serious humor

[Gladman]

Hey everyone, I've been enjoying the forum for a few weeks, so I guess I'll jump in. I've always been kind of a clown most of my life. I was even a clown in my cub scout pack in the mid 50's. My wife and four grown children and I can all get pretty goofy at times. (my son is a great juggler) My three year old grand daughter keeps telling me to bump into the door or the wall. I try to explain to her the door and wall are bumping into me not the other way around. You know how these little ones can be sometimes.

Recently a friend of my wife's sent me several boxes of clown paraphernalia. I only briefly mentioned once that I always wanted a clown suit. She sent me the works. Shoes, suits, wigs, hats, makeup, and much more. I'm a registered nurse in a mid size hospital here in Georgia. I do acute dialysis. (so that makes me a cute dialysis nurse) The pediatric manager is eager to have me come in my spare time to cheer up the children, especially the longer term ones. I find that humor is an important part of the healing process. Stress and depression are two of the big hidden killers. Maybe that's why I like the challenge of nursing. Patch was and still is a real inspiration to me. I will need help in many areas, I'm sure; like makeup, though I realize that a painted face and a funny outfit is not what real clowning is all about. Red Skelton could be a clown without any of those. Thanks for all the great stuff I've gleaned already.
Steven

[Jitterbug]

Hi Steven--welcome to the forum. First off is your makeup. Sit down with some blank "faces" on paper. Look at yourself in the mirror and decide what your most outstanding feature is...eyes, nose, cheeks, etc. Then draw a few designs on your faces and see what you like the best. One suggestion I've heard is not to do anything with "points" like triangles or diamonds, as these tend to be scary and kids don't like them. Soft lines and curves.
Next pick a kind of clown. There are 3 main types. Whiteface, Auguste, and Character or Hobo. Whiteface usually pulls the pranks, but never takes the brunt of the joke. Auguste always takes the pie in the face, and is the crazy guy. Hobos are Auguste's in a character, such as Doctor, Hobo, my son is a hunter, although he's changing to a farmer character. Once you've got a look you like--try it on. I'm a traditionalist w/makeup. White, red and black. Some clowns like to add colors, yellow, blue or pink. That's a matter of preference.
Over time you'll be more comfortable with one look, and stick with it. One rule of clowning is...you can pick your hair color, but once you do, that's your color--you can change the style, but NOT the color. Since I'm apprenticing under professional clowns, the rule is also, that I cannot speak for the first year. This just gets me to think about how my character will be...talk, or act. So, I'm just working on my "character acting" for right now. I know that I could take off on my own and do my own thing without guidance, but I really like to be accountable with someone. They've been around a lOT longer than me, so i trust their knowledge and judgement. I've learned a lot from them, so if you can find others to apprentice under, I highly recommend it.
Next comes your costume. Whiteface's ALWAYS match. I'm always wearing combinations of Red, white, blue and black. Auguste is bright and crazy colors. Anything goes! Character clowns--just fit with their character. You can really have a lot of fun with them. Add whatever you want to bring out your character.
Hope this helps with your becoming a great clown. I'm not an expert, but I've learned a lot in the past year. I'm a stickler for the rules of the trade, so I try to get others to follow them too. But that's your choice. Look forward to seeing what you come up with.
God bless!
Jitterbug
Oh, and your name...must be given to you by another clown or someone who loves you! <3

[Gladman]

thanks Jiterbug, very helpful. My wife gave me the name, my kids were Pollyanna freaks growing up.
Steven

[Jitterbug]

Oh, ok! I didn't realize that was your name. I didnt' know if you were a Glad Man or that was just your name. Very good!
Good luck and Bump a nose
Jitterbug

[Scruffy]

Welcome, Gladman!

You've come to the right place.It sounds like you have been in touch with your innrt clown for quite a while now.
Welcome!

[saphireSue]

Great to have you with us. And please join us for chat on Thur. at 9:00 pm est if poss, [although I would bet thanksgiving will be slow].

One suggestion if you're planning on starting your clowning in the hospital or clinic area, perhap you might want to look at more of the Euro look or lite auguste, which seems to be the more acceptable in most hospitals now.

[The_Princess_of_Bozonia]

Welcome Gladman! A whole clown outfit, that's some present lucky you hope you'll get all clowned up and snap a picture for us.

[Hopper]

If you're gonna do this, think up a character first, and give that character some sort of reason it would be in the hospital. Remember, a clown doesn't know he's a clown. The character itself isn't making people laugh on purpose, people laugh because of his manner and the things he does.

The generalizations as to styles of clowns (whiteface, auguste, tramp) is minimally relevant, although really, its just makeup styles. No one ever actually said "the Auguste has to be outlandish and the whiteface has to be the smart one" Well OK, no one ever said it except for the odd club clown who, probably mistakenly, decided to cast himself in the role of teacher...or worse yet, vanity-printed a book and started their own clown school. So don't worry about "rules", and be wary of those who say they must be followed.

Get yourself "Strutters Guide to Makeup" if you can find it. It gives the step by step rundown on how to apply each of the archetypical clown faces. The last few pages are just a gallery of clown "mugshots" of many different styles of clown face that you can use as a starting point.

My only makeup advice is to start minimal and work your way out. Start with thin eyebrows and paint only your bottom lip. (Don't paint on a huge red smile that goes halfway to your ears. That's just scary.) Then once you have those, you can begin to play with them and expand. But my experience is that minimal eyebrows and mouth are best. Often just a painted natural bottom lip and small pips on either side are enough to accomplish what clown makeup is supposed to. (Its supposed to make you more expressive...thats all.)

Hope this helps.

[Adorabelle]

I'm mighty late with a response but better late than never. I'm a VERY new clown but I suspect I have already learned a basic lesson. I wanted to be a pretty white-faced clown with a black and white dress with a huge white petticoat (like a female Poroitte which is spelled TOTALLY different from that). I made a truly gorgeous costume but when I wore it I didn't look or feel like Adorabelle. Adorabelle is very, very sweet and gentle. She's also a bit of a fool. The costume I made is for a firecracker, a wiseacre and a mischief maker. I should have KNOWN I'm not a spitfire but I was enchanted with the concept. I think clowning is not a way for me to be someone different but a way to be more of who I am. I am silly and happy but gentle and encouraging. I LIKE being the butt of the joke. Adorabelle will wear pink and red on white and will be ruffled from head to toe. I know you already have your costume but I think developing a character is basic to becoming a clown.

[tim]

Originally Posted by Adorabelle

I think clowning is not a way for me to be someone different but a way to be more of who I am.

That's an excellent way to put it!

I know you already have your costume but I think developing a character is basic to becoming a clown.

Agreed about character development being fundamental. But I do think that trying stuff out with costuming and all can be a good experiment in helping one to grow. It may turn out that certain costuming helps you to grow in a direction you didn't expect which works, or it may well be that you don't like it and have to move on. Which is why I don't generally recommend investing a whole lot of money in costuming right off the bat. Ultimately, it's a matter of what feels right for you.