Updated Jun 30, 2025
This kit was created to assist you in completing the Be A Clown Challenge Kit. Included are facts, stories, crafts, games, recipes and information that can be copied and distributed to the participants working on this kit.
The hat is a central part of the clown costume. A hat that is too big or too small for your head is perfect. Your hat can also have funny decorations. The type of hat you wear will indicate what kind of character your clown will be. For example, a wacky chef clown would wear a chef hat, or a clumsy cop would wear a cop hat.
You can be as creative as you want with your coat and pants. Like your clown hat, the more ill-fitted the clothing, the better. Picture a mad scientist clown in a lab coat with sleeves so long that they get in the way of his experiments. Lots of room for hilarity there, right? Like the hat, your suit should be indicative of your clown’s character.
...particularly someone whose feet are bigger than yours! If your shoes are too big for you, you will be forced to walk funny, not to mention you will look ridiculous. Everyone loves a clumsy clown, so pretending to trip over your big feet will only enhance your comedic performance. Just be careful you don’t fall for real!
You can use virtually anything as a prop. As with the rest of your clown getup, the more ridiculous your clown prop, the better. Your prop could help you do a trick (like balls for a juggling act) or it could be a source of conflict (like a banana peel that you slip on). Like the rest of your clown outfit, try to use a prop that reflects your clown’s character. A clown can use as many props as they want or none at all. It’s up to you to use your creativity and sense of humour!
A staple of a good clown is a big red nose. Use the clown nose as a means by which you transform yourself; there are no limits behind the nose. Be as wacky as you want when you wear the nose.
The specific characteristics of a clown’s costume and personality depend on what kind of clown you are trying to be. Clowns will typically wear big, baggy, over-the-top costumes. Their costumes should reveal something about the clown’s personality before the clown even speaks.
Clown makeup is meant to reveal the person behind the makeup, not mask them. The clown’s facial features are heavily outlined so that audience members can see them from far away. A clown’s intelligence varies from one type of clown to another, but they all share the characteristics of exaggerated movement.
There are three basic types of clowns:
The White Face clown is the oldest type of clown. Its origins date back to ancient Greek theatre. Because the lighting in Greek theatres was poor, actors would use white makeup and black paint to accentuate their features. Another common ancestor of the White Face clowns was the court jesters of the Middle Ages. Although court jesters typically wore little to no makeup, their buffoonish behaviour influenced the tomfoolery of the modern White Face clown.
The White Face clown is characterized by a face covered in white paint and exaggerated facial features painted in bright colours. An outrageous wig often accompanies their makeup. White Face clowns are supposedly the smartest kind of clowns, often acting as the ringleader. They are the clown that you most commonly see at the circus.
“Auguste” means fool in German. The Auguste clown is the least intelligent but arguably most beloved type of clown. This type of clown was first developed by Lou Jacobs and Albert Fratellini. The Auguste clown is ditsy and clumsy. Auguste clown acts involve exaggerated movement and a lot of slapstick comedy (for example, slipping on a banana peel).
Unlike the White Face clown, the Auguste clown’s makeup begins with a flesh-tone base. The actor then piles bright, colourful makeup on top to exaggerate the facial features and create a more comical look. The eyes and mouth, in particular, are heavily outlined. Auguste clowns typically wear suspenders, oversized coats, tiny hats—anything ridiculous and over the top. Albert Fratellini first introduced the red nose to his clown look, something which quickly caught on. Nowadays, clowns are easily recognizable by their hilarious big red noses.
The Happy Hobo clown is an exaggeration of the classic hobo or homeless person. Its origins date back to 20th-century America. This type of clown has a “down on his luck” attitude and is often met with misfortune. Contrarily, this type of clown may also be portrayed as having a “devil may care” attitude and an optimistic outlook on life.
The Happy Hobo clown’s makeup is similar to that of the Auguste clown. The clown’s face begins with flesh-tones and then has colours painted on top to accentuate facial features. A Happy Hobo’s face commonly has the addition of a five o’clock shadow, and their costumes are old, tattered and torn.
An ancestor of the modern clown was the court jester. Court jesters
provided entertainment for kings and emperors in royal palaces. Court jesters actually had a surprising amount of political power due to their freedom of speech—they were the only ones who, through jest, could speak out against the king’s ideas and influence his decisions.
Joseph Grimaldi is often referred to as the father of modern clowning. He was born in London in 1778 and died in 1837. Joseph began performing dance on stage at the young age of three years old, and later went on to perform in numerous pantomimes. He is called the father of modern clowning because he played a big role in developing the character that we know today as the Clown. Grimaldi would cover his face in white paint and use colourful paint to exaggerate his facial features. His signature makeup design involved two big red triangles on his cheeks. In his acts, he would incorporate singing, expressive body and face movement, and expert comedic timing. Because of his legacy, the most popular clown nickname in history is “Joey.” Grimaldi was forced to retire in 1823 at the early age of 45 due to bad health. Joseph Grimaldi’s clowning was so well-known that the famous British author Charles Dickens wrote his memoirs.
Joseph Grimaldi is an example of a White Face Clown.
Many refer to Bozo the Clown as the world’s most famous clown. Bozo was not, however, originally a real person. Bozo the Clown began as a character in a children’s read-along book called Bozo at the Circus. He was voiced by Pinto Colvig, the voice actor and previous circus clown who also voiced Disney’s Goofy and the dwarf Grumpy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The book was so popular that Bozo starred in fifteen more books before making his live-action TV debut. Many different actors dressed up as Bozo to meet the demands of his fans across the world.
Bozo the Clown is an example of a White Face Clown.
Charlie Chaplin was born in London, England, in 1889. Chaplin inherited his performing talents from his mother and father, who were both actors. His father died when he was only ten years old, and soon after, his mother became sick. Because of their mother’s illness, Chaplin and his brother were forced to take care of themselves. Chaplin got his first real acting gig when he was twelve, appearing as Billy the page boy in Sherlock Holmes. His career took off from there. He moved to America, where he was offered his first movie contract for a leading role. People loved his acting in the comedy sketch A Night in an English Music Hall and wanted to see more of him. Charlie Chaplin is most famous for his silent films, where he used his body and behaviour to make audiences laugh. Over the course of his career, Charlie Chaplin appeared in eighty-two movies.
Charlie Chaplin is an example of a Happy Hobo Clown.
Back in the 1900s, before radios were invented, songs had a different way of travelling across far distances: singing clowns. The clowns would perform the songs and then sell the music and lyrics to people after their performance.
A circus often has multiple tents set up on the site, but the Big Top is where all the action takes place. The Big Top is the biggest tent, wherein the main circus performances take place. In the early 1900s, setting up a circus required a lot of men, a lot of strength and physical labour, and some efficient teamwork. Circus troupes did not use big trucks and machines; instead, they used horses and ropes to assemble the enormous Big Top.
The Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus was one of the world’s most famous circus shows. This is how they set up their Big Top.
The circus troupe arrived at the location by train. The materials were unloaded by men and carried by horse-drawn wagons to the circus grounds. It takes 60 trained men to raise the centre pole, or king pole, into the air by hand. They secure the king pole into a foundation.
The men use the king pole as a lever and use horsepower to hoist up the other poles.
The men drive 1500 stakes into the ground to prevent the tent canvas from blowing away. Meanwhile, another group of men unrolls the big bundles of canvas and laces them together so that they connect to form a tent that spans 3 acres—that’s about 12,140 square meters!
The groups of men all work together to complete the final step. The ropes from the canvas run over the top of the tent and are attached to 20 powerful horses. When the chief gives the signal, the horses move forward and tug the canvas up to the tops of the poles.
Finally, the tent is standing—and all in an expert 11 minutes! That’s how well-trained the Barnum & Bailey Circus was!
The first week of August is International Clown Week! President Richard Nixon made the proclamation on August 2, 1971, to honour the joy, entertainment, and charity that
clowns give people. Nowadays, people celebrate International Clown Week all over the world by putting on shows and honouring famous clowns.
Have your group try to guess the meaning of the lingo before you give them the answer!
| Bally Broads or Bally Girls | Ladies and girls who sing and dance in the show. |
| Candy Butchers | People who sell candy and snacks before and during the show. |
| Clown Alley | After the clowns put on all their makeup and got ready for a performance, they would wait in the area just outside the door—the Clown Alley—until their cues to perform. DATE: A show’s scheduled performance in a town. |
| Date | A show's scheduled performance in a town. |
| House | The audience is in the circus tent. |
| Itchy Feet | The urge that an off-the-road circus performer feels to get back on the road. |
| Joey | A clown. |
| John Robinson | A shortened performance, usually due to storm warnings or long travel time between towns. |
| Jump | The move from one town to another. |
| Kid Show | A circus sideshow. |
| Kip | A bed. |
| Natives | Local townspeople. |
| Pitchman | A person who uses demonstrations and sales pitches to sell merchandise. |
| Ring Master | The person in charge of a circus show. The Ring Master will often partake in hilarious banter with the circus clowns to amuse the audience. |
| Sell Out | Every seat in the show has been sold out. |
| Shill | A person who pretends to buy a ticket to a game or a circus attraction in order to entice other people into buying tickets. |
| Trouper | Somebody who has spent at least one season working with a circus troupe. |
| Under The Stars | An open-ceiling show without a tent. |
| Wild Cat | When a circus troupe has to suddenly change the location or date of their performance due to unexpected circumstances—“wild catting” a performance. |
| Winter Trouping | Continuing to perform shows during the cold winter months. |
Even though Commedia Dell’Arte was performed by many different travelling troupes, the characters tended to be the same throughout. These characters are called stock characters. Audiences would get to know these characters, their personalities, and what sort of actions to expect from them, as well as the humorous scenarios that would arise from their interactions with each other.
Commedia Dell’Arte actors wore masks that usually covered the top half of their faces, leaving their mouths visible. The masks looked like caricatures—big bumpy noses, big furrowed eyebrows, saggy cheeks. Each character also had a recognizable way of standing and moving.
Commedia Dell’Arte characters are divided into three groups: Masters, Servants, and Lovers. The Masters and Servants wore masks, while the Lovers did not.
The Masters are a pompous group who try to overcompensate for their shortcomings. They struggle to keep up their appearances while at the same time trying to control their servants.
Pantalone is a miserly old man. He pretends to have no money, but in reality, hoards it greedily for himself. He constantly complains about his physical ailments (“My aching back!” “My sore knees!”) in an attempt to garner sympathy from others. He thinks that he is attractive to younger ladies and will try to impress them, only to end up being scammed by them. Pantalone’s goal is for his son and daughter to marry into rich families.
Pantalone stands with his pelvis forward, his knees bent, and his heels together. He can move surprisingly quickly for an old man, especially when his money is being threatened. His hands are always fidgeting and checking his money pouch.
Il Capitano is a soldier who likes to brag about his bravery but is, in reality, a coward. He finds himself to be very beautiful and magnificent, to the point where he cannot understand when other people don’t think so as well. He tells long and dramatic stories about all the damsels he has saved and foes he has conquered. When faced with a real adversary, however, he will try any way possible to get out of fighting, even if it means running away.
When Il Capitano tells a tall tale, he stands straight, tall, and proud. He rests his hand on his sword even though he does not actually know how to use it. When Il Capitano is faced with an actual fight, he cowers away from his foe and moves fast to escape.
Il Dottore is a Doctor by his word alone. He is a pretentious know-it-all who loves to hear himself speak. He claims to know about everything, from medicine to politics to art to history. In reality, Il Dottore knows nothing. He pretends to speak in Latin and Greek but is in fact saying nonsense.
Il Dottore demands the attention of any room he walks into. His movements are broad, and he bounces when he walks. He uses big, flourishing hand movements to express what he is saying.
The Servants are a mischievous bunch. They do not take their masters seriously—in fact, they often find ways to play pranks on them and steal from them.
Arlecchino is a grown man who thinks and acts like a child. He is a prankster who loves to play tricks on his masters and fellow servants, but he is not mean-spirited. Arlecchino is nice and sympathetic to others. Despite being naïve, he is very good at getting out of difficult situations. He wants to please his masters but is easily distracted. He loves food.
Arlecchino stands with his hands on his hips, his back knee bent, and his front leg straight. He takes big, exaggerated steps when he is being tricky. He runs quickly when he is in trouble, kicking his feet forward.
Columbina is a female servant. She is a flirt who likes to trick people into giving her what she wants. She is a rational and self-sufficient character. Columbina is often paired with Arlecchino; however, unlike Arlecchino, Columbina does not have good morals and will take advantage of people.
Columbina stands with her hands on her hips. Her movements are robust and confident.
Brighella is the servant with the highest status. He is a crafty person who likes to trick, scam, and steal from others. Brighella will easily lie to get out of trouble. He has no remorse for his actions and has no problem blaming someone else for his mischief. When he speaks to people, Brighella gets very close to their faces in order to make them feel uncomfortable. He is very lazy but can move quickly if he needs to.
Brighella’s movements are slinking and suspicious. He will often stand still as if ready to pounce on any prey that happens to walk by.
The Lovers, unlike the Masters and Servants, do not wear masks. They are young, usually the sons and daughters of Masters. The Lovers are in their own little world where romance and drama are all that matter. They are preoccupied with being madly in love with each other and are concerned with little else. A Commedia Dell’Arte show will usually have two lovers, a boy and a girl. Their personalities are shallow and predictable. They have flowery names like Isabella and Corallina for the girls, and Flavio, Lelio, and Silvio for the boys.
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This Meeting Plan was researched and written by our intern Sara McGuire.
