As the “Greatest Show on Earth” returns to Brooklyn Thursday, circus folk fear a national clown shortage is on the horizon.
Membership at the country’s largest trade organizations for the jokesters has plunged over the past decade as declining interest, old age and higher standards among employers align against Krusty, Bozo and their crimson-nosed colleagues.
2 comments:
Tricia Manuel, founder of the world-famous Mooseburger Clown Arts Camp, wrote a great response to the New York Daily News story on the so-called "national clown shortage". She has an optimistic outlook and offers some insight on how clowns are going under the radar. Read it on Pricilla Mooseburger's blog: http://mooseburger.com/moose/national-clown-shortage/
This is something that it never would have occurred to me might be an issue. With any genre of performing arts I tend to imagine that there will always be an excess. There are only so many clowning jobs out there, right? But this article is approaching through how many clowns are registered in the World Clown Association. That means that there isn't necessarily a shortage of clowns as far as hiring, it could just mean there are less clowns who maybe aren't working professionally. Its unclear if this articles explaining an art thats just becoming less popular or if theres an actual shortage, meaning that there is a demand for clowns that is not being met. What makes this more confusing is the other articles expressing that there is not a clowning shortage.
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