| It use to be that every person who
dreamed of becoming a clown also dreamed of attending the
Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Clown College. For
30 years Clown College taught the basics -- how to apply
your clown makeup, how to take a pie thrown at your big
clown nose, and to fall down without hurting yourself.
Clown College was the brainchild of Irvin Feld. In 1968,
the clown profession seemed to be dwindling and -- Ringling
Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus had only a dozen clowns,
most of them getting older by the day. Irvin Feld wanted to
make sure there were clowns well into the future.
So the college directors held auditions at colleges and
theatres around the country. Hundreds of would-be clowns
showed their stuff .
The competition was intense. Only 30 new clowns were
accepted into each year's class.
There, they donned large shoes and baggy pants to learn
about makeup, juggling and the fine art of falling down.
They took classes in stilt-walking, gymnastics, juggling,
and mime.
The classes were free and the best of the graduates took
their large clown shoes on the road with the Greatest Show
on Earth.
But the Clown College became a victim of its own
success. In 1998, there were about over a thousand trained
clowns and there was little danger of the profession dying
out. So Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus
decided to stop offering eight-week introductory classes in
funny stuff.
But what's an aspiring clown going to do today ?
Well some of the graduates of Clown College have taken on
the task of teaching the new generation of clowns.
Check out the hyperlink of Clown School. There we have
listed the active Clown Schools that teach the newest
generation of clowns. |
