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Clowning 101 (2)

Lesson 2

D. Workings

1. Make-up

Only a few rules to go by. Number 1. don’t steal someone else’s face. Make up and design your own face . Don’t look like a punk rocker or make your face scary. You should be trying to get kids to laugh remember! Your mouth should only be as wide as your eyes on your face. There are a few different kinds of clown make-up on the market. You will have to try one to see if you like it and it works for you. The most popular type of clown make-up is grease paint. Clown make-up is different then Halloween make-up. You are going to be a professional, so start out with that in mind. Some people put their make-up on with their fingers and some will use a brush and some will use a sponge or all three. Remember that what you put on your skin will be absorbed into your system so use real clown make-up. Don’t use magic makers or colored ink pens. After the make-up is on then we powder-in, that is putting powder on top of the make-up so it will be dry and not come off right away. All make-up will get soft and mark easy as we perspire and time goes by. There are clowns who use baby powder and others who use a regular clown powder. Some clown powder is for white and some for colors. That’s it till we start putting it on.

2. Type of clowning event

There are many different kinds of events that a clown can be effective in. Just to name a few: Birthday parties, VBS. programs, Sunday School programs, Company picnics, Charities, Promotions, Parades, Church picnics, Hospital visitation, Nursing homes. I think you get the idea. We are only limited when we say NO.

3. Purpose

The call that God places on us will drive us to wanting to be funny. Always wanting to have others laugh at us or think of us a funny. When God puts a call on us it is inside us, but we still have to study, learn and do, to accomplish what he wants. Even Billy Graham had to study, learn and give, to accomplish what God has called him to. So if you study, learn, and practice, you will become what God wants for you. If you are going to add Christian in front of what you are like Doctor, Teacher or Ditch-digger and you go around quoting scripture and preaching and don’t do what a Doctor, Teacher or Ditch-digger does, then what good are you. So if you are to be a Clown and spend an hour getting into clown then and an hour getting out of clown then for (God’s Sake) be FUNNY. Everything that we do should lead to a laugh. Our goal should be the knee slapping, falling on the floor, gut wrenching, bring tears to the eyes and shortness of breath type of LAUGH. Gods word says that laughter is like a medicine, so let us be the best dispensers of medicine that God has in this area OK!

E. Programs

Your program is your plan or list of things that you are going to do and in what order. It could include skits, magic, juggling, tricks or balloons. You need to outline what you plan to do, so that you can do enough things to take up the time that you are given. Your program could also be just walk around or meet and greet. No matter what your program is you will need a few things in your bag or box of tricks.

1. Props

The dictionary says that a prop is a support that keeps something from falling. It could be you that it keeps from falling on your face so we all need some props. A prop for a clown could be bright colored or over sized or under sized. Your prop should be used to help bring the laugh or bring the laugh all by itself. I have a smaller hat pinned to my wig under my bigger hat so that when I fall down or just take my big hat off people see the smaller one and it always get a laugh. It cost 50 cents at a craft store and it works every time I go out. Every time you go out shopping look at things that could be used for a laugh. You have the gift of seeing every day things as something that could be funny, so start using that gift.

2. Skits

Skits are a piece of work that has a beginning, a middle and an end. It can be for teaching a message or just being funny and entertaining. A skit can be in mime or it can be a talking skit. In a good skit you will see the three different parts and the end will be unexpected. Skits need to be practiced and practiced and practiced again to get your timing and patter just right. A good skit can be ruined by bad timing or a missed line. Even being in the wrong place on stage can stop a skit cold. Rule no. 1. and this goes for any time you put your red noise on, keep your hands above your waist at all times. Hands hanging down show a dead clown and hands above the waist show an alive clown. REMEMBER hands up. Rule no. 2. wether you are clowning with others in a skit or just a walk around DON’T up stage your partners, or you will always be looking for new partners. They will just find something else to do when you ask them to help you. Anything over one is a team, so act like a team and not a one man show.

3. Magic

You should learn to do a couple of tricks and practice them till you can do them well and have some kind of patter to go with it. If you tell people that you are going to do trick no. 2 now they will not be impressed at all. Learning to put patter with your trick enhances it and makes it more fun. Don’t say, and now for my next trick watch and see if you can see this one. Say something like Oh I was at the beach yesterday and you will not believe what I saw this guy do. Make your patter sound like it is something that you would say to a friend and make it fit with the trick so it will be more believable. The trick is what you do the patter that goes with it, makes it funny or more believable so that the ending can be more of a surprise.

…….Bob-O