Clown Antics regularly has exciting clown contests. We like to enter contests, we like to vote, and we really like to WIN! A lot of people like contests, which is why I include them in my clowning.The audience loves to participate, and even if they don't participate, they get an opportunity to laugh at their friends.
These pictures are from a contest I was trying out before using in a show. I have been testing several new games, songs, and contests recently for Chahloula to use in her shows. (It is always a good idea to test games and contests with various age groups beforehand to find out what works, and what doesn't. You don't want to be surprised at showtime!)
I start by asking the audience who can whistle. Many eagerly demonstrate their whistling skills. I select four to six kids who are able to whistle. They think it will be a simple whistling contest, but that wouldn't be very entertaining. Finding out who can whistle with a cracker in their mouth is much more humorous. You can't see the pieces of crackers flying out of their mouths in the picture, but the kids directly in front of the contestants saw cracker bits flying right at them!
I admit, this competition required demonstration as well as explanation.The children wanted to finish eating the cracker before whistling. I had to eat a cracker and start whistling, blowing cracker bits all over the place, for them to get the point. I was left with serious dry mouth. Not funny!
Another easy contest is blowing a bubble with bubble gum. When I did this at events, I handed out the gum ahead of time so that it was ready to blow bubbles. (It isn't much fun for the audience to sit around watching four or five kids chew gum.) Let the kids know early that they will be in the bubble blowing competition later.
This contest doesn't take long. It is just something simple to involve audience members. To make it a little more fun, join the contest, but with a trick! Instead of chewing gum, you, the professional, chew on a pink balloon. When it is your turn to blow a bubble, it will be pink and huge! You win!!