Editing Clown (section)

== Terminology ==

=== Roles and skills ===
In the circus, a clown might perform other circus roles or skills. Clowns may perform such skills as [[tightrope]], [[juggling]], [[unicycling]], [[MC|Master of Ceremonies]], or ride an animal. Clowns may also "sit in" with the [[orchestra]]. Other circus performers may also temporarily stand in for a clown and perform their skills in clown costume.

=== Frameworks ===
Frameworks are the general outline of an act that clowns use to help them build out an act.<ref name="simplycircus.com">{{cite web|archive-date=March 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313202950/http://simplycircus.com/circus_dictionary/clowning_framework|url=http://www.simplycircus.com/Circus_Dictionary/Clowning_Framework|website=simplycircus.com|title=Clowning Framework}}</ref> Frameworks can be loose, including only a general beginning and ending to the act, leaving it up to the clown's creativity to fill in the rest, or at the other extreme a fully developed script that allows very little room for creativity.

Shows are the overall production that a clown is a part of, it may or may not include elements other than clowning, such as in a circus show. In a circus context, clown shows are typically made up of some combination of ''entrées, side dishes, clown stops, track gags, gags'' and ''bits''.

=== Gags, bits and business ===
* '''Business''' – the individual motions the clown uses, often used to express the clown's character.
* '''Gag''' – very short piece of clown comedy that, when repeated within a ''bit'' or ''routine'', may become a ''[[running gag]]''. Gags are, loosely, the jokes clowns play on each other. A gag may have a beginning, a middle, and an end – or may not. Gags can also refer to the prop stunts/tricks or the stunts that clowns use, such as a squirting flower.
* '''Bit''' – the clown's sketch or routine, made up of one or more gags either worked out and timed before going on stage, or impromptu bits composed of familiar improvisational material

=== Menu ===
* '''Entrée''' — clowning acts lasting 5–10 minutes. Typically made up of various gags and bits, usually within a clowning framework. Entrées almost always end with a ''blow-off'' — the comedic ending of a show segment, bit, gag, stunt, or routine.
* '''Side dish''' — shorter feature act. Side dishes are essentially shorter versions of the ''entrée,'' typically lasting 1–3 minutes. Typically made up of various gags and bits, side dishes are usually within a clowning framework. Side dishes almost always end with a ''blow-off.''

=== Interludes ===
''Clown Stops'' or ''interludes'' are the brief appearances of clowns in a circus while the props and rigging are changed. These are typically made up of a few ''gags'' or several ''bits''. Clown stops will always have a beginning, a middle, and an end to them, invariably culminating in a blow-off. These are also called ''reprises'' or ''run-ins'' by many, and in today's circus they are an art form in themselves. Originally they were bits of ''business'' usually parodying the preceding act. If for instance there had been a [[tightrope walker]] the reprise would involve two chairs with a piece of rope between and the clown trying to imitate the ''artiste'' by trying to walk between them, with the resulting falls and cascades bringing laughter from the audience. Today, interludes are far more complex, and in many modern shows the clowning is a thread that links the whole show together.

=== Prop stunts ===
Among the more well-known clown stunts are: squirting flower; the ''[[Clown car|too-many-clowns-coming-out-of-a-tiny-car]]'' stunt; doing just about anything with a [[rubber chicken]], tripping over one's own feet (or an air pocket or imaginary blemish in the floor), or riding any number of ridiculous vehicles or [[clown bicycle]]s. Individual prop stunts are generally considered individual bits.