Clowning for good
Story and photos by Adrian Michael
Rhythm & BlahAwesome are looking to change the stigma of clowns. Photo: Adrian Michael
“I never imagined I would be clowning,” said Michele Gaddis, “but I did love telling jokes and seeing people smile.”
The ability to tell jokes would help Gaddis’ transition into an industry that she didn’t expect. “I had just experienced a lot of unexpected death,” she said. “My favorite cousin in 2013, my mom in 2014, and my sister in 2015. Since it was back-to-back deaths, it was hard to heal in the grieving process. I was asked if I would like to join the clown unit of the Shriners Daughters of the Imperial Court (an affiliate of the Prince Hall Shriners), and I agreed since it was something different, something to occupy my time.”
Gaddis performs as BlahAwesome (a portmanteau of Blah and Awesome) and has been clowning since 2017. “As I started creating my [clown] image, I thought about my love of plants and flowers, and I said to myself ‘I want to blossom.’ I was going through so much, and some days I felt blah, and other days, I felt awesome, thus how my name was created,” Gaddis said.
Gaddis said it took her four months of studying the art of clowning, gathering props, learning to apply makeup, and piecing together her wardrobe. It paid off when she was awarded “Best New Clown” in her first year attending the imperial convention.
Gaddis’ daughter, Misheika, has been performing as Rhythm the Clown since 2020. Her clown name comes from her love of dancing; however, she didn’t always share the same enthusiasm as her mother.
“I wasn’t interested in clowning,” Misheika said, “but I gave it a shot, and our first appearance went great. We had so much fun, so I stuck with it. The kids we met were so happy to see us; we had lots of interaction. It was great to brighten people’s day, and that was so rewarding.”
Both Michele and Misheika enjoy seeing people gravitating to them as clowns. “We’re bringing energy and life. Putting smiles on somebody’s face just makes the world of a difference. There’s so much negative stuff going on in the world, and it’s best to bring positivity,” Michele said.
BlahAwesome and Rhythm attended the Sixth Annual Aurora Day Backpack Giveaway in August, where they were able to showcase the energy and positivity that brings so many smiles to kids and adults. They helped pass out backpacks, taught kids how to do the Cupid Shuffle line dance, and took lots of photos with kids. Their appearance was to make sure the narrative of clowns changes.
Horror movies such as “It” and “Terrifier” have contributed to the fear of clowns. In an October 2014 article
in the Hollywood Reporter magazine, Clowns of America International President Glenn Kohlberger said, “Hollywood makes money…. sensationalizing the norm. They can take any situation, no matter how good or pure, and turn it into a nightmare, and we do not support in any way, shape, or form any medium that sensationalizes or adds to coulrophobia ‘clown fear.’”
According to a 2022 study published in the International Journal of Mental Health, about 53.5% of adults suffer from Coulrophobia, an extreme fear of clowns.
“We do get people who tell us they don’t like clowns, but as time goes on, they get closer to us,” said Michele. “My cousin was afraid of clowns, and upon learning I was going to be a clown told me to make sure my energy is right. Clowns are spooky, and their energy isn’t always good. So, we listen to upbeat music when we’re getting ready. We get into our zone, dance, and have a good time just so our energy projects that we don’t want anyone to have a phobia of clowns.”
Both Michele and Misheika want people to know that they’re not evil people. “Don’t be afraid of me. I’m a person, and my clown attire is a persona,” said Misheika.
Along with changing the narrative of evil clowns, there is also a stigma that there aren’t many female clowns. “There are only women in our [clown] unit,” said Michele. “I never thought about it; there’s men when we go to our conventions, but within our unit, it’s just women. Growing up, I don’t think I knew of a woman clown, but now there are a lot of them.”
According to the online recruitment service Zippia, 61.5% of clowns are women, 36% being women of color. However, only 10% of that makeup is Black or African American women.
“There was a little Black girl that I saw today that told me she wants to be a clown. She was so adorable, and I told her I would love to have her learn to be a clown,” said Michele. “It’s a great feeling knowing we could change the world with this. We’re changing the narrative and making clowns more positive for Black girls to see,” Misheika said.
“At one point, it was frowned upon for people to be clowns, but when I tell people that I’m clowning today and they see it, they’ll say things such as ‘that’s cool’ or ‘I didn’t know that was you,’ and it’s a cool feeling.”
For both Michele and Misheika, clowning is a hobby, but they aspire to do more with their craft eventually. “It would be cool if we could set up an event at least once a month and have kids come. I really want to set up a stage for the kids to come in and be entertained,” said Michele.
As of right now, Michele and Misheika are clowns who dance and tell jokes, but they’re looking to establish new skill sets. They’ve also been thinking about incorporating magic tricks and making balloon animals.
“I’m trying to figure out what’s going to be entertaining and have thought about doing shows and skits,” Michele said. “We get so many people asking us to appear at events, and I think the more we get out, the more people start knowing us and realize who we are. People see us and say ‘Oh, those are the clowns.’”
The August backpack giveaway was highly successful for the community and brought smiles to kids and adults alike. According to Michele and Misheika, the moment BlahAwesome and Rhythm arrived, people swarmed them, and the atmosphere amongst the crowd was extremely positive.
“I just want to make a difference wherever we can. If we can touch one person, then we’ve done something,” Michele said.