The Pain Gives Birth to the Laughter: A Clowning Epic

Abstract

From the golden days of the circus to the present, Clown has been relegated to the position of mime with heavy and distinctive make-up, the dirty slapstick job of the ring. Clown, as we know him today is only a hallow shell of what he once was by force of many alterations through many generations of rich wit. Clown, if I may speak of him as a medium for a moment, has succumbed to technological exploitation and has been splintered into diverse vocations without so much as a nod of thanks for what has been stolen, not in the fascinating tradition of the great Grimaldi, but a rape of the best and the brightest elements. One may argue that Clown exists in variegated forms, that he has not spread himself so thin as to lose the essence of his soul, but has rather given it in different ways to his various offspring, such as stand-up comedians, mime performers or_ various and sundry Bozos and Boopsies. Society is the poorer for his lack as is the profession of clowning itself.