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In the short time I've been learning how to be a clown, one thing has become clear: It takes a lot of hard work and concentration to be a funny clown! To the people along the route of Stamford's Thanksgiving Parade, it may look as if the clowns' performances are natural and effortless. Not so. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes before the clowns hit the pavement.
In our recent training class with expert instructors from Cirque-tacular Entertainment, we learned how to put on our faces and create the look we'll show to the crowds.
First up is deciding what kind of look we want. When applying clown makeup, there are two types of faces to paint. One is called "white face" and is just that, white paint all over the face as a base. The second is called "agouste" and only has parts of the face painted, the rest being the clown's natural skin.
The substance used to color a clown's face is grease paint and is so thick even taking a shower won't get it off. As you'll see in the video, putting on my white face was a lot more difficult than I could have imagined.
With the help of the talented Cirque-tacular people, I decided on my look and felt comfortable enough to know that I'll be able to apply my face on Sunday morning before the parade starts.
With face-painting completed, we picked up our costumes and broke into groups determined by our place in the parade. I'm going to be in Group One, and we'll be leading the parade when it starts.
The real work of the class, however, came when we were taught some of the routines and skits. Now we're talking hard work.
Check out the video and you'll see that jumping around in a greasy face and baggy costume isn't easy. It's fun, physical work, but work nonetheless.
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