[NEohioPAL]Re: Clown History

Sat May 1 16:01:20 PDT 2004

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The character of the white faced clown first turned up in the French 
versions of commedia dell'Arte -- Pierrot, who was a direct descendant 
of the Italian Pedrolino.  French troupes crossed the English channel 
around the Elizabethan era.  By the end of the 1680s, "Harlequinades" 
began to appear on the London stage.  These were done in pantomime and 
featured Harlequin, Columbine, Pantaloon and Clown (Pierrot).  Gradually 
the exploits of Clown began to dominate the Harlequinades and he became 
more popular than Harlequin, with his anarchic slapstick physical 
comedy.  Clown was the star of the Harlequinades through the end of the 
19th century.  The 20th century saw the last gasp of the harlequinades, 
although the Pantomimes, in a rather different form, are still popular 
in England.  Anybody who is interested in the history of the 
harlequinade can email me for a copy of a paper I wrote called "The Rise 
and Fall of the Harlequinade in the British Pantomime." 

For a fascinating view of the only successful American Panto Clown, head 
for NYC to see Bill Irwin starring in an original play called Mr.Fox: A 
Rumination at the Signature Theatre through mid May. (I saw it and my 
capsule review is "WOW!" The actor George Fox became so identified with 
the character of Clown in the panto Humpty Dumpty that he could not 
break free of the role, and eventually died a tragic death due to 
madness, perhaps from the lead in the white face makeup he'd used for 
years and years.

The Auguste clown of the circus is an off shoot of the panto Clown.and 
was developed as a 2nd zanni type to go along with the white face 
clown.  For clown history, I recommend "Clowns" by John H. Towsen.

Hope this helps,
Wendy Duke
Miller South Drama

DadSongs at aol.com wrote:

> Hi, NEOPALers!
>
> Does anybody know the significance of the "White Clown" in the clown 
> pantheon? Are there any stories in literature or in the clown 
> repertoire that deal with the exploits of -- specifically -- a "White 
> Clown"?
>
> Rather than bore 2,000-odd list readers with the reason behind my 
> query, I'll personally answer anybody who wants to know why I want to 
> know.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Bruce
>
>

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The character of the white faced clown first turned up in the French
versions of commedia dell'Arte -- Pierrot, who was a direct descendant
of the Italian Pedrolino.  French troupes crossed the English channel
around the Elizabethan era.  By the end of the 1680s, "Harlequinades"
began to appear on the London stage.  These were done in pantomime and
featured Harlequin, Columbine, Pantaloon and Clown (Pierrot). 
Gradually the exploits of Clown began to dominate the Harlequinades and
he became more popular than Harlequin, with his anarchic slapstick
physical comedy.  Clown was the star of the Harlequinades through the
end of the 19th century.  The 20th century saw the last gasp of the
harlequinades, although the Pantomimes, in a rather different form, are
still popular in England.  Anybody who is interested in the history of
the harlequinade can email me for a copy of a paper I wrote called "The
Rise and Fall of the Harlequinade in the British Pantomime."  
 
For a fascinating view of the only successful American Panto Clown,
head for NYC to see Bill Irwin starring in an original play called
Mr.Fox: A Rumination at the Signature Theatre through mid May. (I saw
it and my capsule review is "WOW!" The actor George Fox became so
identified with the character of Clown in the panto Humpty Dumpty that
he could not break free of the role, and eventually died a tragic death
due to madness, perhaps from the lead in the white face makeup he'd
used for years and years. 
 
The Auguste clown of the circus is an off shoot of the panto Clown.and
was developed as a 2nd zanni type to go along with the white face
clown.  For clown history, I recommend "Clowns" by John H. Towsen. 
 
Hope this helps, 
Wendy Duke 
Miller South Drama 
 
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:DadSongs at aol.com">DadSongs at aol.com</a> wrote: 
<blockquote type="cite" cite="mid1ec.1f34949f.2dc56a65 at aol.com">Hi, NEOPALers! 
 
Does anybody know the significance of the "White Clown" in the clown
pantheon? Are there any stories in literature or in the clown
repertoire that deal with the exploits of -- specifically -- a "White
Clown"? 
 
Rather than bore 2,000-odd list readers with the reason behind my
query, I'll personally answer anybody who wants to know why I want to
know. 
 
Thanks! 
 
Bruce 
 
 
 </blockquote>
 
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