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Bringing Your Clown to the Surface

© Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt

You can't be a clown until you've discovered your inner muse. Without bringing your clown to the surface-and learning how he or she acts, feels, and responds to situations-you won't have a reference point to work from when you're trying to entertain audiences.

Fortunately, there is a framework to start from. Traditionally, there are three major clown types. And yet, contemporary clowns are freely borrowing from two or more of these traditional roles in their quest to create a unique clown character.

The three traditional clown types are the Whiteface Clown, the Auguste Clown, and the Character Clown. Here's a brief description of each:

The Whiteface Clown

The primary characteristics of this clown-other than a white face-is his or her sophistication and grace. Mannerisms are refined and limited. Costumes are fanciful, well-matched, and tailored. The Whiteface Clown can be serious, charming, or downright nasty-and is the perfect compliment to the Auguste Clown, who is often nearby. After all, tight-laced straight men require the services of a dippy sidekick to be truly effective.

The Auguste Clown

The Auguste is the "boob" of the act. Audiences expect the Auguste Clown to be clumsy, naïve, and foolish. He or she is the underdog we love to root for. We relish the Auguste's unpredictable and exaggerated antics-as long as they're directed at someone else.

The love/hate relationship between the Whiteface Clown and the Auguste Clown has been the cornerstone of many popular entertainment acts. For instance, in the long-running TV program Seinfeld. Audiences couldn't get enough of George and Kramer (the Auguste clowns) making life difficult for Jerry (the Whiteface clown).

And there are other popular comedy teams that leap to mind: Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, and those cartoon rascals, Tom and Jerry.

The Character Clown

Character Clowns take a sliver of life and blow it expansively out of proportion. Consider the abundance of ample bosoms and behinds sported by many clowns.

The hobo is probably the most well-known Character Clown. But there are also cleaning ladies, tramps (such as the master himself, Charlie Chaplin), doctors and nurses, professors, and musicians.

As caricatures of everyday people, we identify with Character Clowns. We're amused by their play of extremes: ties that are too broad, pants that are too short, jackets that engulf them up to their eyebrows, and wigs that contain no fewer than 100 curlers.

Finding Your Style

Only your imagination limits your choices in makeup, clothing, and accessories. In fact, whittling down your options can seem downright daunting. You might find it helpful to spend some time surfing the Internet or glancing through old books to see how other clowns have applied their makeup and polished their looks.