With day one icebreakers out of the way, campers in the Clowning class were eager to learn all about the history of clowning and how to be a clown. There were tri-colored balls and sheer scarves flying as the students were learning to juggle.
Our clown wanna-bes learned about juggling techniques such as where they should hold their hands, which ball to throw first, how high to throw, and how to catch one and throw another simultaneously. Sounds easy doesn’t it!
After spending time practicing, the students will tell you it is definitely not easy! To help get the hang of it, campers started with only two balls. Most of them practiced over a table, so “the balls didn’t fall as far” according to one camper. Many of the students eventually attempted to juggle three, with some successfully keeping the balls in the air for several minutes.
They took a break from juggling so that Mr. Wilkins could give them a preview of other clown work they would be learning over the next two weeks including plate spinning, using devil sticks and diablos, and stilt-walking. Mr. Wilkins assured everyone that all it takes to be a clown is practice!
