How to Use Animals in Clown Routines

They say, "Everybody loves a clown," and that's especially true when they use animals in clown routines. Animals can be very unpredictable when it comes to relying on their timing and cooperation during hours of practice and even show time. The solution is to use animal puppets in your act. They really can be just as silly and fun.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Gather a few animal puppets to use during your act. A dog, cat, squirrel or other small animals are good choices to use animals in clown routines.

2. Start the act by pretending to see an animal you did not notice before. Get closer to the animal puppet as you ask your audience what type of animal it looks like.

3. Ask the audience if they can see the animal getting closer to you. This ensures that they pay close attention to the act and will not miss what happens next, and it involves the audience in the routine as well.

4. Look curiously at the animal once it reaches you in your make believe clown routine as you try to figure out what kind of animal it is. Encourage the audience to participate by asking them what kind of animal it is. Name a few animals as you attempt to guess.

5. Add some action to the act by pretending that the animal bites you as soon as you cautiously reach out to pet it. Draw back in shock and fear and exaggerate the situation for your audience. Say something like, "Oh my! Did you see what he just did to me? He bit me! I can't believe it!"

6. Pretend to be very afraid of the animal now anytime it comes near you when you use this or any other animals in your clown routine. Exaggerate your emotions and facial expressions for the audience saying things like, "Now take it easy. That's a good boy."

Tips & Warnings

• Make every effort to involve the audience as much as possible when you use animals in clown routines.