At BU, class clowns are welcomed for a change

Boston University theater students were invited to partake in a "clown college master class" recently, a seriocomic affair led by two seasoned Ringling Bros. clowns who swung from slapstick low comedy to philosophical observations on their craft.

Leo Acton and Mike Richter are an advance clown team, arriving weeks before the actual circus comes to town to spread goodwill and share generations-old clown knowledge and gags. Acton is a graduate of Ringling Bros.' Clown College (a real-ish institute of higher learning), which he describes as a sort of comedy boot camp, "with really big boots."

Richter, a New Hampshire native, says the secret to clowning is to "say yes" and follow any leads your improvisational partners offer. The two emphasized that clowning (and improvisational acting in general) isn't necessarily about you getting the laugh; it's about getting the biggest laugh possible for a gag as a whole. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to the TD Garden Oct. 14-18.

-- Scott LaPierre