To be a successful clown, we need to make a lot of things a habit. Start thinking like a clown before you put make-up on! People are funny. If you watch them sometime, you’ll notice curious characters right before your eyes. People watching at an airport can be as entertaining as going to the movies!

Abraham Lincoln said, Whatever you are, be a good one. This is brilliant advice for a clown. What I love best about clowns, is they come in all shapes and sizes. There is one for every occasion! Rowdy, crazy ones, sweet shy ones, wisecracking, and simply silly, wacky, thoughtful, tall, short, round and thin. You name it. What kind of clown are you? What kind of clown do you want to be? Of course, we all want to be funny clowns. Few of us want to be unfunny. But the trick takes place in how we go about being funny. Some of us are naturally funny, so it comes easy to us. But even a person who is naturally the life of the party, works at it.

How do you achieve being funny? First, desire self-discovery. Take a really close look at yourself. Think of five words that describe your personality, in clown and out.

Mischievous, Witty, Silly, Determined, Wacky

Think of words describing your style of movement.

Energetic, Clumsy, Graceful, Stylized, Relaxed

Describe your body shape.

Long, Lean, Fluffy, Round (hey it’s a shape!)

Get the picture? Well, that’s me. Your answers will be different.

These are the things I used to describe myself after 40 years of clowning around. What have you discovered about yourself? The best clown characters are reflections of who you really are. If you take your own personality and stretch it like silly putty, you will come up with a character that is believable. Clowning isn’t acting. It is self-discovery on parade. Think of things you can do with your own body that would be funny. Don’t be afraid or ashamed of your body type. Embrace it and enjoy it! Don’t be afraid to be funny in the skin you are in.

But how do you prepare your brain to be funny? What makes you laugh? There are some situations that make me laugh without fail. Certain Weird Al Yankovic songs crack me up because they’re a little too honest, and Veggie Tales because they’re creative and silly. Carol Burnett makes me laugh. I love her expressions and physicality. She is not a particularly beautiful, and she doesn’t have a drop-dead figure―but she makes people laugh. Watch her when she is on stage.    

Most of you know I launched my professional clown career with Ringling Bros. in the early 80s. There was only one other girl clown to watch for guidance, and that was Tammy Parish. I watched her perform, and she inspired me to develop my own ideas. The goal of every clown should be to take a funny idea and make it your own. But without Tammy I would have had to start from scratch, (thanks girlfriend!)

If you need inspiration to be funny, do your homework. Prime the pump with all kinds of things and situations that make you laugh. Collect your favorite cartoons. Make your own laugh library. This can be anything that lifts your spirits and makes you smile, chuckle or squirt milk from your nose! It will take focus, but it is worth it. You will understand more about yourself and where you keep your funny bone. Things that make you laugh are indicators of what kind of character your clown is. These tips will stimulate your funny side.

Sometimes being funny is making fun of yourself. That can be tough, but always works. I found early in my career with Ringling that it was funny to see a pretty clown fall down. The true humor was the unanticipated. You see a doll clown image, then something completely opposite of what you predict happens.

Look at your clown image in the mirror and think, what would be the funniest thing that could happen to this character? I think seeing a big beefy guy clown wear a tutu and try to be graceful is funny. I think a little petite clown trying to lift weights is funny. I think an old clown doing rap is hilarious. I think the more you develop the contrasts in your performance, the more fun you can have entertaining.

But be forewarned…

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

Are you ready to risk being funny? Are you ready to step away from all the preconceived notions of what is proper behavior and make people laugh? Make yourself laugh? It is about being vulnerable. Most of us don’t want to go there. But it is really liberating when you do. Start thinking about what is funny. With effort, you will see a lot more humor in life.

Plan it and risk it! It all comes down to discipline and organization. I don’t write my newsletter as the queen of all things organized, but as the lowly servant of a very busy schedule. Without organization, important things wouldn’t be done and we couldn’t have fun! Don’t ever let anyone tell you that planning takes all the spontaneity out of your performance! Baloney. The better prepared you are, the more time there is for the actual event to be fun! This point is proven over and over by all successful people, in all walks of life and types of business and pleasure. Plan to have fun! Plan to be funny. Plan to enjoy every minute of your performance.

Tricia Manuel is the unmistakable Pricilla Mooseburger, also known as Miss Moose! Learn more about her and her amazing clown products and educational programs at www.mooseburger.com

Pricilla@mooseburger.com  320-963-6277.