The 12-week session of Clown College in Laguna Woods teaches retirees the finer points of clowning around, including makeup, costumes and humor.
While it’s common for seniors to take recreational classes at colleges after retirement, Laguna Woods is home to an institution unique from other curriculums — Clown College.
Sounds of kazoos, laughter and puns were abuzz at the introductory class of the Laguna Woods Clown Alley’s “college” on Tuesday, Jan. 30, where some 10 students began the course on how to become a clown. About 15 of the experienced clowns came to the introduction, sharing jokes and tips of the trade.
“Let me show you my diamond necklace,” said one clown, who brought out a string connecting a score of diamond-faced cards.
The Clown Alley in Laguna Woods has been giving the community laughs since 2000. Most residents have likely seen the cheerful characters sprinkled throughout local events and charitable organizations.
“It’s a way of giving back, especially in a retirement community,” Donna Doucette, clown and former Clown Alley president, said.
The 12-week session that teaches new clowns the essentials of the trade ends in April with a graduation ceremony. Lessons include makeup application, costume design, characterization and fine-tuning of clowning skills.
“We teach people how to prepare to be a clown, like makeup and costume, then how to be a character,” Doucette said. “I always say to be your best self; if you don’t have a character think of something when you were amazed, like being amazed by a sunset. Let your clown be amazed.”
Doucette, more commonly known by her clown alias Okie Dokie, has been clowning for seven years. She wears a lime-green wig, rainbow-checkered suit and contagious smile as she welcomes new students to the Clown Alley. The 59-year-old said that Clown Alley gives seniors a chance to have some clean, simple fun.
“As a senior, I think it gives you a lot of self-confidence,” Doucette said. “It also gives you a chance to play and it gives you a chance, that if grandkids don’t live nearby, to interact with children.”
During the introductory class, new clowns are given a binder with lessons on character, makeup, costumes and humor. The class meets weekly for two hours.
Newcomer Alma Miller, 76, has lived in Laguna Woods for five years and came to her first Clown College class on Tuesday.
“On the outside, I may seem quiet,” Miller said. “But on the inside of me, there’s a clown who wants to come out.”
After introductions of the seasoned clowns, the clowns and students go outside and do some dancing and icebreakers. One of the quirkier activities included singing “Happy Birthday” to a new student, with the clowns singing it backward or looking away from the birthday girl or guy.
To an outsider, it looks quite odd, but to the veteran clowns, this is business as usual.
Last year, Laguna Woods Clown Alley had 45 clowns and 45 “gigs” — what the clowns call the performances or events they attend. In the Alley’s peak years, the clowns would go to nearly 100 gigs annually. The clowns vary in ages, with a handful of them 90 and older.
Some of the regular gigs include singing for the elderly at the South County Adult Day Care Services for Alzheimer’s Orange County, entertaining for Marines and their families at Camp Pendleton and visiting children at local daycare facilities or schools.
“It’s all clean, family-based fun,” Doucette said. “We are a nice alley; we have rules like you can’t spray water on a clown without permission or make them the butt of a joke without permission. We keep clean fun within the clown community too. We are a family, we are there for each other.”
One clown, Skippy, has been a clown for 53 years. Although not a Laguna Woods resident, he comes to the Clown Alley and shares his experience and jokes with the newcomers.
The Clown Alley is a tight-knit community who love to spread joy to others and themselves, and at this year’s Clown College the alley is hoping to welcome new clowns who want to get involved, Doucette said.
“I think clowns show a side of vulnerability when they’re a little bit timid to try something new. It’s a support system when you can try things out and not be afraid of others’ criticism,” Doucette said.
Bob Sherinian, a 300-pound, 6-foot-tall clown ironically called Tiny, has been with the Clown Alley for about 13 years. Sherinian, 80, said he has made many friends through Clown Alley.
“These people who moved into Laguna Woods have been takers most of their life and now they’re becoming givers,” Sherinian said. “Clowning is a great way to give.”
One of the original Clown Alley members and one of Sherinian’s closest friends, Chuck Crumley — also known as Chuckles — recently died at 85. The members of Clown Alley who attended his funeral on Saturday, Jan. 27, wore humorous hats and clown decor to celebrate his life in a positive way, Sherinian said.
Chuckles’ funeral isn’t the only one to have the colorful guests.
“A lot of times we’ve dressed as clowns to go to the funeral because the family wanted it,” Sherinian said.
With clowns being tied with evil in recent popular culture, such as last year’s remake of Stephen King’s “It,” Sherinian said the Clown Alley tries to enlighten people of the opposite.
“In this day and age, especially what we see on TV with the spooky clowns, we’re fighting that right now,” Sherinian said. “Immediately people see you and get scared because that’s what they portray in movies. What we see is the opposite — the sparkle in a kid’s eyes.”
By teaching new clowns how to form a character, along with balloon-making, skit-performing and other avocations such as magic or puppets, Clown College prepares new clowns to bring joy into stranger’s lives.
“It could be children, the disabled, seniors — it’s just a chance to get whoever you meet smiling,” Doucette said.
