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Miss TeaCup
JOB: Clown, based in Clarkston
WHAT I DO: Miss TeaCup, who says she's 8 (the second number of her actual age), entertains at birthday parties, corporate functions, restaurants, block parties, grand openings and other special events with balloons, face painting, silly magic and a perpetual smile. She also performs singing telegrams.
As an Auguste clown, Miss TeaCup has flesh-colored makeup, rather than whiteface, and wears a colorful, exaggerated costume.
"A whiteface clown never gets dirty, never gets a pie in the face," she explained. "In the circus, the Auguste clown always gets the pie."
Miss TeaCup is a "town clown," rather than a circus clown.
WHAT GOT ME INTERESTED IN THIS: Miss TeaCup - and her alter ego, Renita Knight, 48 - started clowning in high school after a friend brought a Ringling Brothers circus book to school. "I was inspired by that," she said. "I was 16 the first time I put on greasepaint."
After about 12 years of "playing around" at clowning, she became Miss TeaCup. Initially, she took clown classes at the YMCA in Decatur, but "my clown life turned around when I went to Clown Camp in Wisconsin."
There, she met and studied with professional clowns and learned how to make balloon animals, paint faces and perform magic tricks. The camp taught her the psychological skills to deal with children.
She also has taken advanced clowning classes.
BEST PART OF MY JOB: "The love you're able to receive and give to children," she said.
She said she becomes a part of families' lives when she goes into their homes for birthday parties. And they remember her and the special times, even years later. "People love you and remember you their whole life," she said. The other best parts: "Hugs - plus sleeping late."
MOST CHALLENGING PART: "Sometimes there are people who are afraid - and not always little kids." Miss TeaCup said it's part of her job to pull them into the event and make them feel comfortable. Her experience and training also have taught her when to back off.
WHAT PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT MY JOB: "How hard it is." Miss TeaCup's makeup, for example, takes an hour to apply. But the costume - made by professional costumer Pricilla Mooseburger and complete with lining, even for a Southern clown - "is just like working in your pajamas."
WHAT KEEPS ME GOING: "Love of clowning and the love of the art form. I am a clown." Being a clown is more than just putting on the greasepaint and costume, she said. "Real clowns are clowns inside and outside."
PREPARATION NEEDED FOR THIS JOB: "There's a lot more to it than just putting on a costume," Miss TeaCup said. "You have to know how to perform and do a lot of things."
She recommended going to a good clown school, associating with other professional clowns and attending conventions. Miss TeaCup is a member of the Peachtree Clown Alley, Southeast Clown Association, World Clown Association, Clowns of America International and Circus Fans Association.
You also need business skills to keep your schedule and accounts straight, she said.
Personally, you must be sweet, love children, have plenty of patience and be able to play. "It helps if they have a twinkle in their eye," she said with a wink.
Perhaps most important, "you have to have an answer for every question." At one restaurant where she was working, a girl asked Miss TeaCup why she wore such big shoes. "Because I have big toes," she replied.
- By Karl Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.
