| Even though Pope John Paul has the best possible medical care at Gemelli hospital in Rome, there are some folks who think the Pontiff might appreciate a red nose or two. The clowns Dr. Little Cake and Dr. White Cabbage took time off from entertaining hospitalized children to try out their routine on the Pope. The pair perform as clowns and wear plastic red noses and white laboratory coats decorated with wonderful cartoon characters.
Clownery history:
Its sources go back to the art of court clowns, the European carnival, the Italian Commedia dell' Arte. The Harlequin’s mask was an example for the role of Augusta, the cheerful simpleton Circus Clown. The character Pierrot became a prototype of the White Clown. The appearance of clownery was affected also by the French harlequinade, an English pantomime, the Spanish and Dutch interludes, horse clownery, coming from medieval knightly tournaments. For the first time the clown appeared on scenes of London comedy - farcical theaters "Drurry Lane ", "Sadler's Wells" in 1700. There was J. Grimaldi (1778-1837), J. Rich (1682-1761). Mime J. Deburau (1796-1846) worked later in France at the theater "Funambule". Further clownery development proceeded in the first stationary circuses which appeared in the second half of the 18 century in England and France. The first circuses gave horse-acrobatic performances, and the equestrian, who represented an inability to cope with a horse, became the clown. By the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century two clownery schools were generated: a horse pantomime and theatrical (speaking clownery), historically occurring from the Italian Commedia dell'Arte. Speaking clowns had an influence on the formation of the Red Mask role, equestrians and acrobats were transformed subsequently to the White Clown. J.-B. Oriol' Arlequin combined these two traditions for the first time. He performed in a suit of the medieval clown (circus Frankoni, 1835, Paris). He owned both a pantomime, and a colloquial genre. Definitively the mask of Augusta was issued to 1870 when on the Frankoni circus arena entered a new character in a red wig. Soon clowns began to perform in a duet, in which the basis the social antithesis was read: White is the silly master, Red is the rascal servant. Clownish duets were on a genre buffoon entrée, the content was revealed not with a word, but with a trick with an unexpected comic ending. The entrée of Russian clowns S. Alperov and Bernardo Pechene became the original number which had been thought up by performers. Later clowns began to perform not only in a duet, but also in a trio or in a group (White and two Red etc.).
In a process clownery was differentiated in the following genres:
The circus clown worked on a carpet (the carpet was prepared for the following number) between performances of other circus performers. Carrying out a role as an unlucky circus hand, in the beginning he was the most imperceptible figure in the circus. Gradually reprises of the circus hand were issued in a special genre of performances.
Clowns-trainers:
Clowns-musicians - the professional musicians owning acrobatics, balancing, and original genre. In the West Grock (1880-1959), Geretti and Ferroni have become famous in this genre.
Clowns-mimes: K.F.Loran, Lawrence and Redish, the brothers Хaplon (England), E.Dekru, J-l.Barro, M.Marso (France)
Now it is a very popular circus genre, which superseded entertainment talk.
Clowns-acrobats: V.Ferroni (Italy, 1950).
Now the tendency of the reduction of the colloquial and satirical clownery is observed. In 1990 the new generation of clowns-mimes entered the circus which has brought with itself new figurativeness. It is a return to buffoonery, to the grotesque, but there are also supporters of realism.
From 1960 theatrical clownery was extended, for which improvisation, involving of an audience in an action are characteristic.
The genre of street clown performances and festivals was born.
Circus: At a solo performance the ringleader (ringmaster) or circus hand can work with the "red" clown as a partner; in a circus show the public or a separate spectator can be a partner. Circus clowns have a set of specializations (musical clowns, circus clowns, acrobats, trainers, mimes etc.), however an accurate division does not exist: the majority of circus clowns, as a rule, work in most different genres. The clown - one of the most democratic and at the same time most difficult and universal specializations of the actor. History does not know examples of the mastering of the clown genre by tragic actors; however opposite examples are not so rare. Many outstanding clowns (including - circus clowns) achieved considerable successes in cinema and theatrical roles of a tragicomic repertoire.
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