A system that advances the art, recognizes excellence,
supports learning, and develops “complete” clowns
“Change creates opportunity.”
Opportunities for clown growth, improvement, and learning have been created through the competition changes brought about by a philosophy and format called Red Nose Festival Competition (or Red Nose). Red Nose rates individual merit, recognizes excellence, and supports the learning process. The opportunities created by Red Nose are intended to help participants become better, more complete clowns and become aware of their strengths and areas needing attention.
Red Nose Festival Competition was first conceived in 1997 as an alternative competition philosophy to be considered by organizers of the 1997 NW Festival of Clowns (held September 25-28, 1997 in Portland, Oregon).
Rose City Clown Alley (Portland, OR) member Mike “Buster” Bednarek developed the original concept paper, entitled “Proposals to Improve Competition and Move It to the Next Level.” It was presented to the Clowns of America International (COAI) Board in April 1997 and received the Board's enthusiastic support. The paper was printed in its entirety in the July/August 1997 issue of The New Calliope. The concept also was discussed and debated among Northwest alley leaders, who ultimately supported its implementation at the 1997 NW Festival of Clowns.
The response to the competition changes has been tremendously positive in the four years since the Red Nose format was first introduced in 1997. A large number of people have chosen to participate in Red Nose competition, and participants, coaches, and audiences alike support the new rating and awards system. This paper is an overview of the Red Nose Festival Competition philosophy and format, its benefits, and how it differs from traditional forms of clown competition.
Red Nose competition philosophy and goals |
Red Nose competitions have a different look from those held at other regional, national, and international conferences. Prior to designing this new format for competition, planners first took a philosophical look at what they believed a clown to be:
"A unique, comical character
who uses appearance, actions, and skills
to entertain and make people laugh."
It was agreed that competitions should reflect and reinforce this philosophy. Red Nose competitions rate how “good” a clown is by examining the complete clown: how the clown looks, how the clown acts, and what the clown does. Participants are rated on appearance, character projection, skill, and overall merit.
Red Nose competitions have three goals:
1. Advance the art and craft of clowning. Ratings are given on accomplishment in appearance, character projection, skills, and overall merit, stressing the development and betterment of “complete” clowns.
2. Recognize and reward excellence in clowning. Awards are based on high levels of achievement in the art of clowning. All clowns deserving of recognition receive it – the more honored, the better, if (and only if) they meet certain standards for excellence.
3. Make it a positive learning experience for all involved -- performers, audience, and coaches. Red Nose competitions are intended to measure each participating clown's own merits and help each one become aware of strengths and improve on weaknesses – not be comparisons of one clown to another.
Competition formats based on “complete” clown |
There are two formats for Red Nose competition – Paradeability (single and group) and Performance (single and group), which expands the traditional skit competition. Makeup evaluation is included as one part of the “appearance” component in these two “complete” clown competitions. It is not a separate, stand-alone competition, as is done in traditional clown competitions.
Paradeability. Paradeability competition gives clowns the opportunity to present a running or repeatable performance that they might do in a parade venue. Paradeability is a competition format traditionally found at most regional, national, and international conventions. Red Nose developers feel it is important to retain that tradition because Paradeability already stresses a “complete” clown approach, with a clown’s performance and impact depending on appearance, character projection, and skills.
Performance. Clowns entertain and amuse audiences with a wide variety of performance skills. Besides skits, clowns use physical comedy, storytelling, face painting, balloon sculpturing, pantomime, juggling, magic, vent, puppetry, ministry, joke telling, care-and-humor bringing to hospitals and care facilities, meet-and-greet, educational stage shows, unicycling, cartooning, improvisation, . . . many different forms of clown performance arts. The new Performance competition format expands the traditional "skit" competition to allow participants a chance to showcase the full range of their talents.
Logistics. Performance competition allows participants a 3-minute performing time frame, with an additional 1-minute block before and after for setup and tear down. Gentle warning signals are given (signs are held up for the performer to see) when 30 seconds and no time remain. Paradeability is staged in a way to simulate an actual parade venue, so competition participants must present a running and/or repeatable routine while moving past the entire length of audience.
In both competitions, two panels comprised of three coaches each are employed. The panels coach alternating Red Nose participants. One panel observes performer A, then completes their ratings and constructive critiques during that time frame in which performer B is observed by the second panel.
This provides for fast moving, seamless, variety show-like competition events, which greatly enhances the enjoyment of the experience for audience and participants alike. What makes this work is using panels of coaches who are equally strong as clowns and educators who understand the Red Nose philosophy and are trained in the new rating system, its criteria for certain levels of achievement, and constructive critiques.
Ratings based on accomplishment; include positive, constructive critiques |
Red Nose Festival Competition coaches rate accomplishment in four areas: appearance, character projection, skill, and overall merit. Ratings in each are given on a 5-point scale:
5 – Excellent, 4 – Very Good, 3 – Good, 2 – Fair, and 1 – Needs Attention.
A rating of 5 – Excellent means:
1. Appearance meets highest standards for clown makeup, costuming, and props.
2. Character projection is extremely strong and comical, including facial and physical expression, movement, and actions.
3. Performance skills are highly accomplished and well rehearsed, and performance is highly entertaining.
4. Overall, the clown demonstrates a high degree of strength and accomplishment in appearance, character, and skill.
A rating of 4 – Very Good means:
1. Appearance meets high standards for clown makeup, costuming, and props.
2. Character projection is generally strong and comical, including facial and physical expression, movement, and actions.
3. Performance skills are accomplished and show evidence of being practiced and rehearsed, and performance is entertaining.
4. Overall, the clown demonstrates a certain degree of strength and accomplishment in appearance, character, and skill.
A rating of 3 – Good means:
1. Appearance meets above average standards for clown makeup, costuming, and props.
2. Character projection demonstrates some strength and is generally comical, including facial and physical expression, movement, and actions. Minor weaknesses, while noticeable, do not detract from the overall sense and projection of character.
3. Performance skills show some proficiency and evidence of being practiced and rehearsed, and performance is generally effective, energetic, and entertaining.
4. Overall, the clown demonstrates an average and/or developing degree of strength and accomplishment in appearance, character, and skill.
A rating of 2 – Fair means:
1. Appearance of clown makeup, costuming, and props is average or below, and areas needing work and improvement detract somewhat from the clown's visual image.
2. Character projection demonstrates limited ability and generally does not communicate with the audience. Areas needing work – including comical sense, facial and physical expression, movement, and/or actions – are fairly obvious. Weaknesses are noticeable and detract somewhat from the overall sense and projection of character.
3. Performance skills show beginner level or little proficiency and evidence of being practiced and rehearsed, and performance is generally ineffective, not energetic, and not entertaining.
4. Overall, the clown demonstrates an average, below average, and/or just developing degree of strength and accomplishment in appearance, character, and skill.
A rating of 1 – Needs Attention means:
1. Appearance of clown makeup, costuming, and props is well below average, and areas needing work and improvement detract from the clown's visual image.
2. Character projection demonstrates very little ability and does not communicate with the audience. Areas needing work – including comical sense, facial and physical expression, movement, and/or actions – are very obvious. Weaknesses are very noticeable and detract from the overall sense and projection of character.
3. Performance skills show no proficiency and evidence of being practiced and rehearsed, and performance is ineffective, not energetic, and not entertaining.
4. Overall, the clown demonstrates very little strength and accomplishment and/or a beginning level of clowning in appearance, character, and skill.
Instead of a complex score card used in traditional competitions, a Red Nose Festival Competition rating sheet is used (a sample is attached). In addition to the ratings, each coach gives comments and a positive, constructive critique, again considering the merits of the individual clown’s performance.
Awards recognize excellence and achievement |
A single rating – the “Overall” score given at the bottom of the Red Nose rating sheet by each coach – is the basis for awards, since that rating reflects overall accomplishment and merit and factors in appearance, character projection, and skills. Award recipients are determined simply by adding up the “Overall” ratings from the three coaches on each panel, eliminating the need for a complicated scoring, tabulating, and ranking system.
Medal honors are given to competition participants on the following scale from the total “Overall” ratings of their respective three coaches: Gold (total of 14–15), Silver: (11–13), and Bronze (9–10). All others participating in Red Nose competitions receive some form of recognition, such as a Red Nose Commendation.
Red Nose Festival Competition turns the focus of competition inward. In this spirit, Red Nose awards recognize levels of accomplishment and do not produce a comparative ranking. All clowns deserving of recognition receive it. Those not receiving honors are recognized for participating and benefit from the constructive critiques given by their panel of coaches.
Interestingly, Red Nose planners are finding that the medallions and certificates have become almost secondary to some participants. They consider the positive critiques and suggestions from the coaches the most valuable and meaningful honor and reward for participating.
Audience included in People’s Choice system |
In addition to the awards given for accomplishment, an additional set of awards was created to actively involve audience members in recognizing good clowning. Red Nose strongly holds the belief that clowning is a performing art – it requires study and practice, it depends on an audience, and how good it is can, by and large, be measured by the response it produces, usually by how much people laugh and are entertained.
In the spirit of that belief, People’s Choice awards enable the audience to choose and recognize their favorite entertainers. Not only do clown convention participants cast their ballots for their favorite entertainers in the Single and Group Performance competitions, but the general public who attend an outdoor, open-to-the public Paradeability competition do, too. Reaction to the People’s Choice award system at the NW Festivals has been very positive, with 81% of the respondents rating it “Great” (a 5 on a 1-to-5 scale) on the 1997 NW Festival evaluation.
Coaches’ selection, orientation, and preparation important |
A key ingredient to making the Red Nose competition system successful is the involvement of top-notch clowns and clown educators as coaches.
There are three criteria that are absolutely essential in Red Nose coach selection. First, it is important that they be skilled, well-rounded, well respected, and accomplished clowns themselves. Second, the clown coaches must be proven clown educators. They should be fully aware of the learning process, able to assess each participant’s individual merits, and capable of offering positive, constructive critiques which recognize and reinforce strengths and recommend ways to address weaknesses.
Ultimately, to make the changes in competition philosophy and format successful, it is important that the coaches be well-versed, supportive of, and trained in the Red Nose competition philosophy which advances the art of clowning (and the notion of the “complete” clown), recognizes excellence, and makes competition a positive, learning experience for all involved.
The panels of coaches at the past five NW Festivals of Clowns (1997 through 2001) have included broad representation from Oregon and Washington, nationally recognized experts and master clowns, COAI Board members and officers, NW alley leaders, and NW Festival headliners. The coaches have included: Gerry Ackley, Albert Alter, Tyler Bechtel, Mike Bednarek, Paula Biggio, Mary Pat Booth, Bonnie Donaldson, Gene Cordova, Lori and Mark Hurley, Bruce Johnson, Lee Mullally, Rex Nolen, Angel Ocasio, Vincent Pagliano, PJ Parsons, Judy Quest, Karen Reinholt, Linda Russell, Andi Rothweiler, Trudi Sang, Cinda Tilgner, Cheri Venturi, and Mark Wilson. At the 2000 COAI international convention in San Francisco, new Red Nose coaches included Leo Desilets, Paul Kleinberger, Cathy Mackey, and Marcela Murad.
Reactions and evaluations: “wonderful, innovative, groundbreaking” |
To document the impact of the competition changes, extensive evaluation has been done with Red Nose participants, coaches, and audience members. Overall, the response is extremely positive and seems to indicate that the intended benefits of making the changes were actually realized.
The following is a sample of the comments and remarks made about Red Nose at the NW Festival of Clowns and the 2000 COAI convention:
Ø I love the new format; innovative and groundbreaking.
Ø Fantastic! The new evaluation format and awards are the right way to do it. People put a lot of time and energy into their clown character and performance routine. It was good to see most receive some earned recognition for their efforts and not the old 1st, 2nd, 3rd, sorry, no more recognition. THANKS SO MUCH for the change. Hope it continues!
Ø New rating and awards system absolutely the way we should be doing it; we can’t go back. The new system will further the art of clowning and help individuals improve. We will have better clowns because of it!
Ø The idea of competing against yourself to improve your clowning is a marvelous concept. Well done to all the organizers.
Ø I believe that it just may be a better way. Maybe that way you will do away with just the glamour outfits versus working outfits.
Ø I came to do a skit/presentation that is very new. I needed to find out what works / what didn’t and how I needed to improve it. This was much more helpful to me than the other judges’ sheets and much better than winning a prize! Thanks!
At the 2000 COAI convention, over 90% of respondents agreed with the following statements (having responded either “Strongly Agree” or “Agree” on the reaction form):
Ø Clown competitions should be based on the “complete” clown (including appearance, character, and skills).
Ø Clown competition should emphasize and support learning and improvement.
Ø Clown competition awards should recognize achievement in the art of clowning.
Ø Competition awards should recognize all clowns deserving of recognition.
Ø The Red Nose format helped advance the art of clowning. Coaches’ ratings and comments were based on completeness and accomplishment in appearance, character, skills, and overall merit.
Ø The Red Nose competitions tried to recognize and reward excellence in clowning. All clowns deserving of recognition received it.
Ø The Red Nose competitions were a positive learning experience for all involved – performers, audience, and coaches. Competitions rated each clown’s own merits and helped each one become aware of strengths and improve on weaknesses.
Ø The Red Nose philosophy and format encourages and supports clowns to become the best they can be.
Ø Overall, I support the Red Nose philosophy and format to improve clown competitions, individual clowns’ abilities and skills, and the art of clowning.
Differences between Red Nose and traditional competitions significant |
The differences between Red Nose Festival Competition and traditional competition formats are obvious and significant:
Purpose. The philosophy and goals of Red Nose are meant to advance the art of clowning, recognize excellence, support learning, and develop “complete” clowns. The purpose of traditional competition is unclear and cannot be located in writing. It appears that it is meant to identify the best looking, best performed skits, and best parade routines from among those competing at a given event or convention.
Focus. Red Nose turns the focus of competition inward, rates individual merit, recognizes excellence and accomplishment, does not compare one clown to another, and results in a constructive critique leading to growth and development. Traditional competition is head-to-head in nature and results in a rank order listing from which those clowns judged to be the strongest within the group competing are honored.
Certainly, there are positive aspects of competition worth retaining. Those include setting individual goals, shooting for high standards, recognizing excellence, using creativity, taking risks, taking pride in one’s art in the presence of peers, trying out new material in front of a collegial audience, and receiving feedback on strengths and areas needing improvement from experts.
Red Nose developers believe it is time to take those positive aspects and turn the focus of competition inward and focus on becoming better, more complete clowns, rather than “beating” the competition and “winning” a plaque. Winning a plaque, by itself, can be an accolade and a good thing, especially if it’s in recognition of achieving a certain level of excellence. However, if it’s seen only as the acquisition of something to hang on a wall and reward for having beaten a competitor, it loses its shine.
No matter how new to clowning or accomplished an individual clown might be, he or she could benefit from being evaluated against a certain set of standards for appearance, character projection, and performance skills.
By so doing under the Red Nose format, that clown receives individualized feedback on strengths and areas to improve, excellence is recognized and rewarded, individualism is respected and celebrated, and the art of clowning is advanced. Competition also becomes more collegial in nature.
Traditional competition formats include Paradeability, Skit, and Makeup. Occasionally, clown conferences also include balloon sculpture as a competition event.
Red Nose retains a number of aspects from the traditional competitions. These include:
1) rating or coaching based on the “complete” clown -- appearance, character projection, and skill (as is currently done in Paradeability),
2) recognition of creativity, originality, entertainment value, and humor,
3) critiquing by a panel of master clowns,
4) the principles of beginning, middle, and end in a performance routine,
5) a specific time frame of a pre-determined number of minutes,
6) the option to perform solo or in a group ensemble,
7) the opportunity to perform for an audience of supportive peers, and
8) the option for non-participants to observe, learn, and participate as an audience.
Coaching or judging. The Red Nose philosophy of evaluating individual clowns reinforces the ideal of the complete clown, recognizes excellence, measures each clown’s own merits, and helps each clown become aware of strengths and improve on weaknesses. This still satisfies each and every one of the “desirable” traits now found in traditional competition.
The philosophical change brought about by Red Nose has created a new spirit for both self-improvement and artistic pride, and it has a great impact on how judges – called “coaches” under the Red Nose format – view and carry out their roles.
Instead of conscientiously -- and quite seriously -- trying to discern the difference between a score of 16 or 17 in “originality” because the competitor’s composite score determines his or her rank (and a possible award) in traditional competitions, Red Nose coaches take a more positive, enjoyable, and “complete” clown approach to evaluating merit and accomplishment. They are seen as being supportive, enabling, and “on the side” of the individual participant. And, they can actively participate as members of the audience, instead of as stoic observers.
Scoring, honors, and awards. Red Nose Festival Competition rates accomplishment in four areas: appearance, character projection, skill, and overall. Ratings in each are given on a 5-point scale: 5 – Excellent, 4 – Very Good, 3 – Good, 2 – Fair, 1 – Needs Attention.
In addition to the ratings, each coach gives comments and a positive, constructive critique, again considering the merits of the individual clown. Instead of a complex score card used in traditional competitions, a Red Nose Festival Competition rating sheet is used (a sample is attached). Red Nose awards recognize levels of accomplishment and do not produce a comparative ranking, as in traditional competition. All clowns deserving of recognition receive it in Red Nose. Even those not receiving honors are recognized for participating, and they benefit from the constructive critiques given by their panel of coaches.
Observations and reflections on the benefits to competition changes |
With vision, commitment, involvement, planning, and practical optimism, the Red Nose competition philosophy and format can succeed. And succeed it has – in the Northwest since 1997, in the Northeast since 1998, at the most recent international pilot run at the 2000 COAI convention. Red Nose developers anticipated – and now are seeing – the following benefits and results of the changes:
1) Red Nose events reinforce and uphold the value and importance of the “complete” clown,
2) clowns participating in a Red Nose event are rated on individual merit,
3) clowns receive an appropriate amount of recognition for having accomplished a certain level of competence in the art,
4) all clowns deserving of recognition receive it, with as many (or as few) clowns deserving of recognition at a particular Red Nose event receiving it,
5) participants receive more specific feedback on strengths and suggested areas for improvement through the rating system and constructive critiques,
6) the potential arbitrariness of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers, Top 10 award winners, and “winners and losers” is eliminated, and
7) the gap perceived by those who feel they “aren’t good enough to compete” has been lessened and perhaps eliminated (which has resulted in more clowns choosing to participate in competition at conferences using the Red Nose philosophy and format).
Recent developments |
Several developments during the past few years indicate that Red Nose Festival Competition continues to gain support:
Red Nose has developed regional interest and support in the Northwest, where it's been used as the competition format for the last five Northwest Festivals (1997-2001), and in the Northeast, beginning with the April 1998 "Spring in the Clowns" in Plymouth (MA). Since then, the 1999 and 2000 NE regional conventions and Vince Pagliano's Clownfest in New Jersey in 1999, 2000, and 2001 all have incorporated the Red Nose philosophy and format into their competition events.
Impressed with the new system and the reviews it was receiving from regions using it, the Clowns of America International (COAI) Board adopted a plan in 1999 to see for itself how Red Nose operated. The Board approved a recommendation to conduct Paradeability at the 2000 COAI Convention under the Red Nose Festival Competition format.
Organizers of the 2002 COAI Convention in Saratoga Springs (NY) will incorporate Red Nose training sessions and Performance competition in the convention lineup.
COAI Board adopts strategic directions for Red Nose |
At its April 1999 annual meeting, the COAI Board of Directors approved moving forward on the following sets of activities to continue the communication, training, technical support, promotion, and implementation of Red Nose:
1. Reaffirm COAI Board support for the concept and direction.
2. Renew communications about the Red Nose concept and implementation.
3. Develop a training and technical support kit.
4. Provide matching grants for technical assistance.
5. Develop a Red Nose technical assistance cadre.
7. Market and promote the Red Nose to other COAI regions and populations.
8. Conduct an on-site pilot of Red Nose at the 2000 COAI Convention in San Francisco.
The current strategy and approach to implement Red Nose has been to encourage, support, and evaluate regional event use of Red Nose Festival Competition and allow grassroots support to gradually build. If the concept continues its strong showing, success stories and interest in implementing it should continue to spread.
Further in-roads into regions of the country and world strongly adhering to the existing competition model might be made through some of the targeted strategies listed above. The growing grassroots support for Red Nose convinced the COAI Board to use the broad platform afforded by its annual convention to expose the Red Nose philosophy and format to an international audience.
Red Nose Festival Competition developers enthusiastically recommend that the new philosophy and format be conducted and evaluated at all regional and national clown gatherings interested in implementing these changes.
For more information . . .
Attached to this report is a sample Red Nose Festival Competition Rating Sheet. Additional materials and background information are available on request, including:
1. Proposals to Improve Competition and Move It to the Next Level, Mike “Buster” Bednarek’s 1997 concept paper on competition changes
2. Red Nose Festival Competition Rating sheets (completed copies with coaches’ ratings)
3. Evaluations from previous Red Nose events
3. Red Nose information posted on conference web sites
4. Red Nose award and honors samples, including medallions and certificates
5. Red Nose letter of understanding for conference organizers considering offering Red Nose competition within their events.
For more information on Red Nose Festival Competition or for technical assistance in incorporating these changes into regional or national competition events, please contact:
Mike “Buster” Bednarek
PO Box 364
Salem, Oregon 97308
(503) 362-7999
http://www.webclowns.com/rednose
http://www.webclowns.com/buster
About
the author ...
Mike “Buster” Bednarek tours throughout the Pacific Northwest with his zany mix of physical comedy, pantomime, and illusions called Buster’s Red Nose Revue. An experienced trainer of children and adults, he teaches the art of clowning at the community college level and has served on the staff at Clown Camp™ at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, NW Comedifest, the NW Festival of Clowns, the 1999 COAI NE Regional, and the 2000 and 2002 COAI international conventions.
In 1997, Mike authored a sweeping set of proposals to improve clown competitions that received the enthusiastic support of the Clowns of America International (COAI) Board. He is a consultant to the COAI Board and state and regional organizations for this new competition philosophy, entitled Red Nose Festival Competition.
In his “spare time,” he’s a project coordinator for an Oregon school district, gets taken for runs by his dog, and cheers rather loudly at all the wrong times during his daughter’s soccer games.
He lists as his “red nose heroes” the following clowns and fools: Charlie Chaplin, Grock, Oleg Popov, Annie Fratellini, Avner “Avner the Eccentric” Eisenberg, Kenny Ahern, Bill Irwin, Rowan “Mr. Bean” Atkinson, Arthur Pedlar, David Larible, Michael Christensen, Barry Lubin, Lou Jacobs, and Otto Griebling. He wonders why any of them would ever enter makeup competition.
Click here for the Red Nose Rating Sheet
Copyright© 2001 by Mike
Bednarek
and Hickory Publications