Some wonderful advice that Randy Christiansen makes in his pamphlet Clowning for Christ is: for the first year of performing, don't let your clown character speak. At first, this seems counter-intuitive. After all, how can you tell people about Jesus if you can't talk?
Allow me to illustrate the answer using an anecdote from Kenny Ahern, former Ringling Brothers circus clown. Performing as a clown at the circus, Kenny had learned how to perform without speaking - given the size of the audience, it's simply not possible to speak to the audience without amplification. However, after leaving the circus, Kenny began to perform in other venues - malls, grand openings and so on. Kenny related the story of how he had begun talking during his performances -- he didn't realize how much he was talking until he informed the crowd that for his next feat, he would have to have his full concentration, and wouldn't speak for the next few minutes. The crowd applauded wildly.
What's the point of the story? When Kenny performs, he now uses a minimum of words -- because he doesn't need to use many. His actions speak louder than words. He doesn't have to tell the audience about his clown character -- by his stance, his walk, his expression, he tells them without speaking a word. When he needs to speak, he does. As St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach always. When necessary, use words."
Does this mean that your clown character can't speak? No. But it does mean that your clown character has to learn the skill of communicating without words. Think of Emmett Kelly Sr. sweeping the spotlight with a broom. Think of Carol Burnett's washwoman character. Think of many of Red Skelton's most memorable pantomimes. Think of Captain Kangaroo's Downton Clown, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy. To communicate without words crosses language barriers, age barriers, and many others. It makes your clown funnier, and closer to a 'real' clown. As I've said elsewhere, to be a clown minister, you have to be a clown first.
When starting as a clown, learning to communicate without words is a vital skill. Remember that a clown is not a stand-up comedian. As I've said elsewhere in this tutorial, comedians say and do funny things; clowns do things in a funny way.
Next time, we'll start dealing with an introduction to clown makeup - see you there!
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Bibliography for clown character development
- Be A Clown, by Turk Pipkin (or order it from Amazon UK or order it used from Half.com
)
- Creative Clowning by Bruce Fife, Tony Blanco, Steve Kissell, Bruce Johnson, Ralph Dewey, Hal Diamond, Jack Wiley, Gene Lee (or order it from Amazon UK or order it used from Half.com
- Be A Clown by Mark Stolzenberg (or order it from Amazon UK or used from Half.com
- Clown Ministry Handbook (or order it from Amazon UK or order it used from Half.com
- Everything New & Who's Who in Clown Ministry (with 75 Skits for Special Days) (or order it from Amazon UK or order it used from Half.com
- Finding the Clown in Yourself : Personal Growth for Every Christian by Jack Krall (or order it from Amazon UK or used from Half.com
- How to be a Compleat Clown, by Toby Sanders (or order it from Amazon UK or used from Half.com
- Chaplin : His Life and Art by David Robinson (or order it from Amazon UK or used from Half.com
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