With Softness and Starlight

So, back up here for a second, we ask: what’s a “core clown”?   

“In Baby Clown you go through the process of making six masks,” Billings explains. “I think about clown as kind of turning the sliders up or down on each one of these masks. Loppity is the accumulation of these six characters, who all have their own little dichotomy or plurality.” 

“Through the process of that baby clown, you get to really examine these different aspects of yourself — that core clown encapsulates something very innate about the person who made it. It’s almost inner-child-like, that play, that mischievousness, that self-certainty. I feel that true essence of the self gets kind of crystallized in the core clown.” 

Gosh darn it, we adore the idea of an inner child birthing a clown. Squee! Okay, now. Back to the show. 

Billings has been involved with KidsFringe for over a decade — her first stint was as a Youth Troupe member in 2013 — and she grins in delight when asked about her first foray into a full-length clown show. Loppity and the Star incidentally aligns perfectly with this year’s Festival theme.

“The conception actually came out of roving at Kaleido,” Billings explains, noting that she wanted a lantern of her own for the street festival’s annual light parade. “I built myself a star, and then my handle for it broke. So, I ended up having to carry it in my arms. I had a gaggle of kids come up to me and they were like: ‘Where did you get that star? Did you take it?’ Then of course in my clown logic I was like ‘Maybe, yeah, I totally took it. Don’t tell anyone,’” she laughs. “I just love how the story the kids came up with helped me birth this little show.”

It’s that inherent clown-to-audience connection that gives Billings the warm fuzzies about her creative work. 

“There’s just something so unifying about it. I love clown because everyone is vocal. When something happens to the clown, everyone goes ‘aww’ and then when something exciting happens everyone goes ‘yeah!’ Just that opportunity to be with people celebrating or mourning those losses alongside the clown, I think that ties to something about community, right?”

“We’re coming together and being together in this very real way. As the clown, it’s the most amazing thing to hear, because you know that they’re alongside you. You don’t have to speculate or hope.” 

As for what audiences can expect in this summer’s show versus the familiar roving version of Loppity, they’re in for a gentle adventure through the stars.

“This show is cozy, nostalgic, soft, playful, and magic. I think a lot of the comedy is in Loppity’s emotional journey through things,” Billings adds. “It’s reminiscent of bedtime stories and some of those more classic elements that we know and love from classic children’s media, but then also with a little bit of that clown twist,” she smiles “And yeah, I’ll say lots of soft. “