I have worked on the WOW Committee for many years doing various jobs and I consider it important to contribute in useful ways to community organisations. WOW has been a great experience over the years. Any clowning workshops, class, games or performances are great fun. The messages WOW performances convey on social issues within the clowning acts are important for me.
I wrote the song called Appalling for the act, No Planet B. This act was about climate change and was developed by the members of the Performance class. We first performed this act with the Circus WOW choir, Acquired Taste, in 2019 at the EcoArts Australis national conference. Another social issue we focused on was in 2018 when we created an act about homelessness and battery hens called Cracked.
I have been making costumes for about 50 years and, after studying at Ultimo TAFE, shoemaking for 20 years. It is common for Circus people to make their own costumes but rare to have someone who makes specialist shoes. It has been a pleasure making shoes to complement WOW’s clown costumes, while performing myself as a clown. It is an interesting fusion of skills I have developed over the years.
I am one of the oldest members of Circus WOW at the moment and have learnt much about myself and others, and the joy of physical clowning.