A friend of mine is seriously considering attending clown school in Florida. This person is a very talented writer and performer, so I don't understand why she wants to take that route, but it is apparently something she needs to experience artistically...
I started thinking about why clowns freak me out. I thought, at first, that it had to do with how they have often been associated with serial killers and nefarious deeds in modern times, but it turns out that clowns/jesters have been tied to dark humor since the medieval age, like the fool in King Lear who walks around reminding everyone that they're not as smart as they think.
Clowns are just scary! Also, I read that in clown school the most important lesson is not how to be funny, but how to accept public humiliation. They basically break you down psychologically. I don't understand the appeal...
Joseph Grimaldi (1779 - 1837) singing 'All the world's in Paris' from the pantomime 'Harlequin Whittington'