For my Courlophobic Comrades

As most all of you have realized by now, one of my greater ambitions in life is to become a professional Clown. When I have told people this there are two... no three basic reactions:

1) "Cool!"
2) "What? are you serious?"
3) "I am scared of clowns."

Sometimes there is a mixture of them, but mostly it will be one. It is to those with the last reaction this post is dedicated. (especially to Mad4books daughter)

To me the whole "scared of clowns" and "Coulrophobia" (the official word) thing is weird. I like clowns, and have always liked clowns. I think they are funny and interesting and touching to watch. I think they tell us much about ourselves on a level we shoved in the closet along time ago.

But I know not everyone feels this way. I get told so on a pretty regular basis, by friends, co-workers, and strangers (even when I was in Clown at Art Walk people would come up to me just to tell me!). The problem is that they often still laugh at me anyways when I act the clown. You might say "But Robert, how is that a problem? Isn't that good?" It is, but it is still a problem. Because shows there is a gap between Clowns and the Idea of Clowns.

What is a clown? That is a huge debate. I have six or seven books on clowning and none of them quite agree. My favorite is "Clowning is a credible idiot playing for a audience." Which is John Wright's definition in Why is that So Funny?. That is how I think of clowning.

Unfortunetley as hinted at, the popular idea of clowns is quite different. It has been tied into the trickster archetype which is quite a different kettle of fish, altogether. For starters, the trickster is smarter than his audience. He is a con-man, the opposite of a clown. He will play stupid and be revealed as clever, where as a clown will play smart and be revealed a idiot. There are tricks both ways, but with one the joke is on the audience, and the other the joke is on the performer. The fool and trickster can be thought of two sides of the same coin, but they can never be the same thing.

Even more damning, Clowning has become its symbols rather than the symbols pointing to it. In other words, if you have a big red nose, and a white painted face, you must be a clown. This is as... as... well as foolish, as saying "if you have a white lab coat, and a stethoscope, around your neck, you must be a medical doctor." This is a HUGE problem. Why should be pretty obvious. Once the thing is its symbols, people only pay attention to the symbols and not what they signify. It is probably one the reasons that one of the Ten Commandments bans, graven images. For clowns it means you have to contend with everything people have seen done in a big red nose and white face which is a pretty outrageous and unfair demand. You might say "Why don't you get rid of all that make up and the red nose?" which is where some of the clown world has moved. But, again, the make up and nose is a part of the heritage of the art. It is a symbol of it, and it is practical, since it brings attention to the clowns facial expressions.

Finally we have that ubiquitous authoritative entity known as "The media." The Media, are very a kin to clowns. They are story tellers. Stories are driven by conflict. Clown performances make terrible stories... unless something goes wrong.

"CLOWN BRINGS LAUGHTER AT COMEDY CLOWN SHOW" Boring.
"NO ONE LAUGHS AT COMEDY CLOWN SHOW" Interesting!

So all you hear is the second. Clown characters in movies, TV shows and books are often as not, not clowns, but tricksters or con-men disguised as clowns. But their actions tell all. They are not credible idiots.

Last but not least there is the problem of bad clowns. Not as in evil or un-moral, but as in simply not funny.

Myself included more than I want to admit.

Which brings us back full circle. Never forget that clowns are people. Idiots, dressed up with makeup and unnatural noses yes, but still people. The root cause of fear of clowns is the fact that most people don't actually know any clowns personally. Clowns are something other, not your college buddy, or your co-worker, or sibling or cousin. The ultimate solution is naturally, knowing someone who is a clown. The great thing is, if you are reading this, you do!

One of my favorite things to hear, and I have heard it a couple of times is "Clowns usually freak me out, but not you Robert, I think because I actually know you."

I hope to hear it a lot more in the future.