The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
‘IT’ FACTOR
Clowns can be used to frighten us in Horror, but the traditionalists aren’t scared
When was the last time you saw a clown entertain at a children’s birthday party?
Perhaps not as often since the release of the scary movie remake “It” or reports of suspicious-looking clowns lurking in bushes by roadways last year, but they are still out there bringing the laughs.
Over the years, there have been plenty of beloved clowns — think television’s Hobo Kelly, Bozo or fast food spokesclown Ronald McDonald. Currently, there is even the hipster favorite Puddles, the “sad clown with the golden voice” (who is, admittedly, still a little freaky). However, it’s fair to say that these days, the clowns you encounter in pop culture strike many people as more creepy than cuddly.
Don’t agree? Check out how many Halloween haunts use scary clowns.
But does that mean cute clowns are down and out? We talked to some experts about the state of things for the clown community.
Actually, when ‘It’ first came out, I was getting a lot of calls to perform as a scary clown. … “I do a lot of slapstick,” Triola said. “I keep to the tradition of the old clowns.” — Steve Triola, a clown based in Long Beach, Califonria
Whose clown?
Downtown Clown Steve Triola, of Long Beach, Calif., has worked full time as a clown for the past 22 years and says he hasn’t been affected by a negative image toward clowns.
“Actually, when ‘It’ first came out, I was getting a lot of calls to perform as a scary clown,” Triola said. The requests came from teenagers, college kids and adults, which was fine with Triola, but he focuses on being a fun, happy clown when he’s performing for kids.
“I do a lot of slapstick,” Triola said. “I keep to the tradition of the old clowns. I arrive in a polka dot car and the music’s playing and the kids are jumping up and down all excited.”
David Bridel is the founder and co-artistic director of The Clown School in Southern California. He studied with French master clown and theater professor Philippe Gaulier and has been teaching various disciplines of the performing arts for 25 years.
He said The Clown School has not seen a change in enrollment despite the trend of scary clowns. In essence, he said clown horror isn’t about the clowns.
“What we see in popular culture as a negative framing of the clown is not actually related to the art form at all. If Stephen King wrote a book and they turned it into a film about a plumber who was a psychotic killer, would that mean that no one would ever hire a plumber again?” Bridel said. “I don’t think so.”
However, Bridel understands the psychological reasons behind the fear of clowns and that the costuming is a double-edged sword. It can be appealing to some and scary to others because it hides the person’s real features. The horror genre just builds on a natural nervousness that is already there.
But that’s not the whole story.
Clowns can help
Clown School student Caitlyn Conlin became attracted to the positive aspects of clowning to aid in her work as a healer. She teaches at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts and for a medical clowning program. Conlin and Zach Steel, co-director of The Clown School and the director of the medical clown program, regularly visit area hospitals in the Los Angeles area.
“What I think about scary clowns is there’s room for all of it and there’s a reason why people have made the clown into some kind of monster because in some sense the clown is scary,” Conlin said. “It’s not a socialized human being that follows the rules. It’s not somebody who’s afraid to have total and utter joy, and that is terrifying to some people. It’s not afraid of being stupid or silly. The clown is very free. It’s the purest essence of self.”
When visiting a hospital, Conlin and Steel dress in simple attire and forego heavy makeup in favor of red clown noses. They work with patients of all ages, as well as with staff and doctors. They sing, blow bubbles and goof around, working their way through the entire hospital. If a patient says they don’t want to see them, it’s fine, but a lot of times the patient ends up wanting to play with them later. And it’s not the children who say no, Conlin said, but rather the parents who express concern that their kid will be scared — even when they are already happily engaging with her or Steel.
“There’s something about the clown that allows for this openness and connection. Sometimes we’re laughing and sometimes it’s about playing a beautiful song for someone,” Conlin said. “It’s not all just slapstick. … Sometimes you allow someone to cry.”
Wanting to foster a sense of caring led Vanessa Hidalgo to found The Compassionate Clown Co. in Upland, Calif., in 2009. The business has a roster of 1015 clowns, including Hidalgo’s Joy Joy, who offer games, magic shows, face painting and balloon twisting while sharing their message of kindness.
“Clowns, I believe, embody compassion,” Hidalgo would tell the caller. “That’s what we believe. We’re there to shine light where there’s a little dimness.”
Hidalgo is developing programs to bring The Compassionate Clowns into schools to help combat violence, suicide and other issues.
“How can we bring more compassion to children? I believe it begins with each child,” Hidalgo said. “When you love, respect and believe in yourself, that shines out to others in helping others and making a difference to others.”
And then there’s Crimebo.
The clown prince of crime … education
Michael Perrick of Silver Lake, Calif., is also known as Crimebo the Clown. He had been doing clowning since the early 1990s before joining forces with Esotouric, a Los Angeles company that gives tours on crime, literature, architecture and other topics. Crimebo quickly became a popular guide.
“Crimebo is an entertainer of everything criminal,” Perrick said. “He going to regale you and laugh about some of the most horrific things that have been done by people to people, but at the same time, he’s going to tell you how to avoid it. He’s a purveyor of criminal history, but he’s also an educator on crime prevention.”
Unfortunately, Perrick put Crimebo on hiatus, in part to recover from throat cancer but also due to a social media issue. Someone had been attaching images of Crimebo to postings about scary clowns, Perrick said, though he wasn’t sure if it was done maliciously.
Still, there’s a difference between a clown teaching about crime and clown who commits crime.
“Culture puts too much attention on the scary clown persona. A clown can be anything that the performer is, whether it’s a good clown or a bad clown or a child performer. We have become way too divisive on our imagery in this society to the point where it is ruining us politically and socially,” Perrick said.
“Throughout civilization, there has been the clown character. We need that person that makes us — forces us in a lot of ways — step out of our everyday vision of the world and make fun of ourselves. If we don’t maintain that element of our society, we fall into that trap of self-importance,” Perrick said.
The clown in society
The role of the clown is one that The Clown School’s Bridle emphasizes. Although Clown School graduates have gone on to perform in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Cirque du Soleil and Blue Man Group, many of its students use their education in other ways.
“Everyone who comes to us understands that training as a clown helps you as a performer in any context. Actors, stand-up comedians, sketch comedians, mainstream performers of all kinds, they know that clowning is useful to them and gives them another way to access their creativity,” Bridel said.
Triola, the Downtown Clown, feels secure that the art of clowning will never disappear.
“Makeup is going to change. Even in the last 20 years, it used to be before the full whiteface, you hardly see that any more. Even Barnum and Bailey’s before they closed, their clowns weren’t doing the full whiteface. I don’t do the full whiteface,” Triola said. “(The look) is always going to change, but they’re not going anywhere, they’re here to stay. They’ve been here forever.”
Triola has acquired a space in Barstow where he is creating the California Clown Museum. It will chart the history of clowning, including rodeo clowns, scary clowns, clown tattoos and clowns in advertising.
He hopes to open it April Fool’s Day 2019.