THE FUNNIES

This Month
FEBRUARY SPEAKER

This month we are having our own Wendy Olson as our speaker. She has "clowning creations by Wendy" and her topic will be on "Theme Parties". She has many innovative approaches to presenting stories and she personalizes crafts to fit the occasion or theme. She does crafts that no one has done - bring your scissors! And she has 28+ different characters that she uses. And you won't want to miss the different ways she uses paper plates - wow! She does theme parties, schools, churches, major business events, grand openings and such. She has so much material that she is "sifting through it all" and deciding what she should and shouldn't talk about. This is something you will not want to miss! And the meeting will start promptly at 7pm.

January's meeting

At our January meeting we did not have a guest speaker but had members discuss many of the things that they learned at the WCRA Clown Convention in Laughlin Nevada last November. President Pam handed out material and discussed it. Becky Lucia loaned us her tape on "Paradability" and we watched it, as Candy Will, who could hardly talk, discussed it with her hoarse voice. Thank you Candy!

And All-American balloon had a cashier there from 7-7:30pm so we could purchase the things that we needed. Thank you All-American Balloon!

It was a time to learn from others many things that they brought back to us from the convention. I hope that it inspired enough of you so that you will want to go to the WCRA Convention next year.

This N' That From President Pam

I understand that there are things that we all have known for many years and years. But they get to be a "habit" and there might just be a time that we might "slip" and forget what we should and shouldn't do. This is something that I thought worthy of bringing up to the club members.

I was at a large birthday party with 3 other clowns. One clown that was there came in and informed us that she could not be there for more than ½ hour and we needed to do things "quickly" as she had to leave. We were to be there for one hour. Everything she did was very hurried and the other clowns went along with her. This clown was not scheduled to be there with us but was a friend of one of the other clowns. A few times I quietly mentioned that we had been scheduled for one hour and we should not rush. The other clowns were "hushing me up" and we left in 27 minutes. I did not feel that the customer got the quality that I give at a party. And I was asked to join two of the clowns at the gig so I was not the "boss clown."

I thought about this for days. I suddenly wondered how many clowns might have "back-to-back" gigs or appointments that they have to get to after a gig and the time frame is very close. And you are at your gig and thinking about where you have to be next and will you make it in time or what you have to do later. Do you convey that message at your gig? We have to remind ourselves that when we are at a gig, we are there 100% and not partially there. A professional clown is always supposed to be the "best" that they can be. This was just a reminder that we all may need from time to time. We are HUMAN first and then a CLOWN!

A HARD TO ANSWER QUESTION!

When you shoot a mime, do you have to use a silencer?

Clown Sneakers - Customized!

For those who do not want to or do not have the money to spend on the professional clown shoes. Then you can customize your own clown shoes.

First, go to a thrift shop and purchase the largest pair of sneakers that you can get. Do not get white as they get dirty too fast and look awful.

Trace a cardboard pattern that corresponds to the sneakers toe area. Use the pattern to cut out a swatch from some of your "extra" clown material. Remember to always purchase lots of "extra" clown material for things like this. Use "photomatic spray". It is a general upholstery adhesive sold at upholstery stores. It bonds well and can be peeled off, resized and used again.

On the side of your sneakers, take a glitter pen and write your clown name. You can also use lace along the eyelet or even around the edge above the sole and/or around the top of the sneakers. Use colors that correspond with your clown colors.

For different holidays, add other attachments as follows: (1) Christmas - Bells (2) Chanukah - Dreidels
(3) Easter - small plastic bunnies, plastic Easter eggs or plastic crosses (4) flag day/patriotic holiday's - the flags on a tooth pick or flag stickers (5) Halloween - small pumpkin bells, small plastic witches, ghosts and such (6) a theme party - put the theme on the sneakers such as pirates - gold doubloons

And basically. . . .use your imagination and you can do some pretty "cool" clown shoes. We could have the members decorate sneakers and have a contest at one of the club meetings. This is your club. It is only as good as you make it. Do you want to have a sneaker contest? Let the board know. It would be fun and we would share ideas.

Food List

This month Pam will be bringing left overs from the Christmas party and baked beans.

Thank you very much Pam, we know how hard you work to make our club great!

BOB BERKY - This "Theatrical clown with extraordinary class" has entertained audiences all over the world. A quote from the Hong Kong Festival reads " Laughter it was. Unadulterated, uninhibited roars of hysteria, mind you...and the "magician: who transcended all age, culture and language barriers to reduce the lot of us to a convulsing mass was Bob Berky.

If you are interested in seeing Bob Berky at La Mirada Theatre you can purchase seats on-line (see link above) or by calling the Box Office at (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310.
We will be in ORCHESTRA Row R for the 1:30 show. Tickets are $8.00 each with $1.00 per ticket postage and handling.

COAI NEWS by Candy

Hello Fellow Clowns of America International members! Well the next COAI convention is just around the corner, April 19 through the 24, and I'm really getting excited! My daughter Beary and I will be going again to run the Junior Joey program and I am in the middle of setting up the classes as I write. The theme this year is "Fabulous Fifties" and the hosting alley has a lot of fun activities in store. On the banquet night, they plan to have a Prom to make the last night special. Both Beary and I have our "Pink Ladies" jackets and other fifties type styles to wear throughout the convention. And for the 2006 convention, the COAI board, (yes including me) will be hosting it! The location is going to be in New Orleans and it should be great fun! There is more information to come on this once we finish with the 2005 convention.
On another note, many of you working clowns are working with no insurance. This is not good. You never know when a child might be allergic to face painting or some other unforeseen accident could happen. COAI has a great insurance plan that covers all "Added Insured" for free. The date you start your policy also ends exactly one year from that date. This is a great incentive. If you are interested in getting the COAI insurance, please contact me or any of the regional ambassadors and we will help you to get signed up right away. Don't take the chance of getting caught in a situation that could cost you more than you know.

Looking forward to seeing you all!
Candy Will
Butterscotch the Clown
SW Regional Vice President COAI

Your Funny Business Board and Associates:

Pam "Twinkles d'Clown" House, President
562-431-6955 twinklesdclown@ yahoo.com

John "Cuddles" Acuna, Vice President
562-948-3163 cuddlesclown@ yahoo.com

Jackie "Sweetheart" McDoniel, Secretary
714-636-7966 jmcdoniel@ socal.rr.com

Candy "Butterscotch" Will, Treasurer and Regional Vice President for COAI
949-489-9971 Btrsctch4h@ cox.net

Send all Articles by the last Monday in the previous month to:
Paulette "Pom-Pom" Rosen, Newsletter Editor
and Webmaster for "Clown Pages" our Funny Business Website
714/539-4472 pom-pom@pom-pomclown.com
Funny Business Website http://clownpages.com

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