Developing a character and a show

[CataintaBrat]

Hi everyone. I've got some questions for anyone who would like to help. I will additionally keep searching all the old posts for the wealth of information that seems to be in there. I've been working a lot on developing a character and even a little thought into an eventual show or two(in the meantime I've been working a lot with balloons which I think will be a big part of my act, and will soon really get into magic, storytelling, puppetry, and song leading.) My questions are really:

Would it be appropriate for me to share my character and show ideas here, in this forum?

I've had trouble finding any type of clown shows anywhere on line. Since I am 30, and it's been sometime since I've been to a party with a clown...how can I get a general idea of how a clown show should be presented? (If it turns out to be appropriate, I'd like to give my show ideas and see what people think.)

That's really it, except to what degree juggling seems to be a necessary skill for a clown. I plan to learn as much as possible, but of all the skills it seems the one at which I am least adept-how proficient would I really need to be and what role would it largely play in walk arounds and party shows?

Thanks everybody!

[Sonshine D Clown]

to our little home on the web. Where are you sharing miles of smiles at???

[CataintaBrat]

For now, I'm sharing with the kids in the ice cream store I manage. No makeup or jokes really, I mainly just started doing balloon animals a few months back in order to give a little something extra. After having a professional storyteller in the store for Xmas, I got to thinking of all the years of my sisters telling me I'm a big kid and a clown and I was like "wow, they are right!" So here I find myself reading every book on entertaining I can get my hands on and thinking about maybe doing some clowning part time, especially after moving to the land in a year or so-as a small supplemental income(we'll grow our own food and live off the grid, so we'll have low expenses and I can clown mostly for the fun.) Thanks for your welcome and your interest.

[saphireSue]

welcome to the group. Your welcome to share you ideas and I'm sure many will make suggestions, I sugest if at all possible to contact another clown in your area if possible to see if they would be willing to mentor you. As far as juggling goes, I can't either and I've been clowning 10 year. you don't have to be great at every thing, neither do you want to be "so so" with a lot, pick what you do best excell at that then add more skill as you go.

[CataintaBrat]

I appreciate the suggestions. I seem to be taking to the balloons well, enjoy both magic and puppets and gained a lot of experience with song and dance years ago as a youth counselor. I'll try sticking with those. I'll also write some of my ideas up here in the next few days. I do have a way to contact local clowns-a magic store owner who has offered to put me in contact with the local alley-I plan to wait a couple months while I practice my skills before contact as I want them to know that when I it comes to clowning I am very serious(irony intended.) I cannot wait to share more with everyone.

[Flutterby]

Welcome Cataintabrat! - I am 31 myself - and I am also new to the clowning thing. I was fortunate enough to have had my mom take me on a clown cruise last month where I was able to gain quite a bit of one-on-one time with several clown legends...

I do not have enough in my bag to do even a full half an hour myself - so I don't have much to offer - but I certainly agree with SaphireSue! Pick the things you excel at and build your clowning aruond that! Then as you learn new things you can add or replace other things you do.

ALL of the instructors on the cruise said that you should never include ANYTHING in your routine until you have mastered it and could perform it in your sleep! ESPECIALLY with magic and juggling.... Practice, practice practice! That is all I have been doing since I got home from the cruise.

Check with some of the continuing (or adult) education classes in your area (either thru the school systems or at your library, etc) - I know some of them here in Buffalo NY have classes on juggling, face painting, and/or balloon twisting. I plan on signing up for some of those the next time they start again...

Also, there are lots of conventions or classes you can go to. They range from a few days in length to a week or more in length... Many of them include classes on how to develope a character and build a show long enough to entertain at a birthday party, etc!

Sounds like you already have a place to get lots of practice with the ballooning! That's great! I have been practicing for my roommate and now I have tons of balloon animals all over the house! So I then have to go through and pop those and start all over so I can get more practice in! LOL But I am having fun - and our friends like seeing all of the fun and creative things I have been making... I try to make a few new things everytime I work on it so that I can expand my skills...

I would like for us to chat more about this! You and I are in the same boat so I'd love to have us bounce ideas off each other... Private message me and we can chat more - and of course use these boards! Everyone has been very helpful so far and they have a bunch of great ideas and suggestions!

Bump a nose!

[Chance Marmalade]

Yep, there is no reason to be a "good juggler" to use it in your clown routines if you're interested in it. You can turn that weakness into a strength! A lot of clowns are not master jugglers (mostly its the jugglers who master that!) but it's what they do with the props that make the routine funny.

Make a search online for juggling skits and I bet you will find a bunch of them. Some clowns that are excellent jugglers purposefully drop the balls just so they can respond with a certain punchline.

As far as character goes, I would definitely suggest picking up Mark Stolzenberg's book "Be a Clown" and "Creative Clowning" by Bruce Fife.

Creating a character is probably one of the most challenging and fun parts of clowning. Get ideas from famous clowns (but always create your own!), observe odd characters out in public or write a short clown biography. I started out as a theatre actor and I always created backgrounds for my characters. Mark Stolzenberg suggests writing a short biography of about 2-5 pages. He suggests including:

* Birthdate and Astrological sign
* Place of Birth
* Family Life
* Father's and Mother's Occupations
* Important Childhood Experiences
* Hobbies
* Social Class
* Political and Religious Values
* Favorite Foods
* Physical Weaknesses and Strengths
* Vulnerable Body parts

Depending on how in depth you want to get you could write a whole lot more. Be as creative as you can be. Exaggerate! Since these notes are just for you, write whatever you like!

I've found this book (Be a Clown formerly titled Clown for Circus & Stage) to be invaluable in every aspect of it's teaching.

As far as creating shows, you can develop one or two clown skills into a full blown show depending on what takes place in your story. My style of clowning is geared towards staged performances. I tend to like surreal things in my shows (clown plays I suppose!) so I've practiced a routine where I make various inanimate objects float and then I apply it to a story I want to tell. I use the same floating mime technique but with a narrative twist that changes the routine. But it's still the same floating technique.

Watching the silent masters (Chaplin, Keaton, Stan Laurel, and even The Little Rascals) will help you immensely. Birthday party clown shows are rare on YouTube. I have looked myself. But if you make a search for "vaudeville" or "Bill Irwin" or "Mime" you will get a lot of material to get ideas from. And read read read! I have gotten so much from the books I've read. Just be sure you put what you're learning into practice!

Best of luck to you clown! Bump a nose!

Jeremy

[Fitzwilly]

Please post your ideas here. And ask questions as well and we will be honored to try and help.

I think that part of the reason don't see more is twofold (or threefold or fourfold)
1) clowns are cheap and filming yourself performing would mean you need a second person at a party.
2) people may not want you taking video of their party and their kids.
3) everyone is convinced their show is so good that all their competition will want to steal it.
4) they haven't changed their show since 1969 and are afraid to have other entertainers see it.
5) every entertainer designs a show that fits their personality and their skills and their likes and dislikes as far as tricks go. A show that works great for one performer could easily bomb for another.

[Darrell]

I do juggling at my clown shows but the kids seem to enjoy it more when I drop balls, rings, clubs, etc than when I catch them. If you juggle, I guess it is important to show that you can juggle a little but the comedy ican come when you drop whatever you are juggling and then make excuses. I remember one time I dropped a red club and said the reason I dropped the red one is because red hurts my eyes. Then the kids were saying, "but your nose is red, your hair is red, and you have red on your shirt." Then I come up with another excuse.

This back and forth bantering is what I enjoy the most.

Good Luck!
Darrell

[tim]

I've found that what works best in juggling, for me, is not so much a display of skill as offering the opportunity to allow the kids to get hands on and try their own hands at it a little bit.