Clowns With Guns by Christopher Evans takes a theatrical & absurd look at the endless cycle of senseless violence. An important play for important discussions.
This month we’re focusing on helping different types of students in your drama class succeed. In the fourth and final part of this series, we’re focusing on the class clowns. Going back to the High School Musical comparison, the class clowns are your outspoken and outgoing Chad Danforth types. They are loud and funny students who love to draw attention to themselves with their goofiness. They often take drama class because they think it’s an easy grade. They may secretly enjoy drama class but don’t want to admit it.
Class clowns have wonderful energy and a great sense of humour, and they’re often talented performers because they’re fearless. They’re eager to show off and make their friends laugh. They excel at theatrical techniques such as improv, sketch comedy, and clowning (of course). They usually enjoy playing theatre games but will often try to stretch or bend the rules to suit their own sense of humour.
Class clowns, however, are notorious for being disruptive in the classroom. They may irritate the drama enthusiasts because they don’t always take their work seriously; frustrate the writer/composers because they often improvise instead of sticking to the script; overwhelm the introverts with their boisterousness; and annoy teachers by distracting the rest of the class. The challenge for the drama teacher is to encourage the class clowns to maintain their enthusiasm and zest, while keeping them focused and on task.