Joey. Knockabout act Comedy act involving physical humor and exaggerated mock violence Producing clown The clown who writes, directs and procures props and costumes for a gag Production gag A large scale ring gag Shows 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 ring gags, track gags, walkarounds and chases. "Stars and Stripes Forever" The band reserved this Sousa march as a signal that an emergency had come up calling for the clowns to come running out from the Alley directing public attention away from the emergency or for the audience to be evacuated. Suitcase gag A visual pun that is carried inside of a suitcase and used during walkarounds. The set-up is written on the front and the suitcase is opened to reveal the punchline. Trouper A person who has spent at least one full season with the circus, and whose response to the demands of life and work on the road are those of a seasoned veteran. Also used in vaudeville (and in theatre in general) to mean a veteran performer. Walkarounds A clown feature in which they stroll the hippodrome track performing very brief visual gags that can be easily picked up, moved and performed again for another section of the audience Notable examples Historical Joseph Grimaldi Joseph Grimaldi was one of the greatest English pantomime clowns. His father was Giuseppi Grimaldi (died 1788), an Italian dancing master and pantomimist. Joseph's stage debut was at 3 years old in a dance at Sadler's Wells, London's famous variety theatre. Grimaldi never performed in a circus ring, but spent most of his life performing in full-length pantomimes. He had the most to do with the development of the pantomime character of Clown. Grimaldi used a substantial amount of colour to his mouth, cheeks, and eyebrows over his painted white face. The most striking aspect of his make-up was the large red triangles. His image was followed closely for the next 50 years by most British clowns. Grimaldi was known as a master in the use of expressions of the body and face, unique sense of comic timing, imaginative byplay, and his overall comic abilities. He was famous and influential enough in his time to have had Charles