Be A Clown !

It's been seventeen years since I attended the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Clown College in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Right around this time seventeen years ago I was in the middle of some intensive circus clown training. We had classes in mime, clowning, acrobatics, juggling, make up and so much more. In honor of this anniversary-ish time, I'll be posting photos, clippings, notes and anything else from the class of 1993. Mind you, it wasn't easy taking many photos at clown college because your in class so it would have been kind of awkward to try but we managed a bit.

I'll start with a clipping from the San Antonio Express News covering the audition for Clown College at the Freeman Coliseum. I went to that audition very prepared. I had been to a Clowning workshop in Virginia just a few weeks before that was taught by several circus clowns including Glenn "Frosty" Little and Leon McBryde, both of whom had attended the school and toured with Ringling. Frosty had, in fact, been in charge of both the Red show and Blue show unit clowns for Ringling as well as teaching for many years at the Clown College. Frosty taught us several gags at the camp. I performed one at the audition that required two people so I taught it to Chad since he would be auditioning too.

The props were simple as was the premise. One clown is sitting on a chair reading a newspaper while the other is sweeping. The gag is a pantomime that requires perfect timing. You see, the clown that is sweeping soon becomes obsessed with killing a fly that is tormenting him. All the while the other clown is so involved in reading the paper that he's completely unaware as clown two swings his broom dangerously close to his head, not once but several times. He only misses hitting him because the sitting clown will reach for something to his left or right or lean forward at just the right time as the broom swings over his head.

The trick was that the clown reading the paper never looks in the direction of the second clown. Each and every move we did was choreographed right down to the number of pages turned before Chad moved to the distance I stood from Chad as I swung at the fly. Both of us had to be clueless to the other person because we were so focused on the task at hand. My swings had to look very real too. I couldn't hold back otherwise the gag would no longer work. The audience had to believe that there was a real element of danger. If we missed the timing by just a second Chad would get clocked by my swings that would make Babe Ruth proud.

We did the gag perfectly that afternoon. And as we were doing it I could hear sounds of recognition coming from the clowns watching as we did the gag they knew so well, especially Greg De Santo who had worked with Frosty for many years. I had a great overall audition that day and I felt I had really nailed it, as they say. But I think what may have gotten me in was that gag I learned from Frosty Little and I guess the fact that I didn't crack Chad's head open helped too. Thanks Frosty. I owe you big. Hatareenee!!