Hmmm. Let's see, my last post was ALL of 2014 whch didn't really give a good idea of specific performances of characters I was creating for myself. If you've read the pinned post you know that while I am The Ubiquitous Dr Strangelove, I do have characters other than that while I clown, each based on specific aspects of my personality. So let me start by introducing them, with my very first character- Clopin Trouillefou- also known as Clopin the Mad Harlequin. His name is taken, originally, from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, although I generally never refer to him more than Clopin or Harlequin because he isn't the character from that story- I only used the name. The images I'm attaching are the progression of this character, in order of how I created him- started with my very first Black/Red makeup look from around 2008, the DnD character that makeup inspired, leading all the way into today.
Prior to making Clopin The Mad Harlequin into one of my clown characters, or deciding what I wanted him to be, or ANYTHING about that, he was a makeup concept and then a DnD character. Before that, however, One of my favorite things was the Commedia Dell'Arte, out of Italy. i had spent years studying it and loving it- the Zanni characters where like, kind of an ideal for me. I always loved jesters but it was the Zanni I felt the most connection with. In the Commedia they had what were referred to as Stock Characters- the Zanni (which where the term "Zany" comes from) being one type of stock character; Clowns type characters that often took a role of someone from a lower caste of society- a worker, or a drudge of some kind. And the stories could be a variety of things, but MANY of them were focused on comedy where these Zanni characters would Punch-Up using slapstick comedy and pantomime. These performances were a massive inspiration for future clowns in the 18- and 1900s, as well as just heavily influencing me as a clown. The most popular stock characters among the Zanni may be known to anyone reading this: Harlequin/Arleccino, Paggliacci/Pierrot/Pedrolino, Pulcinella, Scapino and Brighella, as well as the character who gave his name to Clowning, Clown (a Zanni was expanded and given international fame by Joseph Grimaldi of the Briish Harlequinades, in the early 1800s).
But how does that relate to Clopin the Mad Harlequin, other than the name? Well, While I was working as a fire performer and in the early time working as a clown, I started to realize fairly quickly that parties have different moods and themes, and different energies and reasons- and while I COULD just show up as whatever general clown character I AM, I felt like maybe creating a group of stock characters I could use that would work for different TYPES of parties would be really helpful- And even though I am starting out with Clopin, I actually started creating him as my clown character alongside Pierrot L'Amoureux; Because just like in the Commedia, I wanted one who was more egocentric, hubristic and in your face, and one who was more reserved, demure, and romantic- Foils of each other just like Harlequin and Pierrot.
And that is where everything started. Eventually I would expand which clown characters I had, stepping away from JUST Zanni and including things like "Birthday Clown" as well as the three standard circus clown types: Auguste, Whiteface and Hobo (I lvery quickly stopped using Hobo though, as there are some pretty gross implications with that kind of character that I really fucking hate. To me clowning is about using humor to punch up and speak on issues in society with humor, among other things- and the Hobo and Minstrel types of clowns do the opposite- and the standard "Party Clowns" and "Clowns for Christ" leave the politics at the door for basic family-friendly entertainment- which to me, hollows out clowning to it's fucking core.
I always think of the Commedia as something akin to Punk before Punk, that birthed Clowning- in a similar way to how jesters had Jester's Privilege, but where the performances could incite people to actually think and make changes instead of it JUST being comedy and entertainment.
So, Clopin is my Ego and Hubris. Pierrot is my Love. My "Party Clown" is my childhood. Clown the Adversary is my struggle with Mental Health. Laughing Loki is my Pyromania, channeled into a safe and fun activity that I can do as a performance- and so on and so forth. These characters are the Zanni I have created that I perform as under the banner of The Ubiquitous Dr Strangelove, and this idea is integral to how I perform.
And so, as time went on, Clopin evolved further and further, until around 2018 when I realized that I just needed to shelve my ego and hubris, and heal a bunch of things about myself before I took the mantle of Clopin back on, even as just a performance.
Anyway, that's the history of my very first Zanni/Clown character, Clopin the Mad Harlequin.
