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November 26, 2007

When it comes to clowns, Heidi Sheputa from Stoughton is no shrinking Violet

The Enterprise
by Paula Chan

Violet the Clown wears a curly violet wig and huge violet shoes, and just in case this isn't sufficient for name-recognition, the word “Violet” appears directly over her giant heart.

Heidi Sheputa, a Stoughton resident and mother of five, has been a full-time professional clown for more than 15 years. This year Violet's family rescheduled her birthday party so she could donate her face-painting and balloon-artistry to Birthday Wishes, a Newton organization that provides birthday parties for homeless children.

“Can I show you one more thing?” Violet asked each child after presenting him or her with a balloon animal. “You can balance it on your nose.”

Violet says she isn't one of those loud, horn-tooting clowns.

 

“I'm just a person with an interesting job and an interesting family,” she said.

Eventually, however, she admitted that she's really half-clown and half-human.

How did it happen? Once upon a time, Violet was a banker.

“But when I became pregnant I was like, I'm going home, I'm going to stay home with my kids,” she said. “Being Violet gives me that opportunity.”

She was just looking for a job that would allow her to be home with her children during the week. One day, the clowning world came and knocked on her door.

“I went to the phone book and I called a clown and asked her if she would come to my daughter's birthday party,” Violet recalled. “And I talked about what she did, and I thought, 'I'm definitely cut out for this.'”

The clown told Violet it was a shame that she couldn't attend the Shriner's Clown College in town that weekend because she wasn't a Shriner or a Shriner's wife.

“And I really thought, 'No one tells me I can't do anything',” said Violet. “So I called all the hotels and found the one that had the clown convention, and I said, 'Can I speak to the president of that organization, please?' ”

Violet finally convinced him to let her participate, and she drove to the convention with two daughters through a snowstorm in a rickety old minivan. She sewed her own first costume.

“Being a clown has changed my life,” Violet said. “This has just been the best solution.”

In the years since, all five of Violet's children have attended clown college.

“It's parties, pretty much,” said Violet's daughter, Arianna. “They teach you how to walk into walls and not hurt yourself.”

Violet has found her niche in working with children six years old and younger.

“I do silly stuff where the kids know what's going on and I don't,” she said.

“Clowns have a reputation for being sort of fumbly and making mistakes. What I try to do is always make the kids the ones who make (the magic trick) happen, so I'm still in my character of not getting anything right, I mess up things, I mess up their ages intentionally.”

According to Violet, children of that age love knowing more than a grown-up, especially a grown-up with a bright red nose.

“Are you married?” Violet asked a five-year-old-girl.

“No,” the child solemnly responded.

The kids at the Birthday Wishes event kept coming back when their balloons popped from being played with too vigorously. Violet never encouraged the children to be careful with her creations.

“My primary goal as a clown is nurturing and loving. I always try to make the kids feel very important and make sure everybody gets eye contact, name recognition, and respect,” she said.

“Being a kid isn't easy. Sometimes kids struggle with some very difficult things. I love to just make the kids feel good. Making people laugh is my favorite thing.”

Even the youngest children seemed less frightened of Violet than they did the other strangers present in the gymnasium, perhaps due to the warmth of Violet's personality. Or maybe it's her outfit.

“I'm a mommy clown,” Violet emphasized. “That's why I don't wear gloves. I tell the kids, see my hands? I'm just like your mom; I'm just a little different. I never want them to be scared.”

Violet the Clown has a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, but no one has ever asked for his or her money back.

“I'm very lucky. Repeat business is probably the biggest part of my business, so that right there is a huge compliment.”

Violet's most ambitious addition to her bag of tricks is called Teddy Town, which is something of a misnomer, as children can choose, stuff, and accessorize anything from a unicorn to an elephant to a frog.

“We bring everything to you,” said Violet. “So it's all about convenience and affordability. And the kids love it.”

What is the secret behind all of Violet's magic?

“I can't tell you that,” she said.

Posted by /0/ at 03:38 PM |

November 25, 2007

Clownzilla takes on the holidays

OC Register
by ERIC MARCHESE

So, the winter holidays are barely here and you're already bracing yourself for an onslaught of "Christmas Carols" and other assorted holiday fare at your friendly neighborhood theaters?

Perhaps a dose of Clownzilla is the antidote.

The clown troupe, replete with white faces, bulbous red noses and nearly all-black clothing, takes on the holidays with "Clownzilla: A Holiday Extravaganza," its second production at Rude Guerrilla Theater and second show overall.

This show may be loosely "about" the winter holidays, as well as many others plucked from any American calendar, but its subjects are far and wide-ranging. Like the great silent film comedians, these clowns never speak (other than via supertitles), and just a little of the troupe (80 uninterrupted minutes) goes a long way.

In trying to present a roughly alphabetical list of holidays, the troupe has given itself an admittedly tall order to fill. The obvious – Halloween, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, Easter – are easy to depict, but what about K? "Kinky Day." Q? Easy: "Quick Day" (which passes in the blink of an eye).

And so we go, through Yo-yo Day, O.C. Day (for Orange County), Unbelievably Bad Teeth Day – a complete Clownzilla roster, from Arbor Day to Zilla Day.

X gives us X-Mas Day ("C" is reserved for Chanukah) and a chance for the troupe to offer some fine funny business as well as a slower, more contemplative look at this holiest of days.

The show's story line, if it can be said to have one, is that of a family of sad clowns who discover joy through their observances of the holidays. There's mother and father (Adrienne Mueller and Heraclio Pimentel Jr.,), Brother and Sister (R.J. Romero, Betsy Mugavero), Baby (an ingratiating Elizabeth Graciano), Uncle Fank (Frank Miyashiro) and the family's maid, Molly (Cambria Beilstein).

Written and created by this septet and director Eli Simon, Clownzilla's artistic director, this "Extravaganza" offers an inspired idea: that happiness can be found in an "A to Z Book of Holidays."

The humor ranges from all-out slapstick to political commentary (Presidents Day opens the door to a series of George W. Bush malapropisms) to raunch to the kind of sad-clown technique perfected by Emmett Kelly. Yet with a hit-or-miss philosophy, only some of the show's continuous stream of jokes and gags hit the bull's-eye.

All seven clowns are physically agile, easily capable of switching from frantic activity to more sedate goofing. Precious few of the gags require more than a few props and minor costume changes. With Clownzilla, there is no fourth wall: troupe members always play to us, even circulating among us.

Mugavero, Romero and Beilstein perform with ease, while Mueller shows the maternal instinct's aggressive side. The diminutive Graciano's endearing Baby is an adorable imp who adds to many of the evening's best moments, doing the Mexican Hat Dance to honor "Fivo de Mayo," grilling mom with typical kid questions on Mother's Day, functioning as the horns for the bull (Mueller) during "Running of the Bulls Day" and playing Cupid on Valentine's Day.

Vincent Oliveri's sound effects and original music and a series of black-and-white supertitles lend a silent-movie flavor to the proceedings. Holly Poe Durbin (costumes), Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz (lighting design) and Alex Phillips (stage manager) help maintain that illusion.

If you think that clowns are not your cup of tea, give this troupe a look anyway, because they may surprise you. Not only that – they may also touch something inside you relating to your own holiday experiences.

Posted by /0/ at 02:54 PM |

Clown laughs at life

Contra  Costa Times
by PAUL THISSEN

When professional clown Linda Thaxter performs, she wears flamboyantly odd hats, plays with a rubber chicken and jokes about bodily functions. Her audiences of octogenarians love it.

Laughter is important, she tells them, but "make sure you wear your Depends."

Thaxter, an Orinda resident, speaks to groups of seniors around the Bay Area to encourage them to keep a positive outlook on life despite whatever difficult or painful situations they may be in.

"Life is too short to be hard on yourself," she told a Lafayette audience..

As a breast cancer survivor who suffers chronic pain from another medical condition, she's no stranger to the difficult situations. But she's still upbeat.

"If you laugh about things instead of cry about them, it helps you," said Thaxter, who is 60. "I'm real proud of the fact that I'm still alive."

She has been a clown for 27 years, starting out doing children's events because her husband thought it would be a good way to make money. She received what she calls "biblical clown training" at the Pacific School of Religion.

She even finds humor in hospital stays, she said.

On one of her first days in the hospital for breast cancer treatment, a nurse came to her room and said he was to give her a bath, she recently told an audience.

The nurse was an 18-year-old man working his first day on the job, she said. She told him: "I'll give you a bath first, then you can give me a bath."

He ran away, Thaxter said.

Her encouraging jokes and stories resonated with audience member Maria Mears.

"She's courageous to make fun of herself," said Mears, who lives in Walnut Creek. "She doesn't seem to be embarrassed about what happens when you age."

Thaxter's presentations are sponsored by Nightingale Home Care, a home-nursing company based in Pleasant Hill. They are offered free by the company as a community service, she said, asking only for a minute at the beginning to advertise the company.

She speaks two or three times each week, she said, at such places as the Lafayette Senior Services Center, retirement homes and cancer societies.

In between jokes, she gives advice: Learn how to say no, tell someone about your burdens and make a list of things to be thankful for each night. But she never sticks with the serious advice for long before lapsing into another funny story.

After asking audience members to share what they were thankful for that day, she told them her favorite response from a woman in a previous audience: a successful trip to the bathroom.

 

Posted by /0/ at 02:18 PM |

Clown Corps love a parade

Toledo Blade
by RYAN E. SMITH

If you ever get in a tight spot and need a balloon animal - fast! - Russ Wood is your man.

"I could make a dog in under five seconds if I needed to," he said.

Good thing, too, because as a member of the Distinguished Clown Corps who will take part in Toledo's Downtown Holiday Parade on Saturday, his services will be in demand. Fortunately, he's developed quite the repertoire.

"You can do a giraffe, dog, apples, hats, swords, pregnant poodles, bumblebees, hummingbirds ... [and] snakes!" said Wood, who is senior vice president for Huntington Private Financial Group. "Snakes are easy."

He expects to be joined by more than 70 other local executives turned clown-for-a-day who are part of the Clown Corps when the parade kicks off at 11 a.m. Each clown's company donates $500 to support the parade, and each clown is repaid in smiles.

"It's absolutely awesome to see the kids' faces," Wood said.

Leading the 90-minute parade this year will be Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr., who lives in Napoleon with his wife, Crystal. As the grand marshal, he will join some 50 units as they march through downtown before tens of thousands of onlookers.

The event, which will be televised on WUPW-TV, Channel 36, is expected to feature eight marching bands, four giant helium balloons, and an early visit from Santa, according to Julie Champa, executive director of CitiFest Inc., which organizes the parade.

And, of course, the Distinguished Clown Corps will be there in force, as they have been for the last 20 years, when they formed to underwrite and reincarnate the parade at a time when it had not been held for a number of years. Some members also take their act to local hospitals afterward.

Bob Savage, general chairman of the Distinguished Clown Corps who is from Savage & Associates Inc., has been involved from the beginning. You just might not recognize him in his green and white clown outfit, which includes shamrocks and more.

"My hat must be 18 inches high. I have pink hair," he said. "I'm just a lovely sight."

Savage said he tries to spend time with kids along the route who look like they need the attention the most.

He doesn't talk during the parade - Savage is a mime - but he doesn't need to in order to bring a smile to the faces of young onlookers along the route. When it's all over on Saturday, this businessman's smile could be as big as theirs.

"I have a great time," he said. "We're all little kids inside."

Posted by /0/ at 02:13 PM |

Clown Corps grows into an extended family

Detroit Free Press
by LINDA ERB

 

It's the one day of the year you don't need to take John Landis seriously.

On Thanksgiving, Landis and other corporate types, community leaders and bigwigs trade in briefcases for baggy pants, foam noses and, well, really big wigs to march in America's Thanksgiving Parade, which begins at 9:30 a.m. at Woodward Avenue and Mack in Detroit.

As for Landis, managing director of the PrivateBank and grand jester of the 2007 Distinguished Clown Corps, you'll know him by the custom-made maroon and gold neck ruffle.

"And my mother said I'd never amount to anything," he said.

This year's 1.5-mile trek marks the 24th appearance of the Distinguished Clown Corps. And with 126 members expected to march today -- 40 of them newly minted -- the corps is the largest it has been in years and nearly twice the size it was a decade ago.

That's because of junior-generation jesters such as twins Joshua and Jason Kanter. The 22-year-old Michigan State University seniors will accompany their grandfather Austin Kanter, a 21-year veteran clown and president of Kanter Associates insurance agency.

At least 11 other veteran clowns will be accompanied this year by sons and daughters and grandchildren.

"This is truly becoming a legacy," Landis said.

And sometimes even a romance.

Landis' son Kristopher, a Farmington Hills police officer and third-year clown, made his way through the crowd to his girlfriend two years ago.

He tugged out a ring. "Will you marry me?" read the sign behind him.

Perhaps it was the shock of the question. Perhaps, too, it was being asked to marry a man in a giant, spotted hat and ruffles.

She stared, Kristopher Landis recalled, but answered yes.

With families and friends joining veteran clowns, the corps is not only growing, it's deepening its roots, said Joan LeMahieu, president of the Parade Co., which organizes the parade each year.

"It's that the next generation are engaging," she said. "They've watched their parents having fun and they say, 'Why not?' "

Each clown has shelled out -- or found a sponsor for -- the $1,000 fee to be part of the corps. The money is sifted back into the Detroit-based Parade Co.

Traditionally, the distinguished clowns are some of metro Detroit's most important leaders -- bankers, attorneys, business owners and public servants -- whose jobs are to ensure the region's future.

But today's duty? Beads.

The corps is responsible for distributing 300,000 glittering beaded necklaces to the crowd, and the clowns got a head start Wednesday by handing them to travelers at Metro Airport.

The beads, the 5 a.m. wake-ups, the baggy drawers and the thick slathers of white paint are as inextricably part of Thanksgiving as a turkey dinner.

"It just becomes a routine," said Syd Ross, veteran clown and president of the General Wine & Liquor Co. "There are certain things that mentally get you ready for the holidays."

And as with any tradition, he and other clown elders have begun to pass down the trade secrets.

Wear comfortable shoes, advised Linda Orlans, president and owner of Orlans Associates, who with her best friend and daughter had rhinestones studded into their matching Nikes.

Layer underclothing, suggested Ross, who remembers all too well the year when "it was snowing sideways."

And be mindful of the limitations of a one-piece suit during the two-hour trek down Woodward, said the elder Landis.

"It only takes one year to learn: Don't drink a lot of liquid before you leave," he said.

And above all, have lots of fun.

The last guideline seems as natural as the afternoon's football games and the post-pumpkin pie nap.

"It's early, but you get down there and you see what's going on," Jason Kanter said. "It's like it's in the air. It's special. It's unlike any other day of the year in Detroit, and it's great to be right in the middle of it."

Posted by /0/ at 02:00 PM |

Principal helped students laugh and learn

The Ark Valley News
by CHRIS STRUNK

Bruce Anspaugh has been a cow, a skydiver, a clown, a crusty farmer and a pretty good dancer.

Now, he’ll add former principal to his cast of characters.

Anspaugh, who has been making education fun at West Elementary School in Valley Center for nearly 20 years, announced his retirement this week. He will step down Dec. 31.

“I will really miss the kids,” Anspaugh said. “They’re just a lot of fun. We have a lot of fun together. We do a lot of dumb things.”

Like the chicken dance in the lunchroom on Fridays.

Anspaugh said creating a fun environment — like the year he made a tandem skydive onto the school playground because his students did well on a reading program — helps kids learn. It’s good for him, too.

“It helps me develop relationships of respect, compassion and trust,” he said. “Kids mind well, but they also know that I sure stick up for them no matter what.”

Anspaugh’s job hasn’t always been fun and games, however. He helped guide a school-wide initiative to improve state test scores. Last year, West achieved standards of excellence on state reading and math assessments.

“It’s a challenge, but that’s why you’re here,” Anspaugh said. “The ultimate beneficiaries are the kids. We don’t build schools for adults.”

Anspaugh, 65, grew up in northcentral Kansas and went to Kansas State and Fort Hays State, where he earned his education degrees. He taught elementary school in Goodland and Liberal and was a principal in western Kansas and northern Minnesotate before coming to West in 1989.

In retirement, Anspaugh said he plans to spend more time on his farm and with his and his wife’s photography business.

The district has hired an interim principal at West for the second half of the school year. Carol Hadorn is a retired elementary principal from Wellington.

A search process is under way for Anspaugh’s permanent replacement. Superintendent Scott Springston said he plans to meet with staff and parent representatives to develop a list of attributes the district wants in a principal before the formal interviews begin.

This school year started with two new principals (at Abilene Elementary and the middle school) and three new assistant principals (one at the middle school and two at the high school).

Posted by /0/ at 01:51 PM |

Volunteer clowns prepare for Sunday balloon parade

The Advocate
By Wynne Parry

STAMFORD - Dove Burns smiled and frowned into a hand-held mirror, trying to visualize her future clown face.

"You are not becoming something else," Adam Auslander, a professional clown and performer, told his student at last night's clown training session held at UBS.

  Hilary Chaplain demonstrates laughter techniques as two clown trainees watch. Click image to see slide show.
(Paul Desmarais/Staff photos)

 

To find a look for Sunday's holiday balloon parade, Auslander advised Burns to find her own qualities and make them bigger.

At least 36 volunteer clowns are expected to perform during the annual event, sponsored this year by UBS.

They are charged with warming up the audience before the parade, filling in the gaps and ending the celebration with a grand finale.

"The only part of the parade that can go and touch the crowd is the clowns," said Nan Waite, 60. Green and purple braids framed her face from atop a shower cap.

Her clown regalia also included the white coat and "Dr. Loosi Goosi" name tag she wears while volunteering as a clown at Stamford Hospital.

At a table nearby, Burns, 28, had settled on three black freckles on each cheek, red on the end of her nose and white around her eyes. Bright red ringlets hung from her wig.

Now a lawyer, she sang opera for 13 years. She heard about the openings for clowns from friends.

"I think it will fulfill some of my sadness for not performing," she said.

After about an hour, all of the 18 clowns present last night had themselves fully put together and were ready for instruction.

In a parade, clowns have a few rules: Use lots of powder to preserve your makeup; make eye contact; don't approach people who seem uncomfortable with clowns; when pretending to step on a fellow clown's foot, straddle it.

Auslander and Hilary Chaplain, another instructor, shared their advice and led the clowns through some exercises. Chaplain had one group gradually build laughter, stopping suddenly, then roaring louder. The other group did the same, but ended wailing in sadness.

"It's playing with emotion," she said afterward.

Expanding the feeling from understated to exaggerated allows the clowns to maintain a kernel of truth, while the sudden shifts create humor, she said.

After practicing routines and a few whimsical dance moves, including the Charleston, clown trainees finished their rehearsal.

These clowns' mission is a universal one, Auslander said. "Society tells us to behave, and I think most of us want to break out of that."

Posted by /0/ at 01:43 PM |

Clown brings smiles to blood donors

TheStar.com

BOREDOM naturally sets in while queuing up, in this case, at a blood donation drive at the Bukit Merah Laketown Resort but Shahrizad Wahi Kamal, a clown, made sure that it would not happen. 

Smiles were aplenty as Shahrizad, a 27-year-old deaf and mute, armed with a toy mi-crophone, took on the role of a TV reporter, ‘interviewing’ the blood donors.

 

 

Earlier, Shahrizad, who resides in Simpang, Taiping, said via hand signs that he had earlier donated a pint of blood too but decided to stay back to amuse the donors comprising staff members from the resort. The resort’s assistant public relations manager, Ai Leen Tan, was the interpreter.

“Shahrizad had never donated blood previously but agreed to do so after being en-couraged by his colleagues from our entertainment department,” said Ai Leen.  

Shahrizad also told Ai Leen that he would be able to hear things if he had a hea-ring aid but could not afford to buy the gadget costing over RM600. 

A total of 45 people, including 12 students of Bukit Merah Institute of Allied Science, donated their blood.  

Ai Leen said the campaign, involving mostly staff members of the resort, began two years ago. 

Posted by /0/ at 01:39 PM |

November 18, 2007

Clowns are in stitches over safer-style bike lane

The Villager
By Jefferson Siegel


On Nov. 3, the Time’s Up! Bicycle Clown Brigade celebrated New York City’s first Copenhagen-style bike lane, on Ninth Ave. between 16th and 23rd Sts., with a Bike Lane Liberation Ride.

In the new, seven-block bike lane, cyclists are physically separated from motor vehicle traffic by a lane of parked cars.

“We applaud the new Department of Transportation commissioner’s commitment to improved bicycle infrastructure. Now it is up to the N.Y.P.D. to enforce the law and keep the bike lanes clear of motor vehicles,” said Judy Ross, a Time’s Up! spokesperson.

The cyclists toasted the lane with apple cider in champagne glasses while eating homemade vegan peanut-butter cupcakes with soy chocolate icing. They held a sign reading, “We the Bike Clowns proclaim the Ninth Avenue lane car-free! Long may it grow and flourish a whole bunch more.”

Their day started with a ride through the Village and Chelsea, where they “ticketed” motor vehicles parked in bike lanes in violation of New York City Traffic Law Section 4-08 (e), which prohibits parking, standing or stopping in bike lanes and mandates a $115 fine.

Posted by /0/ at 09:45 PM |

November 14, 2007

RozZi the Clown at library

Santa Paula Times
by SUSAN BRANHAM

Santa Paula community teens got to “Laugh Out Loud” with RozZi the Clown as they celebrated Teen Read Week 2007 at Blanchard Community Library in October. “This is a special event for teenagers,” Ilene Gavenman, Young Adult and Children’s Librarian, said as she introduced RozZi to the teens. “‘Laugh Out Loud’ at your library is a reminder that even though you’re older now, it’s really good to read for fun. How fun it is to bring joy and laughter to other people! We have a lot to learn; it’s going to be fun.”

 

RozZi’s cheerful laugh and bright costume brought a smile to everyone, as the teens learned about the performance art of clowning from an expert. “I was born in California,” RozZi told the kids. “When I was little our family lived under a flower shop. The lady who ran it was so nice, and she was always giving things to kids. I remember her kindness and generosity. When I give away balloons, I want to make people feel special like she did.”

The teens learned how to sculpt a balloon animal, saw a face-painting demonstration, enjoyed magic tricks and jokes and saw a rabbit being pulled from a hat. They also learned about the magic of reading. “Anything you can think of, anything you want, you can find books about it at the library,” RozZi said. She quoted her hero, her mother, an avid reader of books: “The more you know, the more you grow.”

Books teaching magic tricks, juggling, and make up art were available for the teens to check out and take home. Some of the books featured for check-out were “The New Calliope,” “Ambassadors of Joy,” and “Clowning Around.”

RozZi learned the art of clowning from clown college home study courses. She is a member of “The Clowns of America International” and the “World Clown Association.”

Teens also learned about the “Citrus Capital Clowns” Club. The group plans to participate in events and fundraisers in the Santa Paula community. “Citrus Capital Clowns” Club members will have the opportunity to learn magic, balloon animals, costuming and make-up, and props and skits as well. Their mission is to promote the art of clowning, spread cheer, make people happy, make them laugh and, hopefully, brighten their day.

RozZi and the “Citrus Capital Clowns” Club invite the teens to join them and participate in the Santa Paula Christmas Parade on November 24. “My goal is to have a dozen clowns in the Christmas Parade,” said RozZi. “We have some costumes available or you can come in PJ’s.” Those interested in learning more about the “Citrus Capital Clowns” or participating in clown costume in the Christmas Parade can call RozZi the Clown (Darlene Berry) at (805) 794-1030.

Posted by /0/ at 02:37 AM |

Clowning around for children in need

Lynn News
by MIKE LAST

CHILDREN'S entertainer Sally Beadle wants to bring a smile to young faces this week by dressing as a clown for the BBC's annual Children in Need appeal.

The 35-year-old mum-of-two will be wearing her Crazy Bananas the clown costume and carrying a small Pudsey Bear mascot, wherever she goes, until Friday night's big fundraising night on television.

Ms Beadle, who recently moved to The Grove in Pott Row from Thurrock in Essex, said her sponsorship money would be split between Children in Need and a local project to provide a new play area for children in Pott Row, Grimston, Congham and Roydon.

"I have a three-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter and they are looking forward to being able to play on the new swings," she said. Ms Beadle once wore a Pudsey Bear costume for three days to help Children in Need and said she was looking forward to "making children smile because that's what clowns do".

She intends to be dressed as a clown even when taking her children to school and preschool, shopping in the supermarket, visiting the Salvation Army and going to karate classes, a local mums and toddlers group and a children's disco.

"I will also be turning up for Sleeping Beauty pantomime rehearsals with the Fourville Players in clown costume," she said.

Budgens in Dersingham is asking customers to dig deep in their pockets for this year's Children in Need appeal.

Owner Jonathan James is offering them the chance to win a two-minute trolley dash around the supermarket on Friday evening.

Tickets for the draw, which will take place on Thursday, can be bought from the customer services desk at the Lynn Road store.

Mr James said: "It's such a great charity and the money raised goes to some very worthy organisations.

"We thought a trolley dash around the store would certainly be fun and exciting."

Posted by /0/ at 12:33 AM |

November 13, 2007

Clowns offer and pick up goodies at sale

DAILY SUN
By JILL SHERMAN

Get some colorful floppy shoes for a bargain price. Get a mirror that laughs at you when you gaze into it, for free.

Welcome to the clown sale, conducted by Clown Alley No. 179 members Monday morning at La Hacienda Recreation Center. Most resident clowns who participated were glad to unload at least a portion of their smile-inducing props.

“My car hasn’t been in the garage,” Jan “Sassy” Robbins said, “in two years.”

Three petticoats, a pair of high-top shoes, a crazy stuffed chicken and a barking dog puppet later, Robbins may now be able to park her car where it was intended to be parked at her Village of Del Mar home. With any luck, her car is a mini clown car.


Robbins, Clown Alley No. 179 president, also sold her invisible dog on a leash. She confessed prior to the sale that there really was no dog — the leash was merely supported with sturdy wire.

But the prop was one of the best $2 investments a clown could buy.


 



“If you don’t want to clean up after a real dog,” Robbins said, “that works.”

Some of the clown sale items were peddled for rock-bottom prices — and many proceeds were donated to Operation Shoebox — while others were offered for no charge.

Village of Briar Meadow resident Evie “Shamrock” Hanson offered for the sale her bashful dog puppet and a plush flying, shrieking squirrel. She has little use for them these days.

“I’m more into face painting,” Hanson said.

The table of free items contained props of all sorts, including round red foam noses and large green sunglasses. Phyllis “Tiny Bubbles” Sanfilippo eyed a clown poster, which would fit in well with her clown room. She also considered taking home a blue braided wig with bangs.

“I have a lot, so there’s very little I need,” Sanfilippo, a Village of Bonnybrook resident, said of her clown props, “but I’m always looking for ideas.”

Village of Duval resident Eileen “Yum Yum” Boudreau was enthusiastic about adding to her clown props because she is soon to graduate from a clown class and has no costume. She was most pleased with the inflatable giraffe she scored at the sale.

“I’m going to walk around with him,” Boudreau said, smiling and hoisting her arm around the giraffe’s spotted neck.

Posted by /0/ at 05:23 PM |

500 Clown's Frankenstein

Playbill
by ADAM HETRICK

The New York theatre scene can't seem to get enough of a Frankenstein fix this season. With Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein on Broadway and the gothic musical Frankenstein playing Off-Broadway, PS 122 will present the New York premiere of 500 Clown's twisted take on the Mary Shelley classic Dec. 12-19.

The award-winning 500 Clown company is an amalgam of performance art, improvisation and circus acts that creates an unpredictable environment which takes the audience from being a passive witness to becoming active observers.

500 Clown's Frankenstein begins as "three clowns embark on a madcap journey to construct Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory," according to press notes. "Challenging and elaborate period costumes, poor lighting, difficult language, and an ornery table prevent them from properly telling Mary Shelley's classic tale. Comic mayhem takes a sharp turn to a devastating climax when one clown is forced to play the role of the creature and suffer abuse and abandonment. The result is the creation of unexpected horror."

500 Clown is readying a monstrously busy holiday season with performances of its Christmas production, which is also slated for the line-up at PS 122. The New York debut of 500 Clown Christmas will run Dec. 21-30.

Musician John Fournier will team up with 500 Clown in a "clown-rock-pop-jazz-theatre-concert-party" that explores all facets of the holiday season from the commercial to the classic. Press notes state, "3 clowns and a 3 piece band throw a celebration to make Fezziwig proud, complete with a holiday toast, gift-giving, and original live music."

Performance Space 122 is located at 150 First Avenue (at East 9th Street). Tickets are available at www.ps122.org or by calling (212) 352-3101.

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November 06, 2007

A Tale of Two Towns

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Unicycle Medley

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Ava the Clown

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Flying McCoys: Mime radio

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Same message, new methods

Kane County Chronicle
by REGAN FOSTER

 Debbie George and Karen McCannon, aka JoJo, aren’t afraid to clown around a little bit.

And that’s just fine with the Rev. Steve Good of the United Methodist Church in Sugar Grove.

“We’re always hoping that at least folks who are looking for a church ... will have an avenue, a point of entry,” Good said. “If we can touch someone’s life wherever they’re at, that’s a success.”

Across the nation and in Kane County, Christian leaders are coming up with new and creative ways to teach the gospels and to reach the masses, whether through clowns or rock ‘n’ roll bands. The creative ministries also are a way for church members to use their talents to express and share their faith.

It’s a trend that has deep roots in history, said Timothy Larsen, the McManis chairman of Christian thought at Wheaton College.

As early as the 18th century, leaders frustrated with the belief that religion could be found in a consecrated building took the word on the road, Larsen said.

“John Wesley in the 1730s took to ... outdoor preaching,” he said. “Some people thought it was literally illegal, that you could only preach in a consecrated building. But it was also highly effective.”

That’s because people who might not have been comfortable with the idea of stepping into the building were happy to stop alongside the road and listen to a sermon.

“Part of the thing that the church always asks is, ‘What can we do that people either need or want or would be attracted to?’ ” he said. “The church is trying to fill a cultural gap; sometimes that’s quite successful depending on what’s happening in society.”

Clowning around

Back in Yorkville, New life Church Children’s Evangelist Debbie George trains Christian clowns through the Merry Hearts Clowns organization and takes her clowning ministry on the road.

Among her alumni is United Methodist’s McCannon. As her character “JoJo,” she joins two other performers, who prefer to use their stage names of “Tiny T” and “Mumbles,” in the three-clown troop Humor Opens Possibilities Everywhere, or HOPE. The group teaches children values such as honesty, respecting their parents and peace.

“We love kids, we love to make people laugh, to do silly things,” George said. “But at the same time, our goal is to share the Lord with them and it works great. It really does go together a lot more than you’d think it would.”

Clowns are non-threatening and accessible to children, which makes the Christian message easy for them to understand, George said.

“It’s a fun way to share the message of Christ,” she said. “A lot of times people will come and see a clown show when they may not [go to] a church or they may not go to a preaching event.”

Good concurred that clowning around is a good way to reach those who may not step inside a traditional church building.

“The clown ministry is a good example where we don’t wait for people to come inside the church building, but we go all over the place,” he said. “They’re able to have an impact in ways the other ministries aren’t.”

Changing with culture

Leonard Ahlstrom, pastor at Christ Community Church in St. Charles, said music, skits and even video presentations are used to complement the Biblical message of each service.

He said today’s culture uses such mediums, and bringing it into church just makes the services more contemporary.

“We’re trying to be culturally relevant,” said Ahlstrom, who also is the church’s creative arts director.

However, there still is a place for traditional hymns in his services, he said, adding that those that may criticize modern ministries should note those traditional methods.

“That also relates to a culture,” Ahlstrom said. “People connect with that.”

Music is also a good way to worship because of the feeling it gives people, he said.

“If you’re feeling depressed...that kind of service can change your status,” he said.

Taking the walk

Rama Canney, communications and volunteer coordinator at St. Peters Catholic Church in Geneva has worked with the homeless, has offered support to cancer patients and is watching a new network of Christian entrepreneurs take root in her parish.

Along with the traditional Mass celebrations, her parish runs a homeless shelter, conducts cancer support groups and is initiating a networking program for Christian and Catholic businesses. Each ministry, as well as a new holiday bazaar and nativity program expected to roll out this November, is designed to tap parishioners’ talents and increase outreach to the community, Canney said.

“Sometimes what is needed is just a one-on-one pal,” she said. “Certainly it’s about trying to attract others to Christ.

“A lot of it is also about the people right in the pews, already, who we must evangelize, too. ... The spirit is working. I wouldn’t say it was anything strategic but we’re really feeling called to let people express their God-given gifts.”

Canney said the newest ministerial additions are just an extension of traditional Catholic belief in social justice.

“That’s not liberal and it's not conservative, it’s just Christian in the truest sense of the word,” she said. “You begin working outside of yourself and that’s the walk to holiness.”

Posted by /0/ at 07:46 AM |

November 05, 2007

Red Skelton collection is nothing to clown about

 Ludington Daily News

Elma Anderson began collecting paintings and photographs of Red Skelton when her daughter, Cheryl Higginson, took a picture of the late comedian at a Scottville Clown Band concert in Muskegon. Skelton, known for his portrayal of a sad clown, appeared at the concert in his clown costume.

Since then, Anderson and her husband, Morgan Anderson, have accumulated 16 original and limited edition paintings of Skelton, most showing him as a clown, but some in other character costumes.

From Wednesday through Sunday, Nov. 7-11, the collection will be shown at Tempting Tables at the Maranatha Conference Center in Muskegon. More than 30 tablescapes and 20 collections are to be showcased. Ticket sale proceeds will go to breast cancer research, and money from a raffle and auction will go to Dream Fulfillment, an organization that gives surprise gifts to breast cancer patients.

The fundraiser was begun by Marleen De Long, a breast cancer survivor, and Mary Kendall in 1996. It was originally intended to promote cancer research and all the money from ticket sales still goes to research. Dream Fulfillment began when the women realized that sometimes cancer patients need a little “lift” to brighten their day, and they now use the money from raffles and auctions at Tempting Tables to buy gifts tailored to each individual.

Anderson’s Red Skelton paintings will be on display with other collections. Some are more mainstream, like dolls, Santas and elephants and others a little out of the ordinary, including vintage yardsticks and vases shaped like women’s heads. Tables have been decorated by groups and individuals from all over Michigan and three of them will be raffled off. Each one has a theme, including the “ladybug” table which isn’t really on a table, but on a ladybug golf cart.

Among the Red Skelton paintings are a self portrait by Skelton, who was an artist as well as an actor. Not being displayed at Tempting Tables, but a prized part of Anderson’s collection, is a portrait of Lucille Ball also painted by Skelton.

Sure to be on display is the painting of Skelton in his clown persona reading the New York Times. Anderson said it was one of the first paintings she and Morgan acquired because Morgan read the Times every day. Skelton’s clown, called Freddy the Freeloader, was loosely patterned after Emmet Kelly, another famous clown. Eventually Skelton was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame for his portrayal of Freddy.

Although Elma and Morgan Anderson have always been big fans of Skelton, they never met him in person. Elma said they were invited to his birthday party in California, but couldn’t attend. Skelton died in 1997 after a long career in radio and television.

 

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Years of a clown: Leeds panto star Charlie Cairoli

Yorkshire Evening Post

As we move into the pantomime season, JOHN THORPE looks back at one of Leeds panto's best-loved stars.

 

THE crowds of Christmas shoppers thronging the city centre streets had never seen anything like it.

Snaking its way through the middle of Leeds was a swaying line of giggling children being led Pied Piper-style to their destination.

At the head of the line, in his familiar bowler hat and red nose, was the legendary clown Charlie Cairoli, an entertainer for whom Leeds had become a home from home.

By now – four decades after his first visit – he had cast a magical spell over the city and its occupants... one they would not soon forget.
Charlie Cairoli – the 'King of Clowns' – had been born in Milan in 1910 to a travelling circus family with French origins.

His father was a juggler and it's reckoned the young Charlie was seven when he got his first taste of clowning around.

Over the years he became one of Europe's top clowns, appeared on TV shows around the world and was a much-loved figure for Leeds audiences of all ages.

His first appearance in the city looks to have been around the late 1930s when he trod the boards at The Grand.

It may have been his first time in Leeds but he quickly developed a fondness for the place.

He returned numerous times and appeared at the world-famous City Varieties, at Leeds Empire and even crossed the city boundary into Bradford to entertain at The Alhambra.

Charlie always got a warm-hearted reception from Leeds audiences – he said once he thought he was among friends whenever he was in the city.

Michael Joseph, along with his brother Stanley, owned and operated Leeds City Varieties at the time and both knew Charlie well.
They never regretted booking him for their pantomimes.

"Leeds was always a good stamping ground for Charlie," Michael said. "He had the most successful season with us in Jack and the Beanstalk in 1972, and it was our most successful pantomime."

It was that year that Charlie brought Christmas shopping to a standstill as he led hundreds of youngsters through the streets of Leeds and herded them to the City Varieties where he promptly gave a special show to 600 invited children.

In the same season Charlie made several personal appearances throughout West Yorkshire including Wakefield where he presented a boating pool equipped with three radio-controlled model boats to the children of Fieldhead Hospital – a present from bookmaker Ladbrokes.

Indeed, it was in the 1970s that his career really took off in Britain and he became one of the country's best-known clowns.

His TV appearances took his unique brand of humour to the masses. He became a mega-star of the day.

Charlie was the only clown to have been the subject of This is Your Life. It will come as no surprise that he was introduced as "the king of clowns".

He was more than a clown though, Charlie was also a talented impressionist and musician.

It was his professional approach to his work that endeared him to theatre bosses and impresarios.

He was steeped in the tradition of the circus and panto and without doubt was a superb performer and a great crowd-puller.

He had a natural ability to win the affection of not only the children in his audiences but adults, too.

Charlie was a big hit on stage but also impressed away from the grease paint.

"He was a perfect gentleman with a marvellous sense of humour off stage," recalled Michael Joseph.

"He was also a family man. He had his son, Charlie junior, working with him, and his wife also travelled with him too."

He first set foot in Blackpool's Tower Circus in 1939. He liked it so much he decided to stay.

His decision had something to do with Charlie's wish to keep a stable family life and adopted home became Blackpool – the Las Vegas of Britain.

He did 40 seasons at The Tower Circus – a world record for the most performances at a single venue.

His appearances took up around five months out of every 12. He and his family spent the rest of the time travelling both at home and abroad.

When he announced he was quitting showbusiness in November 1979, a bout of nostalgia swept through Leeds where so many had such fond memories of seeing him in action.

Having been enchanted by his stage exploits in pantomimes when they were children, many felt a sense of loss that they would never again see him in his bowler hat and red nose.

Alas, Charlie didn't survive long after he stepped into retirement. In June 1979 he had been forced to miss performances at the Tower after being admitted to hospital with exhaustion.

He died in Blackpool a year later at the age of 70, taking his special brand of humour with him.

Posted by /0/ at 09:15 PM |

Red Cross clown eases minds of young evacuees

Times Press Recorder
By Mike Hodgson/Associate Editor

Jan Petring wears a multicolored clown wig with her American Red Cross hat and carries a canvas bag filled with stickers, small plastic figures and, most importantly, face paint.

That might sound like odd equipment for a Red Cross volunteer to carry on relief efforts for victims of the Southern California wildfires.

But her years spent as a kindergarten teacher taught her how children react in disasters and how she can help them recover from the emotionally traumatic experiences of imminent danger, evacuation and, at worst, the loss of their homes or the life of someone close to them.

“Almost every little child here has a kitty cat face with whiskers and little dots,” Petring said Monday as she took a break from helping serve food to an estimated 1,200 people at a temporary emergency services center in Ramona, about an hour’s drive northeast of San Diego.

Planning ahead, she stocked up on her children’s assistance supplies before she headed south last week.

“I needed to keep it cheap, because it’s coming out of my wallet, so I went to the Dollar Store and Michaels and bought face paints,” she explained.

Since driving to Southern California in a rental car with an Arroyo Grande volunteer last Wednesday, the San Luis Obispo woman estimates she’s painted the faces of about 200 children.

“So there’s lots of little kitty cats roaming around,” she said. “Some have told me they are mice, but, whatever. ... I have a curly wig that’s multicolored I wear with my Red Cross hat, and the kids will come up to me. They all recognize me because I have this crazy outfit on.”

She said the impacts of her face painting are immediately apparent.

“They go from comatose little faces into delirium,” she said. “I’ve got a little mirror to show them their faces. Some have come up and they want me to do them again, or darken it or add a lightning bolt. But I tell them once I do your face, that’s it, because I don’t want to use up all my paint in one day.”

This is not Petring’s first experience with disaster relief. She spent three weeks working in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

“That was my first time out,” she recalled. “I had no concept (of what was involved) other than seeing what was on TV. But I knew I just had to do something. I couldn’t just sit there.”

This time, she signed up for a two-week stint. Involved with “mass care,” she is dealing with people in shelters and initially was sent to Santee in the northeast area of urban San Diego.

“The first night, we had 200 people sheltered at Santana High School,” she said. “The second night, people were being allowed to return to their homes. The third night, we had two people, then the shelter was closed.”

Petring said teachers returned to the school Monday, and classes were scheduled to start Tuesday.

“Yesterday (Sunday), we were supposed to go on outreach, which is where we take water and snacks to neighborhoods and make sure they are safe, see if they have porta-potties, see if there are any trees down and if there are any problems with the wiring,” she said.

“But things are changing so rapidly with the fires, from day to day we get a new assignment.”

Ramona is one of a number of areas where the water is not potable.

“In fact, we’re not even supposed to wash our hands in it,” she said.

The center in Ramona is in a school that’s no longer in operation, and the modular classrooms on the campus have been turned into headquarters for the various agencies on hand to help fire victims.

One houses representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, while others are staffed by insurance company, mental health and medical personnel, she said.

“They can even get free flu shots,” Petring noted, adding that some people just come to pick up cases of water while others ask to have their babies checked.

“We have a lot of mental health people because the fires have been so traumatic to so many people,” she said.

But most of the lines are long, snaking around the double-wide modular units. She estimated each line contains 20 to 50 people.

“People are in line a long time,” she said. “If they break away, they lose their place in line, so people are coming and taking three or four meals to take back to people waiting in the lines.”

Volunteer help from local communities has been overwhelming, Petring said.

“I understand there were over 3,000 people we call ‘spontaneous volunteers,’” she said. “These are people who were safe, their houses were OK, and they wanted to help. So for a while, we had way too many people helping.

“Of course, the Red Cross did not want to turn them down because these people are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. So it took a couple of days to figure things out.”

Petring’s volunteer stint is scheduled to continue until next week, and she said she expects to get shuttled around to wherever she is needed.

“I left my husband at home, but he knows where my heart is,” she said. “He’s very supportive. We talk on the phone and he reads me e-mails. ...

“They have Internet access at the hotel,” she added. “But when you’ve been on the lines for 12 hours, the last thing you want to do is go back to the hotel and try to mush through to your e-mail on someone else’s computer.”

Posted by /0/ at 09:09 PM |

Jim "Barney" Barnes, 1943-2007: Seafair clown brought joy to the ill, lonely

Seattle P-I
By CASEY MCNERTHNEY

There's a story Patty Shepherd-Barnes loves to share about her husband, Barney. It was about 35 years ago, when he would visit Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, which he did for decades as a Seafair clown.

A young girl was hospitalized, and no matter who tried coaxing her -- doctors, nurses, her parents -- the girl wouldn't speak.


Jim "Barney" Barnes would drive the Seafair clowns' old fire truck to visit her, wearing face paint and his signature orange-and-green cornucopia hat. After weeks of his visits, the girl built trust in Barnes' gentle demeanor and broke her silence by saying she wanted to ring the truck's bell, as he'd offered.

"He wasn't over-the-top aggressive as a clown," said Barnes' stepdaughter, Shannon Hofmeister, adding that the girl later recovered. "He had an amazing way to make people open up on their terms."

Barnes, a 42-year Seafair clown who smiled his way into thousands of Seattleites' memories, died Oct. 1 after a four year battle with cancer. He was 64.

Born in Seattle in September 1943, Barnes enrolled at Seattle University after graduating from O'Dea High School. As a Chieftain, family said, he planned more social events than study groups and got an early start on his commercial real estate career, renting rooms to college buddies in a house fondly called "The Sugar Shack."

He later opened Royal Real Estate during a career that lasted four decades.

But his passion was being a Seafair clown -- a position with which he brought joy to people who were lonely and sick. While fellow clowns passed out handfuls of candy, children would beg to get one piece from Barnes.

"He would make them say 'please,' " said Shepherd-Barnes, his second wife. "That's what he was trying to teach people."

Though he battled cancer through radiation and chemotherapy treatments, last year's Torchlight Parade was the first Barnes had missed since becoming a Seafair clown.

Hofmeister said he was a wonderful father to her and two other children from Shepherd-Barnes' previous marriage.

Family also said he loved taking his two children from his first marriage to the former Longacres racetrack, where they would spend their Saturdays with maple bars and hot chocolate.

"People would always get excited just to see him," Hofmeister said of Barnes, whose memorial is Monday at St. James Cathedral. "He was amazing, not just as a clown, but with everything he did."

Posted by /0/ at 09:04 PM |

A clown for your car

Saginaw News

 

 

Jeff Schrier/The Saginaw News

Teen Challenge campus resident Timothy M. Birman, 32, of Middleville plays his alter-ego "Bubbles the Clown" to attract passing motorists to a fund-raising car wash on the corner of S. Michigan and Stephens in Saginaw. Teen Challenge hosts car washes every Thursday through Saturday for donations to help defray costs at the facility. Birman runs, jumps and gyrates to try and get people with dirty cars to stop. He said that he gets plenty of smiles and (car horn) honks from passersby and some actually come in to get their cars washed

Posted by /0/ at 08:54 PM | | Comments (0)

City youngsters clown around with Bobo

Worchester News

BRIGHT colours ruled at a rainbow day for youngsters from Perrywood Primary and Nursery School, Worcester.

Bobo the clown popped in on the youngsters who had dressed up in bright clothes as part of a project on colour.

Cake decorating, games, painting and weaving were all part of the fun for those in the nursery and reception classes of the St Alban's Close, Ronkswood, school.

Youngsters aged three to five were given Smarties, by the Co-op, Lichfield Avenue, Sainsbury's, in Windermere Drive, to take home and asked to collect money in the empty tubes for the school.

Nursery nurse Kathryn Roberts said: "The youngsters had a fab day."

 

Posted by /0/ at 07:32 PM | | Comments (0)

Ballard Street: Lighten the Mood

Posted by /0/ at 03:38 PM | | Comments (0)

November 01, 2007

Kirk Douglas a star to playground users

Los Angeles Daily News
by ANGELA VALENCIA-MARTINEZ

Students at Shirley Avenue Elementary School got a special Halloween treat Wednesday from Anne and Kirk Douglas.

Built in 1952, the aging Reseda school with 700 students has never had a playground - unless you count a couple of outdated monkey bars and handball courts.

Kirk Douglas dressed as a clown, danced with throngs of students and cheered during a ribbon cutting ceremony for two new playgrounds donated by the actor and his wife.

"I will take all your candy," he joked. "One thing no one can take away from you is this playground."

The children high-fived, hugged and kissed the actor during a one-hour dedication ceremony.

Since 1997, the Anne and Kirk Douglas Playground Award, a nonprofit organization, has provided nearly 400 grants to Los Angeles Unified School District schools.

This one, however, was special.

"Never have we done two playgrounds at the same time," Anne Douglas told the students. "This is a first. We heard that your equipment was old and unsafe.

"The playground will become a great place to make friends, have fun and improve your physical fitness."

The children sang "Holding out for a Hero" as they held pictures of Kirk Douglas in some of his most famous roles.

Douglas, who walks with a cane, got out of his chair and danced to the upbeat song, bringing smiles to everyone.

"This is the most wonderful treat we could have gotten on Halloween," said Assistant Principal Mary Jones.

The playgrounds, similar to those found at parks, were installed in the main campus and kindergarten yard.

Evan at 90, Kirk Douglas was the first to try the slide. Children followed.

"We had nothing," said Lynda Davey, who co-wrote the grant more than a year ago. "The kids are calling this the park."

The Anne and Kirk Douglas Playground Award has provided more than $7million in funds to area schools since its inception.

The foundation awarded Shirley Avenue $50,000 for the new equipment. The school district funded an extra $50,000 in matching funds.

Parents said children have been looking forward to the new play area.

"Everybody wants to make a line to go up there," said Ana Alvara. "We needed some color here. Now we got the color. The children are so happy."

For more information on the grant program, visit www.douglasplaygroundaward.org.

Posted by /0/ at 07:45 PM | | Comments (0)


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