Good clowns take that job seriously, said Debbie Smith, a Reston resident who dons a bright green wig, a yellow jacket and green pants to become Dootsiedum the Clown. “When you are a clown you just have to be nice or else you are going to spoil it for every other clown in the universe,” said Smith, 54.

For Marsha Gallagher, 56, of Annandale, her transformation into Modine the Clown means she needs to understand people well enough to know what they need to smile.

Despite a dismal economy, a healthy demand for laughs in Fairfax County still exists, according to Keith Smith, co-owner of RHK Entertainment in Fairfax City. Smith and his wife Rema are agents for several clowns and other entertainers in the Washington area. Since they launched their business four years ago, demand for clowns has been steady overall until last year, when requests for clowns to perform at corporate events diminished due to a softening economy.

But people still want to get laughs and are asking clowns to come to their private parties. “The birthday party industry is holding pretty steady,” Keith Smith said.

Melanie Bennett has a full-time job as a special-education teacher at Fairfax County Public Schools’ S. John Davis Center, a career and employment school for students with disabilities in Falls Church. But she becomes Mollie the Clown on the weekends because “it is a good way to interact with people and have them see a different side of you,” she said.

Pattigene Long, a friend of Bennett’s, said Bennett can even make adults have fun when she is Mollie. “You just walk away feeling good about yourself,” said Long, of Fairfax City.

Bennett, a Springfield resident who has been clowning for 14 years and has traveled all over the United States with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, developed her clown character to be a friendly playmate instead of something scary and strange so she could relate to people better.

Mollie, who always sports overalls and her trademark red hair, can make balloons, do face painting and magic. Bennett often clowns around at the Davis Center to help her students have fun. She says being a clown is an extension of her love for people.

For both Gallagher and Debbie Smith, clowning also fits well with their full-time jobs as social workers.

Gallagher’s day job takes her to the Capital Hospice where she does home care social work. As a clown and as a social worker, the job is all about putting people at ease and making them forget their troubles, said Gallagher. She earned her master’s in divinity and social work after multiple gigs with professional circuses. Gallagher has been clowning around in the Washington area for about 20 years.

One of the most fulfilling things about clowning is connecting with parents to help their children, said Smith, a social worker at the Datz Foundation in Vienna. She has taken some clowning classes but says her early childhood education degree and experience teaching music is the best training she received to be a clown. As Dootsiedum, Smith sings and plays the guitar.

Gallagher likes to tell a story about the time a woman thanked her for being the first person to make her little daughter smile after her father had died. “That’s what makes it all worth it,” Gallagher said.

More clowns are now doing volunteer work because of the bad economy, RKH Entertainment’s Smith said. Clowns set their own prices, but the rate for a clown that does magic ranges from $225 to $275 an hour. The rate for a clown that doesn’t do magic is between $150 and $225 an hour.

Many nonprofits that used to pay for clowns can no longer afford it, Keith Smith said, adding that in recent months, requests for entertainers to donate their time have increased.

Smith said she will often volunteer to clown, especially when there are causes she supports. But whether they perform for profit or for free, the bottom line for a good clown is not money.

The rewards come from creating smiles for as many people as possible, Gallagher said.