| By KRISTI
PALMA
During the week, they're nurses, teachers,
chefs and chiropractors. On weekends they wear colorfulwigs, droopy pants, big shoes and
answer to "Lt Fuzz." "Cheerful Charlie" and "Lollipop".
Clowns are making a comeback. 'Today, you really need to smile a little bit more,"
said Peter "Reggie" Carter, 60, of Merrimac, who is president
of the Hap's Alley clown group based in Groveland. "(This war) is a serious business,
and I know that, being a veteran. But you can't let them think they're winning." To
keep us smiling, local professional clowns take their jobs very seriously. They get
training, follow a code of ethics and attend seminars and conventions, always looking for
a new way to make someone laugh. Carter, a Vietnam veteran who retired from Lucent
Technologies two years ago, finds it's not always easy to make adults smile these days.
"It's a hard thing to do sometimes because people are all caught up in their adult
world, and they don't have time for clowning or smiling or laughing." said Carter,
who's been a clown for 15 years.Shortly after the terrorist acts of Sept 11, the demand
for clowns dropped, said Pam Bridge, aka "Lollipop," who is
affiliated with the World Clown Association. People were wary of hiring strangers, even
those who carried puppets and balloons, said Susan Wolfendale. 56, of
Newbury, a 15 year clown veteran who has been a 35-year teacher at the Bagnall School in
Groveland. She once taught clowning at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill. War,
terrorism, fatal viruses and the poor economy aside, things have changed. "All of a
sudden, I've got eight jobs lined up, every weekend," said Wolfendale. "All of a
sudden I'm just inundated." Wolfendale's husband. Cliff, a warehouse
attendant, is "Lt Fuzz." The two met downing and married two years ago. Bridge, of Manchester, N.H., returned from a Florida
convention last week. where nearly 200 clowns from 11 different countries gathered to swap
skills. By day, she is a chef at Hampstead Manner in Methuen. There's a good amount of
clowns," said Bridge. 'There's a lot of talent out there. Clowning today is so much
more than birthday parties and parades. Wolfendale is "Cheerful Charlie" in the
clown world — a white-faced clown covered in butterflies, whose name is a tribute to
her childhood nickname. She's worn her flower-tipped nose for women's crisis centers, Toys
for Tots, the American Diabetes Association and nursing homes, she said.Clowns charge $125
or more an hour for parties, but also do a lot of volunteer work for free. "We try to
get involved in issues and important things," said Carter. Carter said Hap's Alley
has grown from five to 45 members since he helped start the group 11years ago. His clowns
range in age from the 20s to the upper 70s. Clowning takes dedication, innovation and
money. From balloon seminars to perfecting pocket magic" tricks to sewing together
costumes to purchasing $400 clown shoes, clowns are committed. Carter even wears a pin
that says "Clown Plainclothes Division" while working part time as a cashier at
a local store. "A lot of people look at you and say. 'Are you a real down?'"
Carter said with a laugh. "I ask them, 'What is a real clown?' and they don't
know." According to Carter, a "real" down is dedicated to the craft. While
circus clowns go through extensive training and attend clown college to perfect the art of
juggling, magic tricks, skits and props, local downs who train are also of high caliber.
"I've seen clowns that are just people with makeup on (with no obvious
training)," said Carter. "And the audience doesn't know it's not a real down.
That just puts a black eye on clowns." |
