Nov_Dec_1998

November/December, 1998
By Lee "Juggles" Mullally
1817 S.W. 76th Terrace
Galnesvllle, FL 32607
As I indicated in my last article
("Introduction to walkarounds," The
New Calliope, Sept./Oct., 1998),
walkaround clowning involves
entertaining individuals or small groups
of people in less structured settings.
Remember that the clown performs for
one group and then walks around to
another group, so the same bit or gag
can be repeated.
If your audience walks around with
you, as might be the case at a festival
or picnic, you may have to use more
than one bit or gag. The element of
surprise will not occur for those who
have seen you perform a bit or gag
earlier.
The idea being presented in this
article is appropriate for walkaround
settings where the audience remains
in one area and doesn't follow the
clown around, as in a hospital or a
restaurant. For this type of situation,
you can use a 50-50 force deck as a
walkaround prop, and you can use the
concept associated with a 50-50 force
deck to promote your clowning.
Using a 50-50 force deck requires
very little skill.
reference to the numbers and their
significance to me and my character;
for instance, the number 1 O is my age,
or the king is a friend of mine from the
Round Table, or the queen sure rules
England.
Once the audience believes you
are using a normal deck of cards, you
can close the fanned deck and turn it
over so the backs are again facing
upward. You can riffle through the
deck and ask the audience to tell you
when to stop, or you can fan the deck
so only the backs of the cards are seen
and you fan out ONLY the top 26
cards. That "forces" the volunteer to
choose the card you want them to
choose.
Once you know what constitutes a
50-50 force deck, you can take it a
step further, and produce a special 50·
50 force deck that can be used to
promote your clowning. There are
some basic supplies you will need.
First, you'll need some clown trading
cards, preferably of your own
character. You will use these as
giveaways, so you'll want them in large
quantities. I purchase them in 1,000-
card lots.
There are many companies that
produce clown trading cards. I have
used these two:
It's important to know what
constitutes a 50-50 force deck. A
regular deck of playing cards consists
of 52 different cars. A 50-50 force
deck of regular playing cards consists
of 26 different cards and 26 that are all
the same card; thus the name 50-50.
As you hold a 50-50 force deck
with the back of the cards up, the same
26 cards are on top. The bottom 26 are
all different. As you show the face side
of the cards to your audience and fan
out no more than 20 to 26 of the cards,
they will see the cards are all different.
(NEVER extend the fan into the 26
cards that are all the same.)
While fanning the deck, you
should use patter that suggests to the
audience that all of the cards are
different. A technique I use is to make
3714
+ Prolmage (800) 823-7896
+ Kustom Kards (800) 844-
Both of these companies produce
trading cards of excellent quality. You
can contact them for prices. Be sure to
select a picture that best represents
your character and possibly what you
do as a clown. Be SURE to use a high
quality photograph.
You will need a set of
approximately 20 to 26 trading cards of
professional ball players. This is where
you can be creative. You might want to
use baseball trading cards during the
baseball season and then switch to
football trading cards during the
football season. You could select the
cards from your favorite team or you
32 The New Calliope