The war-zone giggles

>> Local clown cheers up kids and avoids gangland hits in the world's disaster areas

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Ghislain Turcotte

Occupation: Clown

Clown name: Fafoin

Age: 34

Bio: This Plateau resident is not only a clown but a serious physical actor who directs first-class theatre, dance and circus productions. One damn fine pantomime, Ghislain claims he has never worked a children's party and doesn't even know how to make a balloon animal. But don't hold that against him. Most of his clowning these days is with Clownes sans frontières, a benevolent organization whose mission is to export clowns to war- and famine-ravaged parts of the world and cheer people up. Few things help an orphaned child forget about his butchered parents better than a clown--unless, of course, said clown is John Gacy. Ghislain's last trip with Clownes sans frontières was to Kosovo in 1998, an expedition he also helped organize.

Do children from other cultures ever get freaked out when confronted with a clown for the first time? "Some children will get scared if you come too close to them too fast. But most recognize that a clown is a funny, non-scary character."

A big clown hit in Kosovo: Sneezing into his confetti-filled hand and blowing it all over people. Juggling also goes over big--especially with fire.

Have any Yugoslavian Mafia killers ever decided that the clown wasn't very funny and needed to die? Yes. "One time we were doing an improvised street show and we decided it would be fun to start directing traffic. We created a real mess, and everyone was laughing--except for one guy who was stuck in traffic. Many people over there have never seen a clown and this guy had no idea what we were doing. So he asked me in Albanian what we were up to and when he found out I only spoke English, he put his gun to my belly and ordered me to get into his car. I started screaming and yelling and luckily for me, a humanitarian aid worker came by right at that moment, found a person who could speak both Albanian and English and had him explain to this guy that I was just a clown. After that, we all had a good laugh over the incident. In Yugoslavia, there are no real police, the Mafia takes care of everything--even traffic control."

Do Yugoslavians start laughing really hard when they see a clown being taken away by the Mafia to be executed? Not really.

Has he ever had sexual partners ask him to put on his clown costume during the love act? No.

Last book read: No Logo, by Naomi Klein.

Does he consider himself to be a political activist? Not really, but he is currently working on a theatre production which addresses political issues.

Was he in Quebec City for the summit last spring? Yes, but not in his clown get-up.

How he keeps a healthy mind and body: Through yoga and t'ai chi. "When I have the time. But you know, I also drink and smoke sometimes."

Something he really likes to do: Collect and admire art.

Childhood ambition: To become a novelist.

Musical preferences: World beat, Classical, John Zorn. "I like almost everything except heavy metal and rock music."

Favourite film of all time: The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Words of wisdom: "Try to be receptive to everything. Keep your mind open."

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca