Send
in the Clowns
Movement
and Music Activity
 One
of the origins of modern day clowning is Commedia dell'Arte. Every
culture in the world has a variation of jester, trickster, and clown,
some of which appeared in People Like Me 2002:Face to Face!
Clowns come
in all sizes and shapes. Clowning is a highly physical endeavor,
and a great variety of skills are used in their performances. Some
of these are juggling, acrobatics, unicycle riding, magic, and almost
anything you can think of!
Each clown
in European clowning invents their own character, even in old Italian
Commedia dell'Arte, characters were created by the actors rather
than fitting them into a character that was already written.
There are
many exercises performers use to find and develop their clowns.
It is hard to clown without an audience, so divide your group of
children so some are the clowns and the rest are the audience. After
a time switch the groups so everyone who wants to clown can try.
Here are some
simple clowning exercises:
1) Use your
face to express different feelings. Don't be afraid to exaggerate
-- it's the clown's right!
2) Clowns walk funny. Walking around the room, try several different
walks. See how each one feels. See what clues each walk conveys
to an audience about your clown's character.
3) Don't forget you have a voice, even if you are developing a
silent character. Clowns can make weird noises or speak in imaginary
languages. Carry on a conversation with another clown, all in
your own form of gibberish!
Clown ensembles
mirror activities that we all do, so we can see the mistakes that
we as humans make. We laugh at these problems, and learn not to
make the same mistakes that the clown makes.
A few easy
situations to give your clown characters to act out are:
1) Restaurant
scene. Here a clown waiter and clown chef can serve any number
of clown characters.
2) Clown's parade with a clown orchestra. Use your voices to make
the instruments sound as you play unlikely instruments like hats,
a shoe, a book, etc.
3) Waiting in line. Have several clowns waiting in line for something.
You may decide what they are waiting for, without letting the
audience know what it is. Each clown can have a different attitude
towards the waiting, and towards each other.
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