I joined the Klassic Klowns in 1974. It was a local clown club based in the Los Angeles/Orange/Riverside Counties of Southern California. I wrote some articles that had been published in their newsletter.
However, the first article that I wrote for a national publication was titled Shake Hands. It appeared in the May-June 1981 issue of the Calliope, published by Clowns Of America.
Here is the text of that article:
Shake Hands
By Bruce “Charlie” Johnson, Producing Clown, Carson & Barnes Circus
Shaking hands can be a valuable tool for a clown, but not many clowns give it much thought.
Nobody who has seen a child’s face light up can doubt how much joy it brings. The clown thus singling out the child makes them feel important. The personal contact helps break down barriers and form a bond between the performer and audience.
Small children, especially between the ages of two and four, may be afraid of clowns, and should be approached carefully. Proximity is a factor, and a child who enjoys a clown from a distance may be terrified at close quarters. The clown is a strange creature to the child, who is unsure what they will do.
When approaching small children watch them carefully, and back away at the first sign of distress. Give them time to get used to you, and try again later. It is helpful to approach their parents or older children first, so they can see the clown in interaction with others. Don’t tower over the child, but as much as possible get on their level. Don’t pull a gag on them since this may frighten them more instead of reassuring them. A child who overcomes their fear to shake hands with a clown is better able to enjoy the rest of the performance because the clown is no longer a threatening creature. Also, the crowd well be very proud of their bravery.
With people who aren’t afraid of clowns, shaking hands can be turned into a funny situation.
Missing the child’s hand is a good example. Extend you hand, and when the child extends his hand, move your hand down, and across below their hand. Then bring your hand up, and back across above his hand so that your hand is moving in a circle around theirs. This is almost always a sure-fire laugh.
You will get a variety of reactions to this. Some children will follow your hand around in a circle, and others will make wild grabs for you hand. Eventually let them catch it, and shake.
Other children will hold their hand still, or drop it back into their lap. With your other hand, guide their hand into your handshake.
If the next child has been watching this, you will get one of four reactions. Some children will play the same trick on the clown. Audiences love to see a child reverse the situation. Other children will grab your hand quickly before you get a chance to move it. Others will only extend their hand part way because they are afraid you will move yours away before their hand gets close. A good response to this is to hold your hand still a few inches from theirs for a moment, then with the forefinger of your other hand gently push their hand over to yours. Very rarely a child will refuse to shake with you because they do not want to be tricked. Regardless of the chi’s response, the humor comes from their reaction.
Related to this is shaking hands with somebody who is holding something. Extend your hand that corresponds to their occupied hand. Occasionally they will shake hands with their free hand even though it is the wrong one. It they shift the object to their other hand, switch your hands. Every time they switch hands, switch your hands at the same time so you always have the wrong hand extended. This takes timing, and won’t always work. Finally extend both hands to allow them to make a choice. Most of the time they will put down what they are holding and try to shake both hands.
The opposite is to start shaking hands, get distracted, look away, and then release their hand while still moving your arm up and down. Look back, and gradually slow down as you realize you are shaking hands with nobody. Wave goodbye, or resume shaking.
A handshake that can be used with a pair of children is to gradually bend your knees while shaking with the first child as if they are pumping you down. Have the second child pump you back up.
If you are a clown who uses a feather duster, start to shake hands, stop, inspect their hand, dust it off, and then shake hands.
Occasionally you will find somebody who does not want to shake hands. If you sense it is because they are embarrassed or afraid, move away. If not, turn it into a funny situation. Clean your hand off and extend it again. Another good response is to leave your hand extended while you peer at them. If it fits your character act like their rejection saddens you. Don’t be pushy however, and force them into shaking hands. React honestly in terms of your character, and then move on.
Go with what the situation offers. Once the sleeve of my coat slid down over my hand while shaking with a boy, and I improvised trying to discover what he had done with my hand. Another time I couldn’t quite reach a little girl, and we had a long-distance shake, moving our hands up and down in unison.
No one handshake works equally well on everybody. It takes experience to be able to guess what will work with whom. Get out and start trying things.
I have suggested some handshakes that work for me. Try some of them that seem to fit your character, or better yet, try to develop some of your own. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get the response that you want right away. It may take shaking hundreds of hands to discover how you want to do it. The effort will be well worth it in terms of the relationship you create with your audience. Being able to make people laugh as soon as they walk up to shake hands will make them think that you are a very funny clown indeed.
I have been a member of COA for a year, and have greatly enjoyed each issue of the Calliope.
I would like to ask the other members for their help. I am looking for a method to produce a steady stream of water from a prop even while I walk away. I think the method I want is often used to produce water from the radiator of a clown car. Can anyone send me any information?
Also, I would like to extend an invitation to all members to visit me in the backyard when the Carson & Barnes Circus is in their area (during the 1981 season). I greatly enjoy meeting other clowns and sharing ideas. In the interest of furthering our craft, I am always willing to extend any help that I can. In return I have gotten some good ideas from others.
THE END
(I had developed a signature for my clown character. I printed my name the way a young child might do it. I also added a drawing of my makeup design to more closely tie my signature to my character. I used that signature in this article. It is something that I still use, although I have improved the small drawing.)
(As a result of this article, some clowns did visit me while I was on the road with the Carson & Barnes Circus. A pair of older clowns told me that the clown cars often used a Hudson Sprayer to shoot a stream of water. A Hudson Sprayer is used in the garden to apply weed killer and other chemicals. You fill the tank and then use a plunger to pump up the pressure. They said that sometimes the gas tank from a Coleman camping stove was also used sometimes. I subsequently sent that information to The Calliope.)
(My father kept some letters that I wrote home while I was on the road with the Carson & Barnes Circus. In one of them, I referred to this article as being the first that I wrote to be published in a magazine. I did not have a copy of the article, and was not sure which issue it appeared in. The Milner Library on the Illinois State University campus in Normal, IL, has one of the largest circus and allied arts special collections. I knew that they had a complete set of Calliope magazine that they had bound in hard cover to preserve. I contacted Maureen Brunsdale at the Milner Library. She located the article and sent me a copy. Thank you Maureen.)
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