I have been writing articles for Clown Antics for almost a year and have been honest in sharing my clown stories. I will continue to be honest because I believe it helps us. It is fine to make mistakes. That is one of the ways we learn, especially what not to do.
I will share what I learned when Chahloula was invited to clown at a school for the deaf in Sousse, Tunisia, last week. We planned to visit before the event to find the school, see the place where I would be getting into costume and makeup, and where I would be performing.
I can't go to a school and not do something fun with the students, so we played with bubbles and made balloon animals. Then I learned that we would be going to a different school for the actual event the next day.
We went to the school the following day and I got into costume and makeup in privacy. (I don't know about you, but I don't like an audience when I am getting ready!)
After greeting the kids, everyone got on the bus and headed to the other school for the deaf. As always, I enjoyed the bus ride; I love waving to people and seeing the smiles on their faces.
When we got to the school, a party was already going on! (Almost every school and day care in Tunisia had parties that week highlighting traditional clothes.) I knew this was one of those parties, but I didn't know that they would have other entertainment. There were traditional drummers and dancers and they were doing their thing while Chahloula wandered around a back room for over an hour.
The event turned out okay. Chahloula did her thing, but I had to check my attitude a couple times. They didn't need me. The other entertainment was paid; I was not. I could have gotten ready during that time if someone had told me the situation. I felt everyone would be tired by the time Chahloula came out. All of that added to the hesitation I had concerning the new character and costume. After seeing the pictures, I am modifying the costume and makeup. I will share more about this event later. I learned a lot that day.
I am just being honest, just keeping it real.