THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9608310163
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BARBARA J. WOERNER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 84 lines
For years Phillip Semon and his father, Bobby Semon, have made a point of clowning around together.
Now, Phillip Semon, 18, is in the home stretch of the 1996 session of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in Sarasota, Fla. And his father, known as ``Bobby the Clown,'' continues clowning professionally in the Hampton Roads area.
Cox High School graduate Phillip Semon was selected in May as one of 35 students chosen nationally - out of roughly 1,500 applicants - for the chance of attending the 29th session of the Clown College. The eight-week session consists of intensive classes and training devoted to improvisation, make-up application, stilt-walking, acrobatics and other skills related to clown performance in a circus.
``I'm jealous - I would love to be at the school,'' said Bobby Semon. ``I can hardly wait for Phillip to get home because I'm going to keep him up all night asking him about the things he learned at the Clown College.''
Locally, Bobby Semon performs regularly at Navy picnics and homecomings, local parades and activities at area attractions such as the Farmer's Market in Virginia Beach and Harbor Park in Norfolk. This year marked the 11th time that he appeared in the Strawberry Festival and he is currently preparing for his ninth year of participation in the Neptune Festival.
During his 20-year stint in the Navy, he clowned at an orphanage in Spain and with a couple of circuses in Germany while stationed there.
``Clowning was my first paying job,'' said Bobby Semon. ``I think I was born with the ability.''
Phillip Semon hopes not only to walk in the size 18 clown footsteps of his father but to also fulfill his father's dream of becoming a circus clown.
``Becoming a circus clown has been both of our dreams,'' said Phillip Semon in a recent phone conversation from Clown College headquarters in Sarasota. ``My graduation is on Sunday, Sept. 8 and my 19th birthday is on Sept. 20.
``Sometime in between those two dates I hope to hear that I have been selected as an apprentice clown and will be able to go on with the circus,'' he added.
Phillip first heard about the Clown College through the Cox High School drama department. He tried out in February 1995, his senior year, when the circus was making its annual appearance at Norfolk Scope. He was noticed but not selected. When the circus returned to Norfolk last February, he tried out again. In April, he was summoned to Washington to second-round Clown College try outs.
``We almost didn't make it - we hit every traffic jam imaginable and had trouble with the truck on the way there,'' he said. ``Then I had to calm down and be ready to perform.''
Phillip Semon's performance complete with improvisations and gags impressed the committee that chooses the 35 Clown College participants. In May, he got his acceptance call to Clown College.
``I dressed in my clown suit and was going to the Farmer's Market to perform on Father's Day when we got the call that Phillip was one of the 35 accepted,'' said Bobby Semon. ``It was a great Father's Day present for me.''
He said that he realized many years ago when his son was small that Phillip had a knack for performing.
``I was doing a show at a Fourth of July fund-raiser and Phillip discovered that if he peeked his head out of the curtain and then ran from me and slid on his knees that people would laugh,'' said Bobby Semon. ``Now he's learning more in eight weeks than I learned in my 34 years of clowning.''
If he's not selected as an apprentice clown, Phillip Semon said one of his options is to return to Virginia Beach and work with his father.
``My father really is my hero because he makes people laugh,'' he said. ``There is so much healing in laughter - there ought to be more of it.''
Selected or not, Phillip Semon said he is a clown for life - no matter where it takes him. And if he is chosen to go on with the circus, he'll stay there for life.
Dad added, ``We're so proud of him and we think it's just great what he's doing. Not many 18-year-olds know what they want.''
``We've all got our fingers crossed for him,'' he added. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by BARBARA J. WOERNER
Georgette and Bobby ``Bobby the Clown'' Semon are waiting to hear
if their son Phillip will follow in his father's size 18 footsteps
and become a professional clown.
Photo
Phillip Semon by CNB