The L-Bow element Clown works hard to make it look easy

May 31--When it comes to business, L-Bow doesn't clown around.

"If you're going to eat, breathe and juggle fire," said Luke Boyce, the man behind the makeup of L-Bow the Clown, "you gotta get serious. You've got to know the right techniques, use the right materials and buy the right insurance."

Insurance? For a clown? Really?

A million-dollar insurance policy for North Central Washington's busiest cut-up is just one aspect of running the business that keeps Boyce delivering oohs, ahhs and chuckles through more than 100 performances a year and nearly as many free, promotional appearances.

Couple that with energetic social-media marketing, making his Jeep into a rolling billboard, learning the legalese of show-biz contracts, scheduling of up to four performances a day and training in new skills for new acts ... well, the clown business is nothing to laugh at.

"One of my constant challenges is to stay balanced in all this," said Boyce. "To keep it light, keep it surprising and keep it fun for audiences and for myself."

Nearly every weekend, the 33-year-old Boyce as L-Bow travels far and wide to birthday and anniversary parties, grand openings, fundraising events and civic celebrations and festivals, including appearances here last month at Washington State Apple Blossom Festival and library shows throughout eastern Washington.

In makeup and costume, he juggles (balls, clubs, machetes, torches), does magic tricks, makes balloon animals, rides a 6-foot-tall unicycle and blows fire -- yes, spews streams of flame from his mouth -- and recently added a "lovely assistant" to do face painting. "I have a large repertoire because I accept a wide variety of jobs," said Boyce. "I try not to say 'no' too often -- every gig can lead to another gig, and then another."

Take the Longview Squirrel Fest, an annual summer celebration of the city's nut-chomping rodents. L-Bow has performed there for the last two years and appeared in Internet videos that have brought numerous inquiries to perform at other venues. "If I want to make a living from clowning," he said, "I have to work it hard."

And the part-time jester is definitely working hard. When not delivering yuks, Boyce makes bucks as a journeyman plumber for Dean Plumbing of Cashmere. He works three to five days a week with wrenches and pipes to supplement his clown income. Now his livelihood is split about 50-50, he said, between pipes and pranks.

Plumbing company owner Dean Link "is nice enough to let me adjust my work schedule for travel time and clown jobs on weekends," said Boyce. "It's a great arrangement for me. I can stay flexible for any emergency clown calls."

Raised in the Peshastin area, Boyce's clown life began when longtime Peshastin librarian Paul Anderman taught little Luke, age 10, how to juggle. Two years later, Boyce learned to ride a unicycle in a P.E. class at Icicle River Middle School in Leavenworth. Pretty soon he was pedaling his unicycle all around town -- to school, the post office, the food market. It didn't take long before he was pedaling and juggling at the same time.

That's when Paul Pugh, founder of the Wenatchee Youth Circus and creator of his own clown persona, Geppo, spotted Boyce and invited him to visit the circus lot. "I showed up one Saturday morning, and I was hooked," said Boyce. He trained and performed with the Youth Circus -- unicycles, tumbling, high wire thrills -- until he graduated from high school six years later.

Around 2000, Boyce began accepting requests to perform at Leavenworth events, including the city's Mardi Gras-styled Fasching celebration. "I found myself juggling on stage at the Festhalle, and it was great," he smiled. "And I thought, 'I can do this. I can definitely do this.'"

Fourteen years later, after racking up hundreds of performances to coax thousands of smiles, Boyce is ready to expand his L-Bow the Clown business into new territory. He just hasn't decided yet on a definite direction.

"I love to sing," said the clown who delivers mostly silent, mime-like performances. "No, really ... I've thought about becoming a wedding singer -- material by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Michael Bublé."

It's true. Boyce is an accomplished singer who attended Washington State University on a voice scholarship. He now sings with the Apollo Club of Wenatchee, a male chorus, and Leavenworth Village Voices.

"Or maybe hit the stage as the charismatic Luke Christopher," Boyce mused. Christopher is his middle name. "I'd dress in black and juggle, blow fire and do magic. Very mysterious."

One of Boyce's more definite goals is to establish a nonprofit to help fund good works in the community and beyond -- such as cleaning up trash, helping seniors with yardwork, funding mission work in troubled neighborhoods. He'd call it the L-Bow Grease Foundation, and would likely turn to crowdsource funding to raise $10,000 to get it started, maybe by next spring.

He's also aiming to "pay forward" to kids the confidence-building strategies of his own mentors, including Anderman and Pugh. "These were men who would believe in you before you did," said Boyce. "The confidence they instilled in me was life-changing. I want to instill that same confidence in others."

"In the end, I'd like this business -- really it's a passion -- to allow me to live life on my own terms," he said. "It would grow as I grow. Or, as the Clown's Prayer says, I'll help create laughter, dispense happiness and spread more cheer."

Reach Mike Irwin at 509-665-1179 or [email protected]. Read his blog Everyday Business or follow him on Twitter at @MikeIrwinWW.

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