum and a visit to
http://www.clown-ministry.com/ has lots of interesting and helpful stuff.