[Jords]

I was in the middle of watching Modern Family and Cam was talking about how there are 4 different clown types (hes dressing up as "Fizbo" for Luke's birthday party), and I got intrigued and Googled about them. It never occured to me that there might be different sorts of clown that portray different roles!


1. Whiteface

(a) Pierrot

An elegant clown, artistic, colorful, bright and cheery. Its performance is highly artistic and skillful, but done with a comedic or dramatic flair.

(b) Straight + (c) Grotesque

Edited: Elegant clowns, artistic, colorful, bright and cheery. In a setting with other clowns, these would be in charge. Their performance are highly artistic and skillful, but done with a comedic or dramatic flair. When performing with the Auguste and/or Tramp, these clowns would remain in charge, setting up the routine, throwing rather than taking the pie, slap or kick. The Straight clown is more comical than the Pierrot clown, and the Grotesque clown is more comical than them both. These clowns however are a bit more reserved than the impish and gregarious Auguste.

Left: Straight | Right: Grotesque


2. Auguste

The most comical of all clowns. He/she is impish, gregarious and thrives on slapstick. His/her actions are big, clumsy and awkward. He/she does not have much in common with the Whiteface except for the makeup and costume. His/her personality is that of a rabble rouser. When appearing with the Whiteface, the Auguste (German meaning "foolish") is the brunt of the joke. However, with the Tramp, he becomes the instigator in control of the situation.

3. Tramp/Hobo

By nature, he will probably be a loner, which is reflected in his determination to be silent, generally not talking to anyone but his peers. His downcast mannerisms and shuffling burdensome movements reflect his hard life.

He is the one who is the brunt of the joke and will be on the receiving end of the pie, slap or kick from the Whiteface or Auguste. Both variations of tramps will be judged together. In addition, the "bag lady" would be considered the female version of a Tramp/Hobo.

4. Character

A Character Clown is one who portrays an identifiable character and/or occupation, i.e., fireman, nurse, doctor, cowboy, storybook character, policeman, sailor, small child, etc.

I found it a little interesting anyway!
Poor Tramp/Hobo clowns.