Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: The preparation
• Part 2 of 3: Finding a job
• Part 3 of 3: Success in your career as a clown
• Tips
• Warnings
• Necessities

Do you like to make people laugh and share your fun with others? Do you enjoy working with children, adults and hospital patients? Do you like to dress up and work with all kinds of fun tools? If the answer to these questions is "yes," then you may well be cut out to become a professional clown. But where to start? Don't worry, just start with the steps in this article.

To step

Part 1 of 3: The preparation

1. Gather your materials. What materials you need depends on the type of clown you want to be. But there are some common tools that are used by many clowns, such as balls to juggle, balloons to make balloon animals, magic tricks if you are a clown doing magic, and other materials you can come up with. You can start with the mainstream stuff and get more original later when you find out who your inner clown really is.
   • Collect the music if it is part of your act.
   • Face painting of children can be part of your act.
   • Are you a ventriloquist? Then make sure you find a good doll.
2. Buy a clown costume. You can buy authentic clown clothes at specialty stores, but if you find it too expensive, start with some colorful clothes. You can often find cheaper clown clothes at a party store, but you can also just put on pajamas in bright colors or look for funny clothes at the thrift store. You can buy the expensive items later if you have already made some money. Don't worry about that now.
   • A clown costume is incomplete without oversized shoes. These shoes are often the most expensive part of the outfit, but you can start with the largest shoes you can find at a thrift store and stuff them with newspapers.
3. Apply your make-up. Not many people know that not all clowns wear face paint. The word clown defines a certain form of comedy, not a make-up style. Most clowns use oil-based paint on their faces because it doesn't come off as quickly as water-based paint. If you choose to paint, here are some styles you can try:
   • The clown with the white face. This is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you see a clown in front of you.
   • The Bassie clown. This type of clown uses makeup that is a bit more fleshy in color, like Bassie.
   • The vagabond clown. This type of make-up is a bit darker, because this clown is always unlucky.
   • The clown who plays a certain role. What kind of clown do you want to be? The crazy professor? Batman's joker? The role you choose determines the color and style of the makeup you use.
4. Decide if you need a sidekick. Most clowns work for themselves, but some are part of a duo, a trio or an entire entertainment group. If you want a sidekick, or if you want a sidekick wants to be, see if you can find another clown to work with.
   • If you decide to collaborate, think carefully about the relationship between the two of you in front of the audience. Thinking about status is a good start.
5. Plan your show. Think about the key laughs you want to incorporate into your show, and think about how you will work towards these funny moments and other parts of the comic storyline. Start by thinking about what problems the clown may encounter, such as a hat that won't stay on his head or a music rest that keeps tipping over. An unexpected turn at the end can work well, and you can use the old three-step rule (e.g., wrong, wrong, success) in an unexpected way. It's like a play, you need a script before rehearsing. Here are some things that clowns often do on their shows:
   • Make balloon animals
   • Mime
   • Juggling
   • Storytelling
   • Ventriloquism
   • Jokes
6. Add magic to your repertoire (optional). If you want to be a magic clown you have to master some simple magic tricks to start with, gradually you can become a better and better magician. You can choose to take a magic course if you are very serious about this part of the profession.
   • But remember that if you want to be a juggling clown, you need more (and often precious) materials, such as a top hat, a magic wand, a shiny handkerchief and so on.
7. Work on your slapstick skills. If you want to add slapstick you will have to practice hard, because there is almost nothing less funny than poorly executed slapstick. The best humor is a reflection of real life, for example, you can talk about bosses, family life or other things that people identify with. Try to incorporate jokes into your show that you know your audience will understand and appreciate!
8. Avoid clown cliches. There is nothing a clown "has to" do. If you want to be successful, try to avoid the most obvious clown tricks unless you can tweak them. Here are some things to keep away from:
   • Slipping on a banana peel
   • Topple
   • Chasing your sidekick
   • Getting drenched by buckets of water
9. Practice your act. Once you have gathered all the supplies and written a storyline, you can start rehearsing. It is very important that the timing of the jokes is just right, and that you can easily recover if something goes wrong. First try out your act yourself and film it so that you can improve yourself. Then it's time to try out your act on a friend you trust. Later, you can show it to your family or a small group of children to see if it works.

Part 2 of 3: Finding a job

1. Decide what kind of clown you want to be. Before you can go looking for work, you need to find out which type of clown best suits your personality. This can help determine how you put your act together and what kind of clients you will have. The kind of tricks you can do depends, for example, on whether you are going to perform for hospital patients, children or adults. You can do different types of course, but you need to know in advance what kind of audience you have. Here are some places you might want to get started:
   • Children's parties
   • Parties for adults
   • Children's hospitals
   • Circuses
2. Go to clown school. There are all kinds of clown schools in the Netherlands where you can follow multi-year courses. If you're really serious, that might suit you.
3. Go to clown gatherings. If you don't have time to get an education, you can go to meetings to talk to colleagues and learn tricks from the masters.
4. Learn from other clowns. You can contact clowns who have a lot of experience and are well regarded and ask if he or she wants to be your mentor. Keep in mind that it is best to find a teacher who suits the type of clown you want to be. A clown can be so good; if he or she is not interested in the type of clown you are pursuing, it makes little sense.
5. Advertise like a pro. If you really want to earn your money with this, it is time to start advertising. Contact the local newspaper and look for places in your municipality where you can hang posters. If you really want to make it as a clown, it is a good idea to master certain marketing and advertising techniques, you will get booked much faster and start making a profit earlier.
6. Start small. First, have a children's party. Ask if the hospital needs a clown. Do a performance on a friend's birthday. By performing in front of a small audience you gain experience and you better understand what works and what doesn't. In this way you also learn more quickly what you can do for a larger audience, and you build self-confidence; indispensable if you want to succeed as a clown.
   • This is how you start building your audience. Even if you've only impressed one person, it can help you move forward.

Part 3 of 3: Success in your career as a clown

1. Consider joining a group of clowns. A group can support you, you can share knowledge, it makes you more credible and it looks good on your resume. Make inquiries about partnerships, because that will enlarge your network and allow you to work on your skills. You can also check out these prestigious international organizations:
   • World Clown Association
   • Clowns International
2. Continue to improve your skills. Hopefully you now have a good act, you become more famous and you also earn some money. But in the world of entertainment, the possibilities are endless! So continue to improve your skills in juggling, acting, storytelling, magic or whatever it is that makes your show special.
   • Don't be smug. There is always room for improvement.
3. Keep working on interacting with your audience. If you want to be the best clown ever, you have to know what your audience wants and how to give it to them. Here are some things you will need to work on to succeed in your career:
   • Understanding your audience's expectations for the quality and authenticity of your performance
   • The ability to speak to an audience without fear
   • The ability to put children at ease
   • Perform without endangering your audience
4. Consider auditioning for a circus. If you want to be a circus clown, you will first have to gain years of experience. But if you really want it after that, you will have to apply, just like for a regular job. So you need a resume, a movie with all your tricks and you will probably have to audition.
   • A circus like Cirque du Soleil is seen as the premier league of the clown world. Don't get discouraged if you don't get it right away.
   • If you are wondering what you has to do To apply as a clown, check out some applications online.

Tips

• Immerse yourself in the mood of a clown! Be funny, sharp, and above all, be nice and friendly.
• If possible, try to interact with your audience. If you let someone from the audience play a role in the game, it is easier for the audience to identify with the performance.
• Be overly dramatic. Pretend that little insults hurt you a lot, like you really like silly jokes, and like you are very upset about having fallen over.
• Try to end your performance with a wild chase

Warnings

• Know when to stop! Sometimes a child is scared, sometimes someone is taken aback. Then it is time to stop and help as you would help as a normal person. Try to keep seeing the difference between your act and real life.
• Do not attempt dangerous stunts, such as tightrope walking with an umbrella, unless you are an experienced stuntman.

Necessities

• A costume - this depends on the type of clown and your relationship to your audience
• Materials - in most cases you will need all kinds of stuff to dress up your performance
• Thick skin, so you can stand it when people say you're not funny
• A good sense of humor