Good Clowns, Bad Clowns, Evil Clowns-There is something strange about Clowns

There are different types of clowns some of which are

1 Circus clown are the first performing clowns that travel with other trained performers

2 Party clown are clowns that grace children’s parties to entertain them

3 Street clowns are people down on luck or unemployed entertaining passersby.

4 Bum clowns are depiction of tragic lonely characters with good hearts

5 Halloween clowns are clowns that dress up only for festival occasions

6 Evil clowns(my favorite) are portrayed in films as crazy psychotic monsters with bad intention

Borderline movie clowns change personality between good and bad. The clowns on the thin line between good and bad have a mixture of personalities, sometimes the clown can come across as jovial , funny and even pathetic but within the twinkle of an eye becomes a raving psychotic lunatic.

Borderline clowns usually have split personalities which may arise from psychological and mental issues at least that is how they are interpreted in movies.

I think there is something strange about clowns; they make us laugh, cringe, and cry while being silly and sometimes fill our dreams with the most terrifying nightmares. The extreme emotion roller coaster that clowns elicit is at variance with the strange characters appearance of jollity and jest. Children love and hate clowns have you ever wondered why?

The clown is known for outlandish acts, large statement cloths a comical forbearance and a bag of silly sometimes pathetic tricks, the character is neither a good magician nor comedian and sometimes titers on the absurd. Yet the culture of clowning seems to evolve into different aspects of our lives like the theater, television productions, comics and films depicting clowns in different roles.

Frightful creatures have always fascinated us they seem to have a place in our subconscious exciting us, frightening us or becoming a butt of jokes and caricature, such ghoulish creatures like ghosts, monsters, werewolf’s, zombies and blood sucking vampires terrify and fascinate our imagination. The lowly clown has a place amongst this elite group of monsters which I call my top ten fright nights special.

Children seem undecided on which level clowns belong, something to laugh at or something to fear, even little babies cry hysterically when they first encounter this strange apparition. The clown’s persona borders between funny, strange, pathetic, frightening, good, bad and evil, having an odd ball character that’s difficult to define.

The clown is known for his over the top outlandish costumes let’s examine the clown’s costume may be that would help us make up our minds.

The clowns costume is a harbinger of evil intent from the masked face like a highway robber, which is covered in white ghostly chalk or water soluble paint, to the insidiously large lapel collars and heavy over-sized jumpsuit in mismatch colors. The fashion anomaly doesn’t end there but is exaggerated even further with extremely gigantic shoes, a big red nose and loud colored hair in shocking hues like pink, purple, red, gold and blue.

Sometimes they carry annoying gadgets that make loud unexpected sounds like bicycle horns, whistles, blowpipes, and silly trumpets that play confetti and balloon popping pockets adored with weird shapes and imagery. Some clowns go even further by accentuates the ghastly ensemble with splashes of mad uncoordinated colors, spooky ears, weird buckled belts and strange bogus hand gloves.

As if all this terrifying imagery is not enough the clown chooses to add highlights on the white painted face by giving it an expression, and adding a hideously exaggerated smile or frown in unusually red ink.

Clown costumes as a rule should be colorful, large funny looking, can have weird gadgets that open and pop out balloons, toys or confetti and should be accompanied with extra large shoes.The clown usually wears a big wig and red nose with the face painted in white or other colors.

Clowning has gone through many changes over several years and is no longer exclusive to the circus but can be seen in Broadway musicals, Shakespearean plays, theater performances, party clowns, street clowns, bum clowns and media clowns. Clowns grace our television screen; can be seen in many comics and blockbuster films like Batman the Dark Knight, and the cartoon Ben 10, even musical videos are getting in on the act.

Circus clowns

The clowning history can be traced back to stage perfumers and the circus, the traveling circus was a bunch of trained wild animals and performers who showcased extraordinary skill and amazing acts of acrobatics. In the past the circus had a collection of misfits like people suffering from gigantism, many dwarfs, and people with deformity as well as highly trained acrobats, so the clowns fit perfectly with this Brady bunch.

The role of clowns in the circus was as an interlude or filler captions like a bunch of clowns which include dwarfs doing slapstick comedy, outlandish acrobatic acts and cheesy illusions, the master of ceremony and coordinator of event usually was the head clown.

Party clowns

Children’s parties especially for kids under the age of eight have this misunderstood character as a performing guest, the party scene clown earn decent wages by entreating the children with silly comical acts, standard 101 magic tricks and dancing. They sometime double as the master of ceremony much like their forbearers, clowns may coordinate the party’s activities like music, dancing, games, cutting the cake and gift handling.

Street clowns

The man down on luck or unemployed sometimes take on the persona of a clown to solicit funds and beg for alms, the ambiguity that comes with clowning which shields the street performer offers freedom of expression for a performer while earning some much needed wages.

In cinematic depictions the bum character of clowns has be greatly explored, for example the great comedian Charlie Chaplin’s down on luck bum clowning character that gave him international appeal and recognition. Halloween clowns are not performing clowns they merely dress up as clowns for the festivities and are usually children or adults having fun.

Evil psychotic clowns

The evil psychotic clown is the most explored villain in recent cinematic productions; the despot thrives on chaos, mass murder, trickery and paranoia. In the Batman film the Dark Knight, Heath Ledgers depiction of the mad egocentric psychotic mass murderer the joker in my opinion is one of the most exhilarating moments in cinematic history. Heath personifying the joker character especially when he wobbled out off the hospital and the ensuring chaos and frightening explosive destruction has edged its way into my memory forever.

The twisted clown abomination seems to hold greater appeal in film characters than the playful happy go lucky jokester.

Clowning

The clown is the quintessential showman he has to preside over a production or party and coordinate the activity while adding an element of jest, fun and revelry to the occasion. Clowns need to be skillful, properly training, be dedicated to the art form and should have a large array of props gimmickry and jokes to pull of a convincing performance.

Clowning is not easy especially when you consider the hideous costume the performer needs to contend with, so many elements of misdirection through magic, silly jokes and comedy is needed to put the audience at ease. In other words every clown has to be master at juggling, must be a good mimic, and should be a good story teller and comedian,

Other skills involve dancing, slapstick acts, confidence and even ventriloquism, the attitude and characterization the clown projects can be a thin line between a fun -filled day and a dismal outing.

No two clowns look the same they have their own characteristic, personality and appearance, even the stagecraft can be entirely different. Highlighted bellow is general costume and performance props.

1 The clown should have some juggling balls or sticks

2 All clowns favor the outlandish appearance

3 Most clowns wear huge colorful wigs

4 Not all clowns have the classic red nose

5 Most clown come to the party with a bag of magic tricks

6 All clowns need a host of silly gadgets and objects

7 The signature gimmick of clowning is loud nose gadgets like horns and whistles

8 Clowning is not complete without the aid of lots of funny balloons

9 the clown is known for his shocking appearance and distinctive makeup

10 the face is not always covered in chalk or water soluble paint

11 All clowns are known for their exaggerated footwear

12 Clowns are master of slapstick comedy, are great mimics and have loads of humor

#the clown and the Juggling act.

The clown should learn how to throw different objects with precision as part of his performance, not all clown bother to lean the intricate art form and might have to rely on other skills.

#the clown and Slapstick comedy

The clown needs to be an expert at slapstick comedy, clowning is all about unsure steps fumbling and stumbling, gyrating and dancing in foolish ways, the clown is a certified clots at least that’s what the act of clowning entails. A clown is a person who wears funny cloths, has an unusual face, red nose and does silly things to entertain and make people laugh.

#the clown as story teller

Even when the clown acts as a master of ceremony his goal is to keep the audience interested in the act, he does this though skilled presentations story telling and dramatization. The party clown needs to be a good story teller because to keep up the act of magic, stumbling and fumbling can be exhausting; story telling lowers the pace while still entertaining the little one in wondrous tales.

#the clown as a magician

Magical tricks can be associated with clowning; a good clown needs to learn the rudiments of magic acts to pull of a convincing performance. Magic performed by clowns are usually cheesy, low rate and gadget enabled, balloons and the art of twisting them into animal forms is anther skill the clown needs to perfect.

#The clown and props

Without props the clown would be a strange entity that frightens children and leaves others with nightmares, props are the blood of the clowning profession. The kind of props used by clowns are different with each performer but the elements remain the same, such as big bright balloons, flexible balloons, noisy gadgets like blowers, trumpets, whistles and horns.

Some use silly popup gadgets, and funny cards, with lots of confetti and silly enablers, the outfit and colorful wig might even serve as props in the clowns act.

The clown is a highly misunderstood character because of his frightful look and strange forbearance; they come across as pathetic, strange, mysterious, funny and sometimes evil. Beyond the startling looks clowning is a serious profession that involves great discipline, dedication and training.

To be a success clown he/she needs to known a little magic, learn juggling acts, balance his appearance, have a bag of tricks, use lots of silly gadgets and love balloons. Having exaggerated footwear without adding a funny walk, learn how to dance and master comedy while mimicking funny acts is important in clowning.

Standup comics know how difficult it gets telling jokes in order to elicit laughter, but the clown has the responsibility to make people happy while coordinating and directing the affairs of the occasion seamlessly.