White clown and Auguste
The white clown, or clown blanc from the original French, is a sophisticated character, as opposed to the clumsy auguste.[8] They are also distinguished as the "sad clown" (blanc) and "happy clown" (auguste).[9]
The Auguste face base makeup color is a variation of pink, red, or tan rather than white. Features are exaggerated in size, and are typically red and black in color. The mouth is thickly outlined with white (called the muzzle) as are the eyes. Appropriate to the character, the Auguste can be dressed in either well-fitted garb or in a costume that does not fit — either oversize or too small is appropriate. Bold colors, large prints or patterns, and suspenders often characterize Auguste costumes.
The auguste character-type is often an anarchist, a joker, or a fool. He is clever and has much lower status than the whiteface. Classically the whiteface character instructs the auguste character to perform his bidding. The auguste has a hard time performing a given task, which leads to funny situations. Sometimes the auguste plays the role of an anarchist and purposefully has trouble following the whiteface's directions. Sometimes the auguste is confused or is foolish and makes errors less deliberately.
The contra-auguste plays the role of the mediator between the white clown and the auguste character. He has a lower status than the white clown but a higher status than the auguste. He aspires to be more like the white clown and often mimics everything the white clown does to try to gain approval. If there is a contra-auguste character, he often is instructed by the whiteface to correct the auguste when he is doing something wrong.
