101 Amazing Facts about Clowns , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Jack Goldstein

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21 pages

English

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From ancient Egypt to the modern-day circus, the role of the clown can be traced throughout history. But how much do you really know about the profession that takes comedy very seriously? This fascinating book takes the reader on a journey through the ages, explaining how clowns such as the whiteface and auguste came to be. You'll read about history's best-loved performers such as Joseph Grimaldi, the father of modern clowning, and learn about the origin of terms used today such as the 'clown alley'. If you want to know why blue make-up is supposed to bring bad luck, and who the literary world's first ever killer clown was, then this is the book for you.

Informations

Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	30 mai 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781785386985
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

101 Amazing Facts about Clowns
Jack Goldstein

First published in 2017 by
Jack Goldstein Books
www.jackgoldsteinbooks.com
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© Copyright 2017 Jack Goldstein
The right of Jack Goldstein to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
All facts contained within have been sourced from reputable sources both online and in print. If any information contained within is believed to be incorrect, please provide details to the publisher who will be happy to make corrections in future editions.

Introduction
From ancient Egypt to the modern-day circus, the role of the clown can be traced throughout history. But how much do you really know about the profession that takes comedy very seriously? This fascinating book takes the reader on a journey through the ages, explaining how clowns such as the whiteface and auguste came to be. You’ll read about history’s best-loved performers such as Joseph Grimaldi, the father of modern clowning, and learn about the origin of terms used today such as the ‘clown alley’. If you want to know why blue make-up is supposed to bring bad luck, and who the literary world’s first ever killer clown was, then this is the book for you.

Clowning Basics A clown is - according to some definitions - a performer who employs physical comedy. However, even this basic explanation can easily be debated, as a clown’s performance is not necessarily comedic, nor is it always physical. Clowning covers so many different areas that it is perhaps best to think of the word clown simply to mean entertainer . There are a number of different types of clown, with some elements of crossover between them. For instance, what many people think of as the classic ‘circus’ clown draws heavily on the auguste character, who is the ‘opposite’ of the more serious white clown. There is also the character clown, with perhaps the best-known example even today being Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp character. Pierrot and Harlequin can be seen as ancestors of the white clown and the auguste, and the mime shares many characteristics with the white clown, but has his own individual traits. Ask a child to describe a clown, and they will most likely talk you through the dress and make-up of an auguste: an outlandish and often highly colourful costume, a wig, again often of a bright colour, larger-than-necessary footwear, and distinctive face-paint. The word for a deep-rooted fear of clowns is coulrophobia . Whilst many adults these days claim such a fear, in psychiatric terms it is reserved for pathological examples, with a number of people suggesting the ‘fear’ as being more of an affectation , in response to the modern use of clowns in a deliberately horror-related context. There are estimated to be around twenty thousand clowns in the world, including both full-time professionals and ‘serious’ amateurs. The etymology of the word clown is unknown. Some believe it comes from the Teutonic clod , meaning someone who is coarse and impolite ; others have suggested it may come from the Icelandic word klunni , meaning clumsy - which is also similar to the Swedish word kluns which has the same definition. The first references we can find that use the English word clown (which admittedly was also spelt as cloyne ) in the sense that we understand it today are from the mid-16 th century. The person widely seen as having popularised modern-day clowning was the 19 th century star Joseph Grimaldi; for many years afterwards (and even today) clowns were known as Joeys in reference to the great man. In America, one particularly well-known type of clown is the rodeo clown. These men (and sometimes women) work in bull-riding competitions and have two roles - to protect riders thrown from the bull, and to provide comic relief for the audience. Larger rodeos often split these jobs across more than one person, whereas in smaller outfits the same person will handle both sets of duties. Rodeo clowns whose job it is to protect fallen riders often wear a barrel - this is used for both comic purposes a