Clown

Forget the staid shirts, ties, slacks, skirts, and blouses. Instead, how about giant shoes, face paint, a fluorescent wig, a bowtie, suspenders, and a big red nose?

Although it’s not your typical corporate uniform, that’s what you wear to work when you’re a Clown. Although your pink hair and polka-dotted pants probably wouldn’t go over too well in a traditional office, they go over perfectly at theaters, arenas, rodeos, amusement parks, and parties — and, of course, circuses — all of which are classic Clown cubicles.

No matter where your “office” is, you’re an entertainer. Armed with costumes, props, and a sense of humor, you’re therefore paid to perform in front of an audience, either by yourself or with other Clowns. Your act — called a “gag” — is a rehearsed routine that might include any or all of the following components: jokes, juggling, balloon art, miming, magic tricks, animal stunts, impersonations, pranks, and visual puns.

Really, what you do depends on what type of clown you are. If you’re a Whiteface Clown, for instance, you’re considered the head Clown in a troupe, which entitles you to direct the gag as chief troublemaker. If you’re an Auguste Clown, on the other hand, you’re the butt of the joke (Whiteface Clowns throw the pie in the face; Auguste Clowns take it!). Meanwhile, if you’re a Character Clown, you play an exaggerated character like a Cowboy, Baker, housewife, or hobo.

It’s simple: Whiteface, Auguste, or Character, performing freelance at birthday parties or full-time at the circus, your job quite literally is “clowning around”!