Rosie The Clown
Toronto, ON
Female, 19?
I've been a practicing Birthday Party Clown for 22 years. What other job is there where you can go to a party, have lots of fun, be the centre of attention and get well paid? I enjoy visiting with all kinds of people, experiencing many different cultures and seeing a variety of places. There's never a dull moment. Well, almost never. In addition to birthday parties, I entertain at fairs, picnics, corporate events, club parties, university parties and at any event that sounds like fun.
Hello, Foresserena97,
Thank you for your question about what clowns do at parties. The exciting thing about clowns is you never know what they'll do!
Kids have some favourite activities with clowns. They love comedy, magic, music, dancing, balloon animals, face-painting, puppets, skits, games and silly interactions of all kinds.
The activities depend on the ages of the children and what they like. The first thing I do at a party is meet the children and find out who they are and what mood they're in. Then, I pull out of my bag the things that'll be the most fun for them. I have a money-back Happiness Guarantee, so their happiness is very important to me.
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Hello, Victoria.
It's so exciting to be starting out in entertainment. Have fun!
As soon as you hear the answer to your question, you're going to slap your forehead and say, "I could have thought of that!"
Here it is: Don't get over being shy. Exaggerate it. Ham it up.
Is it children you're entertaining? Most children have experienced feeling shy, and they'll identify with you. When you let them help you not to be shy, it empowers them, and they have more fun.
There's one drawback: When you exaggerate your shyness symptoms until they're silly and entertaining, you'll find that you no longer have the condition. It's a good idea to take notes on your symptoms now.
You can start building on your comic shyness at your next party, until it's comedy gold.
One more thought: Your on-stage persona, Toria the Clown, isn't the same as you. You can give her any trait you like. You can simply give her the quality of confidence.
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Hello, Toria the Clown,
Thanks for your question. Any business takes a few years to get going at full pace. Yours probably will, too.
How are you advertising? Are you putting a good offer in front of interested people? What's the size of your market?
It helps to have a specialty – the thing you become known for – so that your act doesn't fade into the crowd of performers. It's hard for people, who are so busy these days, to remember things, so you need to give them something memorable.
Who are the other entertainers in the area? Have you talked with them?
Good luck!
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Hello, BillKrewer,
I do meet people who act scared of clowns. It's mostly teenagers and young adults. The babies, children and older people I interact with are rarely victims of fear.
Although the frightened teens' friends find the phobia funny, the sufferers themselves probably don't. It's an ironic fear for an ironic age, and it's engorged on shared cultural artifacts of evil clowns.
Beyond that, to your query of why this is happening, my answer is, I don't know.
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Hello, Roger1,
Absolutely, I've seen another clown do a bit that I decided was so good that I would do it myself. For example, I use Groucho Marx's joke on a line of opera, singing, "Reidi piachi, I love you very muchee!" I can't spell that, but people laugh every time they hear it. Marx had an amazing comic brain. To see his stuff is to want to steal it.
I'm grateful that my trademark routines and gags, the ones that arise from personal inspiration, haven't been seen by audiences before my arrival. That would be awful. I wouldn't want anyone in the same market to suck the wind from my sails by copying me.
So no, I wouldn't copy a routine unique to another clown in the same market without permission, and I can't imagine asking for permission to impose in this manner.
Being inspired by another performer's routines, though, and re-imagining them with my own comic sensibilities is a different matter. It's all grist for the mill.
Most routines are legitimately shared in workshops, books, DVDs, videos and are otherwise passed along from one performer to the next. Clowns have groups, called Clown Alleys, where we meet to share favourite bits and tricks. Clowns are, by and large, a generous and helpful community.
We know that the real secret to clowning is not what we do but how we do it.
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Hello, Meredith,
Thank you for your question. I've never seen a birthday party disaster. Have you?
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Hello, Donald.
Thanks for your question. Times have changed, but children haven't changed their minds about what's fun.
There are a couple of pieces of technology I do especially love at parties.
1) Rosie the Clown draws faces on animal balloons with her "high-tech face-making device," i.e. a Sharpie marker. As soon as kids are aware of technology and what it can do, they laugh.
2) Rosie gives relief to charity marathoners with her portable "environmentally-friendly air-conditioner," i.e. a handheld balloon pump. The air feels good when you're hot.
3) iPhone and UEBoom bluetooth-speaker combo. This pair of devices has become fundamental for delivering my entertainment in countless ways. The powerful UEBoom lets me lead kids in dance parades with the music cupped in my hand. Love it.
I'm looking forward to the self-driving, inflatable clown-mobile that won't need parking at parties.
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