Class Clowns: Personal truths found while embracing inner jester By Julie Garcia Corpus Christi Caller-Times March 26, 2016

Transcription

1 Class Clowns: Personal truths found while embracing inner jester By Julie Garcia Corpus Christi Caller-Times March 26, *POP * POP * POP * POP* The popping noises and laughter drew people from nearby classrooms to stop and look at what was going on inside Room 141 of the Del Mar College Center for Economic Development. What they saw was a class of clowns-to-be learning the art of balloon sculpture. But what kind of person chooses to be a clown? A mother, her teenage daughter and niece trying to strengthen their connection signed up. A cancer patient enrolled to entertain others and better pass the time in hospital waiting rooms. A couple of Shriners aimed to brush up on their skills. Their ages ranged from 15 to late 60s. Some were naturally shy. Some were class clowns long before they learned to put on the makeup. Most were amateurs with a curiosity about the craft. But by the end of the five-week course, they shared a common bond. They each learned much more than just how to make people laugh. They learned about themselves and who they are behind the white makeup, multicolored costumes and wigs. All of you are in here for a different reason, said instructor Danny Lanky the Clown Kollaja. That s what excites me. With no assigned seats on the first day, the continuing education students tried to choose chairs next to people they already knew. Some sat by the nearest person with a friendly face. Like any first day of school, no one knew what to expect. A longtime clown school instructor, and a professional clown since the late 1970s, Lanky knew from experience the class would loosen up. We get a little friendly in this class; we get close and touchy feely, Lanky said that first day. As clowns, we re here for other people, but we do not exist in a vacuum. Having other people who have a similar clown art interest to share and expand our knowledge is fantastic. Lanky wasn t lying.

2 After learning how to properly apply face makeup, the basics of magic tricks, and how many twists it takes to make a dog out of a balloon (at least four), they became a class of cut-ups. They happily practiced perfecting their spit techniques. There was an incident with a bucket of confetti. A round of fake slaps quickly became a high stakes game. There were also heated debates about the use of glitter. Lanky says Don t use glitter but I use glitter, Alan Honey Jones said with a tone of defiance. I ve been teaching newer clowns how to makeup for years. For group photos, instead of saying cheese they would all line up. They knew exactly what they say instead: Pizza! They became more than classmates. They were clowns. Clowns are cartoons come to life, Lanky said. A Family Affair For some, being a clown is like a riding a (tiny) bicycle. Once you learn, you may fall off a time or two, but you never forget. That was the case for Denise Underwood, who had fond memories of dressing up as a clown with her sister and performing at craft fairs when they were kids. I feel like I ve been a clown my whole life, Underwood told the class the first day. She was situated in between her 15-year-old pig-tailed daughter, Katie, and her niece Christina Moreno, who was wearing a floral crown headband. The Odem mother of two was informed matter-of-factly by Katie that she would be attending Clown School with the two teenage girls. Katie and Christina, also 15, knew another class member, Orlando Valdino Valdez, who owns the Magic Emporium inside the Corpus Christi Trade Center. He told the two Calallen High School freshmen about the course. It was fate. Ever since I was little, we would go to the Shriner circus, and the clowns are what I looked forward to the most. I thought, I wanna do that, Katie said. So when Valdino texted me, I said Yes, I gotta do that, so I dragged these two with me. It s not the first time the trio has bonded over shared interests. Whether it s streetcar racing, shooting rifles or cheering on a family member on the swim team, they do it together. Sticking together has helped them through tough times and grow as a family. Christina, who was shy at first, initially joined the class because her cousin wanted her to. But by the end, the teenager had found and fully embraced her inner clown Mac.

3 I learned that being unserious is actually really serious, Christina said before getting on stage. Her final performance exam at Tuesday s graduation ceremony involved a group skit called Contagious. As usual, she had Underwood and Katie by her side. Christina lives with the Underwoods. That wasn t always the case. Before moving to Odem at the beginning of this school year, Christina moved several times in the Houston area and parts of the Valley. She s still adjusting to living in the town of about 2,500 residents. She s trying new things. For years she grew out her brunette locks until her hair flowed halfway down her back. But two days before high school started in August she opted to chop it off in favor of a pixie cut. The family doesn t dwell on the past. They play with their pets a mouse and hedgehog and the girls run around the house creating havoc. They find ways to make each other laugh. Do you know how hard it is to be serious in this house? Underwood asked. There s also a lot of affection and some good natured pinches. We re a huggy family. Christina didn t grow up with all this constant hugs and I love you s, Underwood said. The trio has plans to perform as a family unit they dubbed Mac Ann Cheese, which is a combination of their clown names. Underwood would like to relay the new clowning skills with her day job as a fitness instructor. Since Underwood s husband, Phil, is a part of the Al Amin Shrine, the family has volunteered at various events. Last year, Katie dressed up as the Easter Bunny for the annual Shriner Easter Party. The invitation-only event is for area children with disabilities and their families. This year, the family brought their new clown skills to the party. Her outfit wasn t serious a yellow wig with bunny ears, overalls with a cotton tail and pink collared shirt but her mission was. Everything we do here is for charity, so that s even more of a reason to be a clown, Underwood said. Phil Underwood, Katie s father and Christina s uncle, said he loves that two-thirds of his family is making the clown transition. We ve always done stuff together, he said. Even if I m not really into it, I do it anyway because I know she d do it for me.

4 The girls and Underwood s son, Cody, have been magicians assistants for Valdino and another fellow Clown School student Benjamin Merlin Woodard. The clowning knowledge will just add to it, Underwood said. (Clown School has been good) for us to be together. It is good quality time, Underwood said. We re already silly on a regular basis. Maybe we make it a profession. The Art of Clowning Like most of the other students in the class the trio didn t initially know much about the profession at all. Lanky and some veteran clowns were there to offer guidance on the basics. There are three types of clowns: white face, auguste and hobo/tramp or bag lady. Don t mix them up, because there is a hierarchy. A clown s makeup is like the cover of a book, Lanky said. When they see you, that s when they re going to know, Now that s a clown! he said. Explore your face. Find your clown character. Years ago, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus conducted a clown college. But since the program shuttered, prospective clowns must rely on the knowledge of veteran ones. There s no official certification or credential for professional clowns. The only way to prove legitimacy is experience and a demonstration of skills, whether it be balloon animals, magic tricks, juggling, miming or makeup and costume. With the dwindling numbers in Corpus Christi s clown alley, or club, the reintroduction of Del Mar s Clown School could not have come at a better time, Lanky said. It was the 13th Clown School and the first in 12 years. I m glad we re going to have a little more thriving funny bone in this community. It s been missing for quite a while, he said. You don t have to be an existing clown to be a member. You just have to promote the art of clowning through self or through individuals who have a strong interest. A Sweet Escape Most people wouldn t look at Alan Honey Jones, a 54-year-old with a blue collar job, and think There s a clown!

5 Jones has worked at Chemours in Ingleside for 30 years. The baldheaded burly grandfather, who sports a red weathered ball cap most days, likes to hunt and work on classic cars. But then he puts on his clown face. His clown name is Honey. Normally, he s quiet, but when he s in clown makeup, he s a different person, said his wife, Vickie Jones. It s a release, Jones offered. Jones has been a Shriner clown with the Al Amin Shrine for 22 years long before he ever took the continuing education course in the 1990s. He said he returns to the class to brush up on his skills and meet new clowns. Their only son, Aaron Jones, performed alongside his father for years as an adolescent. They had a running bit as Honey and Bee until the early 2000s when the boy s interests changed to fixing up old cars, another one of his dad s hobbies. Now 27, Aaron Jones is a Port Aransas police officer, married and a father of two. He doesn t currently have any interest in returning to the clowning world, but he has fond memories of circuses and working parties. The elder Jones is one of 26 Shriner clowns in Corpus Christi. Each goes about three times a year to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Houston and Galveston. You see the kids at the hospital in a different way than others do, Jones explained. You get down on their level and relate to them. They just want someone to talk to and play with. We re glad we re helping them. Almost every temple, or Shrine, has a clown unit made up of men (and some of their wives) who have a passion for bringing joy to children, said Madison Rich, donor development assistant for Shriner Hospitals. It really takes a special kind of person with a great heart and a lot of energy to be a clown, Rich said. Many of the clowns will come in a group to the hospital and just go from room-to-room, department-to-department and do tricks and deliver gifts to the children. Jones wasn t the only Shriner to further his education in Clown School. Billy Bling- Bling Bird has been a Shriner clown for seven years and attended the course. With no biological children, Bird said he felt the children in the hospitals he entertains are like his own.

6 It s what we live for. To travel and visit with kids and make them laugh, Bird said. To make somebody else smile is really fun. Earlier this month, Jones and Bird both competed in the Texas Shrine Clown Association Convention in Wichita Falls. Bird placed second in the senior division for the makeup and costume category. Jones was named the second vice president of the association. He ll assume presidential duties in Jones plans to bring the clown convention to the Coastal Bend that year. Tricks of the Trade The course on becoming a clown covered a lot of ground but not everything. Some of the veterans shared some wisdom. Don t ever belittle your audience, Valdino the magician told the class. Always pick up the mess, always police yourself. Don t use alcohol-based markers on balloons. But he also talked about the life of a full-time performer with no other job. I don t believe you should charge when you re helping out the needy, he said. You should know that you can make more in tips than when you re charging like a mariachi. Also, keep your mouth shut. In the magic world, you never reveal the secret. That ruins the magic for a lot of people, he said.