Susanna Plotnick

WHAT I LEARNED IN CLOWN SKOOL – PART 2

In September 2025 I was again privileged to attend the Coney Island Clown Skool as an artist.

Like last time, I was fascinated as I watched the students do the skit exercises. They had to do the skits first without a red clown nose, then with it. They seemed more relaxed, more adventuresome, and wilder when they wore the nose.

During the break, I said to Janet, “you know, we should try on a nose and see how it feels”. When we went back into the auditorium, Glen called me up on stage and had me select a nose to try on.

I felt an immediate rush of silliness and possibility! I imagined that I would do a lot of things with the nose on that I would never do without it! I struck a silly showgirl post, which was made sillier by my outfit – sneakers and a Coney Island sweatshirt!

In another skit, the students took off their shoes and put them on the stage, and each student had to clear all the shoes off the stage at once! I thought about what I would do, and I pictured myself saying “screw this”, and walking out. But of course, they couldn’t do that.

So they were faced with doing something that seemed impossible, but everyone figured out a way. Particularly hilarious was Cochina’s solution, which was to slide on her butt across the stage while pushing the shoes with her feet, all the while being on her phone in an x-rated conversation!

But the bigger point of the clown exercises, to me, is that a clown is faced with a difficult situation, and has to cope. Like life. CLOWNS SHOW THE VULNERABILITY OF EVERY (WO)MAN, in a poignant, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, way.

In 2025, 12 of the 16 students were women, a larger percentage of women than in 2024. Some of the female clowns were pretty, sugary, and sweet while others were very raunchy. Poking fun at, and defying the stereotypes, about women. But some were just lively and hilarious. This was in both 2024 and 2025.

The female burlesque clowns took on negative stereotypes about women – that we are pigs, that we are filthy, and we are masochists, that we are frivolous and stupid. They shocked me by dancing in pig ears and a snout, or with (fake) bruises, or with a lot of underarm hair. But I got, and appreciated the point, lets bring these stereotypes out into the open and laugh at them and dance with them!

Here are some images from both 2024 and 2025

These are the female burlesque dancers from 2024 and 2025.

Written by Susanna Plotnick, October 31, 2025