Michael Jackson's new noses have cost him thousands. Mark Schillerstrom will be getting a new nose, too, but he will spend about 10 to 15 dollars for it.
"It's worn out," said Schillerstrom, a Fort Dodge . IA, high school English teacher, referring to the bulbous red rubber clown nose he was gluing to his natural proboscis with a special adhesive. "It feels like it's going to fall off."
The loss of nasal elasticity was just one of the subjects Schillerstrom and three other clowns discussed as they met recently at the Twin Lakes, IA, home of Ed and Marlys Maahs to prepare for clown classes, which are being held in Fort Dodge.
Marlys Maahs, Schillerstrom, Jolene Rasty, and her daughter Shantell Rasty, 8, spent about ninety minutes experimenting with makeup and sharing clowning techniques.
They are members of Frontier Clown Alley, the 14-year-old Fort Dodge branch of Clowns of America International. Local organizations are referred to as "Alleys" to honor a tradition from early circus days.
"When a circus came to town all the clowns camped together. It was called clown alley'," Schillerstrom said. "Now when a local group is formed they are called alleys'."
Why spend an hour applying makeup, gluing on noses and wearing hot costumes, wigs and clunky shoes to get a laugh?
"It makes you feel good if you can get someone to laugh, and brighten their day," said Jolene Rasty, of Lohrville , IA. Her daughter Shantell nodded agreement as she applied Fire Engine red to her lips.
Some of the best fun comes when she drives to a clowning job in her costume and full makeup, and motorists do a double take at the clown sitting in the adjacent vehicle, according to the elder Rasty.
Marlys Maahs equated it to nursing. "You are doing something for people, helping them to feel better."
Maahs said she got a lot of self-satisfaction as a nurse in Lake City, IA. for years, and when she retired from nursing, her role as a clown fulfilled that need.
Seven years ago, Maahs put on her clown costume, visited each of her 95 Home Health care patients and had her picture taken with them.
She gave a copy of these pictures to each of them for Christmas that year.
"It was fun and they really enjoyed it," Maahs said.
Schillerstrom agreed, but mentioned another aspect of clowning that gives him pleasure.
"I love the creativity," he said, then told about the first time he performed with a plastic golf club, a golf ball and a small cup into which he planned to putt.
"I had no idea what I was going to do," he said.
Schillerstrom had weighted the cup so it would roll when he put it down. He put the cup down, walked away and started to line up his putt, but the cup had rolled out of alignment.
He repeated this several times, wondering what he was going to do next. A little girl saved him.
"She came out of the audience and when I turned around she was holding the cup with the opening pointed toward me," he said.
Schillerstrom said he was lining up the putt from a great distance, still unsure of his next move, when creativity struck. He dropped the golf club and went to the girl and moved her and the cup a little closer to shorten the put.
He continued going back and forth, moving the cup and the girl closer, until he had a two-inch putt, which he made to great applause.
"That's the part I love," he said.
"People assume that everyone loves clowns, but that's not true," Maahs said. "Some children are afraid, and we must be careful with youngsters. The clown classes teach how to handle his."
Schillerstrom said children between the age of two and five are most often frightened.
"There is a point developmentally at about age five where most children are no longer afraid, but even then you have to give children lots of wagon room, and take it slow," he said.
"Sometimes parents learn about this fear the hard way, when they take their children right up to a clown expecting it to be a fun experience," Maahs said. She advised parents to go slow around clowns, also.
As each of the clowns finished applying the grease paint, they went outside and brushed on a liberal amount of powder.
"The powder sets the grease paint so it won't rub off on everything," Maahs explained. "That's especially important in the heat."
As the makeup was finally in place the clowns became "Kino" (Schillerstrom), "Snickers" (Jolene Rasty), "Bows" (Shantell Rasty) and "Spice" (Maahs).
Clown names are important, and they stick, as evidenced by "Snickers".
"When my son was active as a clown, his name was Buttons', and when my daughter become active and selected the name Bows', I thought it would be neat to change my name from Snickers' to Mamma Joe', so we could be known as Buttons' and Bows' and Mamma Joe', but I couldn't change it. Snickers' stuck," Jolene Rasty said.
They all talked about a clown's worst enemy-the heat.
Even Shantell Rasty, the rookie, spoke of a recent parade in vivid terms. "It was stinking hot," she said.
Finally in their full makeup and costumes they looked like different people.
"It's fun to go to parades and walk up to people you know and joke around with them when they don't recognize you," Maahs said.
She told the story of planting a "kiss" (a pair of lips on sticker paper) on the cheek of a man she knew, but who did not recognize her in costume. The man later found out who had given him the "kiss".
Later at a different event this same man ran up to another clown, believing it to be Maahs, and repaid her sticker kiss with a real kiss on the lips. Only later did the man realize he had kissed a different clown, instead of Maahs.
Their advice for new clowns is "keep it simple".
"You don't need a wide repertoire of tricks. You can have fun just talking to people and shaking their hands when you first start." Maahs said.
Schillerstrom related that one of his most successful tricks was the simplest-he spun a plate on a stick, and let kids try it. "We had a great time," he said.
They also advised taking it slow with costume and makeup expenses when starting.
"Go to Goodwill and buy a costume for five bucks," Schillerstrom said.
"You can spend 250 dollars for a Yak hair wig, or 20 for a cheap one," he said.
Big clown shoes can costs 250 dollars also, Maahs said, but she offered a suggestion:
"Buy the biggest pair of cheap tennis shoes you can find, and lace up your own shoes inside of them. Then you can paint them wild colors." She pointed to her own multi-colored sneakers.
What makes a clown sad?
"When people call you up and ask you to come to a birthday party or some other event and expect you to donate your time," Maahs said. The average fee in the area ranges between 25 and 30 dollars an hours, according to Schillerstrom.
"We all donate time to worthwhile events, but we have expenses, too," he said.
Maahs said she has spent two summers at clown camp school for which she paid a total of $1,200.
Clowns get a great deal of self-satisfaction from their funny business, but it is a business, with real expenses and costs, she said.
Marty RicKard Bio
Marty RicKard attended William Penn College , Iowa State University and University of Southern Mississippi , from which he holds a BS degree in journalism and photojournalism. He also has a Masters Degree in photography, in addition to the Craftsman, CPP, and A-ASP degrees. Marty spent two years as a technical writer for White Motor Company, and has worked for the Charles City Press, Mason City Globe-Gazette, and Davenport Times-Democrat. He was co-owner of the weekly New Sharon Star, where he was twice named Iowa Master Columnist for his article, which was syndicated in twenty Iowa newspapers. For more than a decade Marty's regular column appeared in the Professional Photographer magazine. He has been published in many other magazines and newspapers, including Writer's Digest, Writer Advice, Golf Digest, Resource Magazine, Picture, Range Finder, and Darkroom. In addition to his writing credits, Marty has won numerous photography awards, has lectured in 48 states, and has traveled internationally as lecturer, and judge. He was one of thirty from the U.S. to participate in the first cultural exchange with China in 1986. He currently is a regular columnist for Lens Magazine, and a full-time writer of fiction and poetry. He is the author of two poetry books and one volume of short stories. He is an entertaining speaker.
» left by Susan Thom(8,330) Susan Thom (55 days 17 hours ago.)
hi marty, how cool are clowns? they're all about fun and excitement and feeling good. i think it takes a special person to be a good clown, who motivates and includes his audience.
this was a well written article, and enjoyed it. thanks for sharing,
best regards,
sue
» left by Marty RicKard(2,484) Marty RicKard (55 days 16 hours ago.)
Dear Sue: I'm not just clowning around when I say thanks for your comments. Best to you, Marty RicKard
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