just wrote this for the MACA "Big Top"
And then what???
Pearl, Shady and I like to think of new
skits all the time, to help with our LAUGH clown Ministry. In the past 2 years of
our existence we have accumulated over 30 different skits and try to customize
each show to the needs of the church we clown at. It’s a lot of fun to bounce different ideas
off of “like minded goofs”. It helps the creative juices flow inside our minds when
we ask “and then what ?”. We enjoy
coming up with different slants of some age old tested skits and to come up
with some new ones. Being a ministry, we try to use bible stories that we all
know and place them in a different light.
During the past convention, both Randy
Christensen and Al Greenwood, said that people retain about 10 percent of what
is said to them verbally, but when you put actions to those words it jumps to
70 percent . When you put audience
participation in with it, it jumps to 90 percent.
As clowns , we have every opportunity to
not only tell a story through our actions, but have the audience remember
it. On the flip side, we can also bring
a bad memory that will stay with them too, if we don’t do it right. We have a very important responsibility to do
it right, especially when we involve others in our act. Going to your Clown
alley and sitting there to gain information or to just be social with your fellow clowns is
wasting your responsibility. Sorry but I said it! Going to a clown convention
and not changing anything that you learned from the convention is throwing your
money away. Sorry but I said that too!
For me, I like trying different ideas,
different ways of doing things, and different outfits. That may be just me, but my mind goes dormant
when I just sit still and watch TV. I’ve
told some my Newbie friends in clowning to go to different Volunteer events and
try doing something different to see the reaction of the people and see if you
are comfortable doing it. The same goes
for your clown Alley. Without doing
something different, it becomes stagnate and is hard to recruit new members to
the group
Pricilla Mossebrger wrote a nice article in
her newsletter called “nine secrets of successful clown alley’s “
They are;
1 Focus on the positive. Support new clowns and make
them feel welcome. Support old clowns and make them feel appreciated. At all
costs keep the criticism and drama to a minimum.
2.Set
up your club to succeed. Keep rules to a minimum. If you want to ensure empty
chairs at a meeting make sure you have a BIG list of do’s and don’ts and
enforce them at all times! The question remains -- how DO you maintain a high
standard in your club of appearance and performance? With kindness, classes,
and encouragement. It is all in HOW you present the information that counts.
3.Support
the leadership. With a positive attitude support the folks who step up to be
president treasurer, and secretary. You may not want these positions, or have
time to commit to them. So be as supportive as possible to the folks who do
shoulder the responsibility. Volunteer for smaller tasks like setting up the
meeting space, cleaning up after the meeting, making the coffee, bringing some
treats. When was the last time you asked if there was something you could do to
help? Don’t wait until meeting night to help on that night. Ask what can I do
next meeting. What can I bring to the next event we are going to? Water and a
cooler? No problem.
4.Divide
the Load! Encourage division of tasks to lighten the load. If you can’t get one
person to be your Education Director, then divide it up month by month. Maybe
one person can bring in the talent for a couple of months but not all year.
Schedule a big fun planning session for your club for the year to assign as
many tasks as possible and create committees. Then be sure to follow up with
these groups each month just to keep folks on task. Pizza Planning party
anyone???
5.Don’t
make a big deal out of ANYTHING! As much as you may be annoyed about someone
who drops the ball, let it go and move on. We all have challenges and problems
we may not want to announce to the group. Sometimes we just blow it. Let’s do
our best to support one another. “Everyone is fighting some kind of battle; be
kinder than necessary.”
6.Fun.
Make sure your club has fun! Otherwise why are you doing it? Be sure to
schedule in some fun time get togethers. Open your meeting with a silly improv
or joke. Go around the room and have everyone share their favorite joke. Have
folks tell what the best thing was that happened to them clowning recently. Do
what you can to insert some fun in the meetings so they don’t become a great
big “to do” list. How about a White elephant door prize for each meeting?
7.Support
education. Bring in folks outside of your club once in a while to teach and
share. The biggest club-killing mind set is “we have a lot of talented folks in
our own club, why should we bring in anyone else?” (Especially if you have to
pay them!) You do it because it adds a fresh perspective, it livens things up.
People will hopefully be on their best behavior with a guest in attendance.
Education may mean organizing a group to go to Mooseburger Camp or a
convention. The idea is you will bring back new ideas and build a sense of
teamwork to your club.
8.Teach
a clown class every year. Advertise it in your local community education guide.
Make your own flyers. Do it the same time every year and promote it all year!
Keep track of the folks who say they are interested and remind them the class
is coming up. Have the whole club involved in teaching the class. Everyone is
good at something!
9.Promote
your club! I know this is tough. Trying to find recruits can be difficult. But
what is your club doing to promote itself? Do you have a flyer? Do you have
club business cards? Do you have a club pin, or patch? These are things
EVERY club should have to promote their club and the wonderful things you do.
They don’t need to be complicated. List your mission statement (why you exist
and what are the core beliefs of your group.) Make sure to list what kind of
events you like to do. Most of all -- have your contact information. Make sure
the person who is the contact is reliable and willing to take on the task of
calling folks back, getting the information to the club, and keeping on top of
things. Put together a Facebook page or website. With today’s technology it is
not hard or expensive anymore.
I know that EVERYONE I have encountered in
clowning has encouraged me in my walk to be a better clown. That is just one of
the many reasons why I love the clown community. Helping, encouraging anyone
and everyone to bring , if only the smallest of joy, to all in need.
Sometimes
the older we get, we come to a point of “and then what”. My prayer is for you to be encouraged and
think. Think of different ideas of doing
what you love to do. Think of different
avenues you express your skill that God gave you. Think of different ways you can practice
those learned skills. Think of different ways to finish the question of “and
then what???
Bump
a nose,
Shobo