Red Nose Festival Competition
Had its start at 1997 NW Festival of Clowns
The Northwest has a reputation for both great clowning and for pioneering change. It’s also the birthplace of Red Nose Festival Competition (or Red Nose) and the showcase for learning and improvement it creates for clowns.
Red Nose began as a new philosophy in competition at the 1997 NW Festival of Clowns in Portland, Oregon. Red Nose helps participants become better, more complete clowns through constructive critiques that highlight their strengths as well as areas needing attention. The critiques support a learning process, focus on individual merit, and recognize excellence. [Original concept paper here.]
The response to the competition changes has been positive since the Red Nose format was first introduced. Since 1997, many people have participated in Red Nose competition. Participants, coaches, and audiences alike support the unique rating and awards system.
Red Nose has developed national and international interest, too, being used at other COAI regional and international clown conventions.
If you have frequented conferences in the past in the Northwest, you're probably familiar with Red Nose Festival Competition. Here's a quick review of the Red Nose philosophy and format and what you'd see at a Red Nose competition.
Red Nose philosophy and goals
Red Nose competitions are based on a belief that a clown is "a unique, comical character who uses appearance, actions, and skills to entertain and make people laugh," and that competitions should be learning opportunities that reflect this belief.
Red Nose competitions rate how "good" a clown is by examining the complete clown: how the clown looks, how the clown acts, and what the clown does.
Red Nose has three goals:
1. Advance the art and craft of clowning.
Ratings are given on accomplishment in appearance, character projection, skills, and overall merit to stress development of the “complete” clown.
2. Recognize and reward excellence in clowning.
Awards are based on levels of achievement in the art of clowning. All clowns deserving of recognition receive it – the more honored, the better, if (and only if) they meet certain standards for excellence.
3. Make it a positive learning experience for all involved – performers, audience, and coaches.
Red Nose competitions measure each participant's own merits to help each become aware of strengths and improve on weaknesses – without comparisons of one clown to another.
Performance and Paradeability competitions (single and group) are conducted using Red Nose at the NW Festival of Clowns.
Performance
Clowns entertain and amuse audiences with a wide variety of performance skills.
Clowns use physical comedy, storytelling, face painting, balloon sculpturing, pantomime, juggling, magic, vent, puppetry, ministry, joke telling, care-and-humor bringing to hospitals and care facilities, meet-and-greet, stage shows, unicycling, cartooning, improvisation, . . . in other words, many different forms of clown performance arts.
Performance competition goes beyond "skit" competition to allow clowns a chance to showcase the full range of talents clowns have!
Paradeability competition gives clowns the opportunity to present a running or repeatable performance that they might do in a parade venue.
In stressing the importance of the development of the “complete” clown, makeup and costume evaluation are included in the “appearance” component in all Red Nose competitions.
Logistics
Performance competition allows participants a 3-minute performing time frame, with an additional 1-minute block before and after for setup and tear down, if needed. Gentle warning signals are given when 30 seconds and ‘no time’ remain (signs are held up for the performer to see).
Paradeability is staged in a way to simulate an actual parade venue. Red Nose competition participants must present a running and/or repeatable routine while moving past the entire length of audience.
In Red Nose, 2 panels comprised of 3 coaches each are used. Panels coach alternating participants; one panel observes performer A, then completes their ratings and constructive critiques during that time frame in which performer B is observed by the second panel.
This provides for fast moving, seamless, variety show-like events, greatly enhancing the enjoyment of the experience for audience and participants alike.
What makes this work is using panels of coaches who are equally strong as clowns and educators who understand the Red Nose philosophy and are trained in the Red Nose rating system, its criteria for certain levels of achievement, and constructive critiques.
Red Nose ratings and critiques Red Nose coaches rate accomplishment in four areas: appearance, character projection, skill, and overall merit. Ratings in each are given on a 5-point scale:
5 – Excellent, 4 – Very Good, 3 – Good, 2 – Fair, and 1 – Needs Attention.
In addition to the ratings, each coach gives comments and a positive, constructive critique, based on the merits of the individual clown’s performance. [Red Nose rating sheet download here.]
Awards recognize achievement
A single rating – the “Overall” score given at the bottom of the Red Nose rating sheet by each coach – is the basis for awards, since that rating reflects overall accomplishment and merit and factors in appearance, character projection, and skills.
Award recipients are determined simply by adding up the “Overall” ratings from the three coaches on each panel. Honors are given to competition participants on the following scale from the total “Overall” ratings of their respective three coaches: Gold (total of 14–15), Silver (11–13), and Bronze (9–10).
Red Nose awards recognize levels of accomplishment and do not produce a comparative ranking. All clowns deserving of recognition receive it. Those not receiving honors are recognized for participating and benefit from the constructive critiques given by their panel of coaches.
An additional set of awards actively involves audience members in recognizing good clowning. Red Nose strongly holds the belief that clowning is a performing art – it requires study and practice, it depends on an audience, and how good it is can, by and large, be measured by the response it produces, usually by how much people laugh and are entertained. In the spirit of that belief, People’s Choice awards enable the audience to choose and recognize their favorite performances.
For more information . . .
For more information, see other pages on this web site. This site explains the Red Nose philosophy, its rating and honors system, and how it differs from traditional competition.
Or, you can write, call, or e-mail Mike Bednarek, who developed the original concept and has served as a consultant to Clowns of America International (COAI), the COAI Board, and regional clown organizations on Red Nose competition, at:
Red Nose began as a new philosophy in competition at the 1997 NW Festival of Clowns in Portland, Oregon. Red Nose helps participants become better, more complete clowns through constructive critiques that highlight their strengths as well as areas needing attention. The critiques support a learning process, focus on individual merit, and recognize excellence. [Original concept paper here.]
The response to the competition changes has been positive since the Red Nose format was first introduced. Since 1997, many people have participated in Red Nose competition. Participants, coaches, and audiences alike support the unique rating and awards system.
Red Nose has developed national and international interest, too, being used at other COAI regional and international clown conventions.
If you have frequented conferences in the past in the Northwest, you're probably familiar with Red Nose Festival Competition. Here's a quick review of the Red Nose philosophy and format and what you'd see at a Red Nose competition.
Red Nose philosophy and goals
Red Nose competitions are based on a belief that a clown is "a unique, comical character who uses appearance, actions, and skills to entertain and make people laugh," and that competitions should be learning opportunities that reflect this belief.
Red Nose competitions rate how "good" a clown is by examining the complete clown: how the clown looks, how the clown acts, and what the clown does.
Red Nose has three goals:
1. Advance the art and craft of clowning.
Ratings are given on accomplishment in appearance, character projection, skills, and overall merit to stress development of the “complete” clown.
2. Recognize and reward excellence in clowning.
Awards are based on levels of achievement in the art of clowning. All clowns deserving of recognition receive it – the more honored, the better, if (and only if) they meet certain standards for excellence.
3. Make it a positive learning experience for all involved – performers, audience, and coaches.
Red Nose competitions measure each participant's own merits to help each become aware of strengths and improve on weaknesses – without comparisons of one clown to another.
Performance and Paradeability competitions (single and group) are conducted using Red Nose at the NW Festival of Clowns.
Performance
Clowns entertain and amuse audiences with a wide variety of performance skills.
Clowns use physical comedy, storytelling, face painting, balloon sculpturing, pantomime, juggling, magic, vent, puppetry, ministry, joke telling, care-and-humor bringing to hospitals and care facilities, meet-and-greet, stage shows, unicycling, cartooning, improvisation, . . . in other words, many different forms of clown performance arts.
Performance competition goes beyond "skit" competition to allow clowns a chance to showcase the full range of talents clowns have!
Paradeability competition gives clowns the opportunity to present a running or repeatable performance that they might do in a parade venue.
In stressing the importance of the development of the “complete” clown, makeup and costume evaluation are included in the “appearance” component in all Red Nose competitions.
Logistics
Performance competition allows participants a 3-minute performing time frame, with an additional 1-minute block before and after for setup and tear down, if needed. Gentle warning signals are given when 30 seconds and ‘no time’ remain (signs are held up for the performer to see).
Paradeability is staged in a way to simulate an actual parade venue. Red Nose competition participants must present a running and/or repeatable routine while moving past the entire length of audience.
In Red Nose, 2 panels comprised of 3 coaches each are used. Panels coach alternating participants; one panel observes performer A, then completes their ratings and constructive critiques during that time frame in which performer B is observed by the second panel.
This provides for fast moving, seamless, variety show-like events, greatly enhancing the enjoyment of the experience for audience and participants alike.
What makes this work is using panels of coaches who are equally strong as clowns and educators who understand the Red Nose philosophy and are trained in the Red Nose rating system, its criteria for certain levels of achievement, and constructive critiques.
Red Nose ratings and critiques Red Nose coaches rate accomplishment in four areas: appearance, character projection, skill, and overall merit. Ratings in each are given on a 5-point scale:
5 – Excellent, 4 – Very Good, 3 – Good, 2 – Fair, and 1 – Needs Attention.
In addition to the ratings, each coach gives comments and a positive, constructive critique, based on the merits of the individual clown’s performance. [Red Nose rating sheet download here.]
Awards recognize achievement
A single rating – the “Overall” score given at the bottom of the Red Nose rating sheet by each coach – is the basis for awards, since that rating reflects overall accomplishment and merit and factors in appearance, character projection, and skills.
Award recipients are determined simply by adding up the “Overall” ratings from the three coaches on each panel. Honors are given to competition participants on the following scale from the total “Overall” ratings of their respective three coaches: Gold (total of 14–15), Silver (11–13), and Bronze (9–10).
Red Nose awards recognize levels of accomplishment and do not produce a comparative ranking. All clowns deserving of recognition receive it. Those not receiving honors are recognized for participating and benefit from the constructive critiques given by their panel of coaches.
An additional set of awards actively involves audience members in recognizing good clowning. Red Nose strongly holds the belief that clowning is a performing art – it requires study and practice, it depends on an audience, and how good it is can, by and large, be measured by the response it produces, usually by how much people laugh and are entertained. In the spirit of that belief, People’s Choice awards enable the audience to choose and recognize their favorite performances.
For more information . . .
For more information, see other pages on this web site. This site explains the Red Nose philosophy, its rating and honors system, and how it differs from traditional competition.
Or, you can write, call, or e-mail Mike Bednarek, who developed the original concept and has served as a consultant to Clowns of America International (COAI), the COAI Board, and regional clown organizations on Red Nose competition, at:
Mike "Buster" Bednarek
PO Box 364 Salem, Oregon 97308 (503) 508-2490 E-mail: [email protected] |

rednoseratingsheet.pdf | |
File Size: | 681 kb |
File Type: |