Sharing one of her smiles

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Most people only have one face. It is the face that they were when they go to work, watch TV or hang out with their family. But there are some among us with more that one face. Like superheros, they don disguises and masks with the purpose of giving hope. These people are clowns. The good news is that Vernon County clown population has increased by one lately. There are a lot of reasons people become clowns. Star, whose non-clown name is Diana Wilson-Hancock, started out as a hopeful musician playing the bars and clubs of Memphis, Tenn. While in this circuit she met clown Kook Berry. "I'd never seen a girl clown before," said Star. A friendship developed and Star received her first taste of clownhood one night when she stood in for Kook at a party. She found that she really enjoyed making people smile and hasn't looked back yet. One of the most important aspects of clownhood is the makeup and costume. With just a glance an audience member will know what the clown stands for and represents. Star reports that because of her patriotism she is mostly a red, white and blue clown. It takes two hours to put on face paint, one color at a time. "I wanted to be a star, so I put stars on my eyes," said Star. "I'm a singing clown," said Star. While entertaining, she can sing, apply face paint, tell jokes and can make a wide variety of balloon animals. However, she is not a rodeo clown. Star left Memphis behind in the midst of a painful divorce. She said that being a clown is all about having fun and "I was not having any fun there." So she decided to move a little closer to her roots. "I just came back home," said Star, Vernon County being where a good deal of her family resides. So far she has only been here a month and is still adjusting to the pace of life. There are a lot of advantages to being a clown. A smile is always painted on their face and they can throw off the leaden weight of adulthood in favor of play. "I just like playing with kids," said Star.

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