9 February 26 - March 4, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents ing,” Laredo says. “I feel very strongly that anyone could be a clown. … I like to say ‘I was a clown all my life, and now I’m just putting on the uniform.’” Laredo says the lack of experience and the limited rules are what keep the informal troupe together. Less of a performance group, the Denton Clowns offer social net- working for those celebrating absurdity with a few ruffles and paint. Since the first event in December, attendance has re- mained high. “I like to say we are by clowns, for clowns,” she says. “A bunch of clowns get- ting together on the square really naturally attracted people.” Escaping the Madness For most of the clowns in the troupe, the silly escape from reality is needed in peril- ous times, and Laredo says it’s not a coinci- dence. “We’re repeating history,” she says. “All artists embraced absurdity and surrealism because of the horrors of World War II — I feel like that’s what we’re doing. Collectively, as clowns, we are choosing to embrace joy as a form of resistance.” In 1942, Coco the Clown famously enter- tained British troops. Legendary mime, Marcel Marceau, created his character, Bip the Clown, in 1947. In 1946, American audi- ences were introduced to the oft-referenced Bozo. For Laredo, her troupe of novice clowns is an homage to the past, and an es- cape from the present. “Clowns are levity when times are dark,” she says. “Jesters can speak truth to power because they’re buffoons. Clowns have al- ways protested injustice.” Clowns Are Scary Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, is a widely accepted phenomenon. And the horror genre has no shortage of jagged-tooth, face- painted, inaudible slaughterers. It wasn’t too long ago that the “killer clown” mass hyste- ria kept front doors double-latched. Laredo acknowledges that clowns can be unsettling, but says her gaggle has yet to experience a negative reaction. “[Clowns] are freaky,” she says. “I think it has to do with the heavy makeup and how it obscures the face… Part of the fear of clowns is not being able to really know how they feel, and that forced fake frivolity can be un- settling to people, especially people who crave authenticity.” One of Laredo’s co-founders, a first-time clown named Maxby, was hesitant at their first meetup, knowing the negative connota- tions of clowns. But the fears faded fast. “People are going to judge us anyway, so might as well have fun with it and break a lit- tle bit of that societal mold, even if it’s just for a day or a couple of hours,” says Maxby. But the clown facade, Laredo says, is ex- actly what brings people to the unconven- tional meetups. “When you dress as a clown, it’s like all of a sudden, [societal] rules essentially don’t matter,” she says. “It was really nice to see how people weren’t necessarily afraid of us. They were actually interested in us and wanted to play with us. The garb of a clown, putting on that red foam nose, can really change the dynamics of people.”
