April 2010
The Opera Singer Who Grew Up to be a Clown
by Phaedra Greenwood
How do you become a clown? For Patti Merrill, it was an easy choice. A friend saw her doing face painting in a park in Phoenix, Ariz., where she lived at the time, and said, “Patti, you should be a clown.” Merrill, who is an artist and musician, thought, I can do that.
She did some research on clowning and went to a clown workshop. She learned some magic tricks, how to tie balloons into animals, and added some of her own jokes to her routine. Then she started entertaining as a clown at birthday parties and appearing in parades. “It took about five months to get comfortable with it,” she says.
Merrill realized that her transformation was awkward for her daughter who was in high school and didn’t want to tell her friends, “My mom is a clown.”
“She saw me do a birthday party seven years ago and said it was kind of embarrassing,” Merrill says. “Now she’s in college. She came to one of my parties three years ago. Afterward she said, ‘Mom, you’re great! You’re really wacky and wonderful and the kids love you.’”
Merrill has a degree in music from the University of California, Los Angeles with a background in jazz, classical and popular music. For 21 years she performed as an opera singer in San Diego, and later in Phoenix. For years she dreamed of moving to Santa Fe. “The whole town is an art gallery, which I appreciate because I’m an artist and musician,” she says. “And I love being able to see a sky full of stars.”
She became a choir director for various churches, worked as a freelance musician, singer and pianist, and taught music in the schools. “But I got burned out with teaching school and decided to concentrate on my creative life,” she says.
Now during the week she works as a musician, paints, writes poetry and children’s books, and performs as a clown on weekends. “You have to hustle in this business,” she says. She does children’s parties, fiestas, magic shows, singing telegrams, balloon deliveries, and grand openings. She says she and the mayor of Española, Joe Maestas, did a fun gig together at the grand opening of Pizza Hut.
“You could say that I’m an opera singer who grew up to be a clown,” she says with a laugh. “I’m fifty something and have had a wonderful life and a wonderful career. Of course there have been a few tragedies here and there, but life has its ups and downs. I’m a happy clown and life is beautiful. You need to have a balance in life of working, learning and having fun,” she says. “I love the kids. I want them to see the joy and humor in life.” Her message to children is, “Stay in school, keep the magic in your heart and have fun. And if all else fails, to quote P.T. Barnum, ‘Bring in the clowns!’”
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