The Theatrical Clown Show...

The question I got was "How do you put together a theatre show?"

I've done a lot of theatre shows.  I have a love/hate relationship with them.

They are super creative, fun and feel great when you're done.  On the other hand, they are expensive, stressful and financially not worth it.

So put making money away.  This is the place you get to be an artist.

Years and years ago, my friend Nick (who runs a very successful theatre company.  And is a great director) asked me.  "What can you do in a theatre that you can't do anywhere else?"

And that's the great question.  I see a lot of clowns, magicians do shows that they could do for birthday, a corporate function or a library.  There's a prestige, there's a cool factor to be in a theatre but what makes theatre is the risk of failing and failing badly.  It's what makes theatre and clowning so interesting to me.  To be on the edge.

I do a theatrical kids show every year in December.  I do it for the challenge of trying to put together something for myself.  I spend the whole year making shows that please people.  I do a theatre show because it's all about me.  I want to make people laugh and that's it.

In a library or birthday party, I can't do a clown skit.  In a theatre I have things dangling from the ceiling.  Things just out of my reach.  I love strings and ropes and pulleys hanging down.  Getting them down is crazy, it just makes me laugh.

A theatre show should have a through line.  It can be very light but there needs to be a small theme that holds together.  I will think of things like "balance"  So my whole show will be about bringing balance to the clown.

Last year, my theme was water.  I tried to douse myself in water in as many ways as I could.  It's slippery and I wish I could have done the show 30 more times to figure out the comedy but it's a challenge.  I tried color changing water magic (yawn).  What worked was just lifting a bowl and letting it pour over my head.

When you rent your theatre.  Get a theatre people have heard of and where they feel safe.  This will be more expensive but you'll actually get audience.  I tried for years to do my shows in these awful neighborhoods because it seemed sort of cool to me.  It's cool if your 26 and on an adventure.  It's not so cool if you have a five year old with you.

You need to make the stage look fun.  This is tough because you have to do it in 2 hours.  Most theaters won't let you leave props.

I always use a dresser that's painted bright red, a table painted and my yellow ladder.  I sometimes use an old TV painted to look funny.  And I like a good chair that I can fall off.  Sometimes I'll use a plastic Christmas tree and decorate it with whoopie cushions.  I can get all these props into my mini van.

I do my shows in the theatre district in San Francisco.  I pay a lot more and don't get free rehearsal time but I get more audience.

I do my shows at 11 in the morning.  This seems to be a good time to get people in and then they can have lunch after.  Theaters like me because this is free money to them.  Other than me, no one is renting a theatre at 11 in the morning.

I spend a lot of time getting my shows listed on as many web sites as I can find.  There are lots of places when you search "what to do with children"  that will come up.  I list my show there.  It helps a bit but also gives me a web presence and keeps my web site coming to the top.  That's good for my making a living.

I do fundraising with schools.  I offer a door split for everyone that mentions their name.  This usually brings me about 30 or 40 people.  They're a bit hard because I need to have people there excited about coming to see me. So I have to recruit someone to talk a lot about the show.

I forgot to mention, I usually will do 4 to 6 shows over a 4 day period.  I want to work on the show. That's my personal challenge.  The first show I do will not be great.  I'm never happy with it.  Good energy but I'm thinking of the order of the show and where props are.  I find the comedy as the show progresses.

I list my show on Goldstar which is a half price theatre service.  It gets me 10 or so.

My audience mostly comes from former customers.  I send two emails to everyone that has hired me in the past two years.  I offer half price tickets.

You will need to get into the theatre at some point and move lights around.

I use my sons to run lights, run sound effects and music.  One of my sons is box office.  and will sometimes throw things onto the stage for me.

I pay my sons.  They like this.

I've just scratched the surface.  It's a challenge to put on a theatre show.  I spend about $1500 and over 6 shows.  The theatre is about $200 to $250 per show.  They generally are nice about giving me free rehearsal time.  I pay for parking, which is expensive.  I pay my crew (my sons) $50 to $75 a show.  I try to not buy too many new props but I usually do.  I always make less than what I pay the crew.

I charge about $18 a ticket.  I sell most for half price.

There's so much to be written here.  If you want more.  Please ask.  I can get really specific on things like press releases and the writing of the show.

All The Fame You Ever Wanted...Then What?

Here's the post mortem.

I am profiled in New York Magazine.  They did a 6000 word write up, there are 5 full pages of just pictures of me.  New York Magazine is seen by half a million people plus.  The online version probably equal.

With all that, the world has given me a big shrug.

And that's hard to take.

I always thought someone would see what I do and put me on TV.  Invite me to do a show in New York or Chicago.

I'm still plugging away.  I do a lot of shows.  I've taken a job repairing iphones because I need to get rid of my debt and that's going to take years.  Each phone repair stabs me in the face.  I'm an anonymous phone technician.  A guy with funny hair and tiny tools.  (I have a tiny tool...hee hee)

I'm going to be teaching clowning at San Francisco School of the Arts.  That's nifty.  I am still working for the San Francisco Speakeasy doing my off beat Non-Magician comedy act.  Bosley The Magnificent.

But I'm whole heartedly sad.  This week marks 28 years since I started with Ringling Brothers.

Being so prominently featured...makes me sad.  It's everything I wanted.  I really thought someone would put me on TV.


Read it here!
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/05/fears-of-boswick-the-clown.html

Can You Make a Living as a Clown....

A nice nice fellah named Jusby the Clown has been in communication with me.  I give a big shout out because I'm here, I'm free, I love sharing what I've learned about clowning and he took me up on it.

Good for you.

Jusby went to some business advisors and they said clowning is not a sustainable business.  You would have to do 300 shows a year and you'll end up making $30,000 a year.

He shared this and I said "yup.  That's about right."  That's a lot of shows and lots of those shows will be low priced.

I have the benefit of living in a very wealthy area with millions of people within an hours drive.  I am able to make a living because there are just so many people here.

There are maybe 5 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Point zero zero whatever percent,  will hire children's entertainment.  That's princess parties, balloon makers, magicians, Disney characters, bounce castles, animal shows, science shows, tea parties, music, puppets.

Point zero zero zero zero zero ...zero percent.  Will hire a clown for an event.

I've come to realize you pretty much can't make a living as a clown.

On the other hand so what?

In this world, you can't make a living as a painter, a sculptor, an actor, dancer, writer, martial artist...

Some do.

So the answer is no.  And the answer is yes.

You can make a living.  But it's going to be small, very small and $30,000 a year is about as good as you can hope for.

When I'm at my most financially frustrated, I ask.  "What would you do if you won five million dollars in the lottery?"

Hmmm. I'd get a new car, take care of my children's school, remodel my gross kitchen.  Then what?

I'd still be a clown.  

Branding...

I got a question from my friend Mariposa Blessings.

I knew her way back.  Mariposa worked for me when I was training people to work for a Filipino Restaurant chain called Jollibee.  She was my Heddi Spaghetti.  I knew her then as Vanessa.

She found me again at Christmas I'm very happy to have her back asking me questions.

Vanessa asked me about branding.  She keeps hearing about it.

Here is what I do with my branding.

On youtube I'm boswicktheclown
on instagram I'm boswicktheclown
on facebook I'm boswicktheclown

(starting to get it?)

My business card is yellow background.  My postcard is yellow background.  My type on my business cards, postcards and website are Helvetica.  My videos are the same font.

I try and match my promotion.  It's sort of like seeing A brown truck coming down the road and knowing UPS is delivering so you better run to meet the driver.

The idea is when someone sees a bright yellow clown card they already know it's Boswick the Clown.

It's a pretty high level of marketing.  I think it's a good idea because it will make your promotional material look nicer.  If you're thinking about a new web site, you can match the look.

My opinion?  I don't think it matters as much as people think.

Of course if you are UPS, Ford, Starbucks.  It's necessary.  For us...I think just doing something  is way more important.  It's easy to throw up roadblocks.

If you have no money for a graphic artist.  It's ok to make a simple card from Office Max.  Any business card is better than no business card.  If you don't have a postcard to give to people.  Microsoft Word has some very cool templates.  Use the template and put your pictures in there and print them at home.

Here's the better question though.  When you make a business card or flyer.  What's this piece of paper for?  Ask it over and over.

Here is my answer. I want my business card to go on the refrigerator so people think of me when they have a party.  It's a nice clean fun image.  It's got my phone number on it.

My web site has an email button nice and big on every page.  Because that's what I want.  People to call or email.

There are so many web sites I look at or business cards where I have no idea what the business offers.  I get handed DJ cards all the time.  I throw them on my dresser.  I look at them two weeks later and can't figure out what business this is.

My thought is do something.  Get your name out.  Then start to pick the image you want and start following the colors, images and fonts. Keep your name the same, keep your costume the same.

Tired of Explaining Myself...

Last night I met my friend's new girlfriend.

She had the "oh, clowns scare me thing"

She's very smart.  In fact, should have known better than to keep insulting me.  She's a therapist.  So also very educated.  And had no clue she made me very uncomfortable.

My article has been out a very short time, so everyone wants to talk to me about it and what it's like to be "famous"  (Nothing  to report so far).  So, my friends were there asking me questions.  She said, sitting next to me was difficult for her because she dislikes clowns.

So, I went into my academic explanation of clowns.  The history, all societies have clowns.  Of course you can make a scary clown.  The clown is a profoundly powerful character.  It's easy to make it scary.

I figured out last night while lying in bed why I was bothered by this conversation.  

My piece in New York was about the rude treatment we get and the surprise I feel about people not liking clowns.

I generally have accepted the conversation.  I figure it's like a dentist at a party with someone saying I don't like dentists.  Or a lawyer hearing a lawyer joke.

The difference.  I think people will say something rude to a dentist or lawyer but then say.  "I'm sure you're very good"

I have to defend my profession.  That's so odd.  And It's just tiring.  I don't think a dentist has to defend what they do.

Last night at dinner, I put on a nice face but I had to sit there next to a person that declared her dislike of me.  At no point she said.  "hmm.  you're right, kids like clowns, I can see that"  or even anything nice about me.

I'm very thinned skinned.  This stuff keeps me awake at night.

I thought having a whole fabulous researched article would give me legitimacy.  I would be one of the good ones.

Same crap, not a thing changed.  Even a whole article about me
didn't phase her.

I should have studied dance.

Now I'm famous...

Here it is.  I've been waiting a while for this. My feature in New York Magazine

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/05/fears-of-boswick-the-clown.html

Let me know what you think.

Speaking To Your Audience...

I did a workshop/performance for a clown club in San Jose last night.

I have been telling people about this for a few days.  I forget the concept of a clown club is foreign to most people.  I'm not all that sure what clown clubs do.  I like the idea.

The idea is to promote the art of clowning.  A big chunk of the group never performs puts on make up or appears as a clown.  I guess they are clown fans.  It's flattering but throws me off.  I have people that like me, laugh, hire me, question my life choices of being a clown.  It's a bit odd to be looked at like I'm something special.  Like I'm a celebrity.

There were a few people at the meeting last night that just hung on my words.  They looked at me like I'm a movie star.

I wish they'd tell my children how special I am.

It was hard to do a workshop for this group, they meet in a Round Table Pizza.  The place was very crowded and the Golden State Warriors are in the play offs and were playing on 22 screens  We had to wait for the game to be done.  It would have been hard to compete with all of that.

I mostly did a show.

What is always interesting for me is how to do my show for adults.  I get such laughs from things like dropping my hat with kids.  They laugh and laugh.   Crickets from adults.  The way I make my hat fall off has taken me forever to perfect.  To adults it just looks like I messed up.

I don't like adults to pretend to be children, it's weird, they don't know how to do it.  Also a bit creepy. So when I clown for adults I speak to them.  I do what will make them laugh.  I want them to just laugh.  They are watching me because they like my style of comedy.

which is tricky.

When you are performing for a group you are not good at.  For me adults.  You have to listen to what they are laughing at.  You have to be present, you have to pay attention.   Drop jokes, routines that simply aren't going over.

It's what comedians do.  I've watched watched Robin Williams do the dirtiest stories because that's the audience.  Other times he told stories of his children a family friendly show.  It's having enough material.  Listening to the feedback (laughter.  gasps of surprise) and following that path.

With children, I describe it as being in a rapid river and floating with the current.  It's the same with any audience.  Listen, if they are laughing, follow that current.  If they don't, you're on a rock in the middle of the river not going forward nor backward.  Get off the rock.  It's a lot more interesting to go against the current or with it.

I ended up discussing a lot of theories after the show.  That's my favorite thing.  It didn't work as well as the performance.

But that's why they brought me in.  So extending the metaphor.  I was in an eddy going round and round, till I put my nose back on and did another routine, then they laughed.  I jumped back into the current.

As a clown, you just never know how to deal with situations.  And that's always funny.