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A 17-year-old boy claps his hands as he lies in bed. He has a big smile on his face, a big, honest smile that stretches from ear to ear when he laughs. His eyes are closed. However, sometimes, he opens them to look at us. When he looks at us, he chuckles even louder…
This past week, I've enjoyed attending and teaching at the Cool Fool School in Atlanta, Hosted by the Laughter League. It's been an artistic highlight for me. I'm particularly grateful for the artistic challenge. The
I've done this trick many times before. This time, however, I'm doing it in front of about 100 full-ride scholarship college students from Emory University. I asked them to count from 10 to 1 in a language they chose. As the students count down, I balance a chair on my face for their entertainment.
Someone smashed my car window. Broken glass was everywhere!
My car was parked in a public lot, and someone decided to break my window after I parked it. I don't know who did this. I was only away from my car for a few hours. It happened in a public car lot. Now, I had to spend the rest of my day addressing this problem. I had to clean up the mess to make the car drivable, and then I had to drive somewhere where I could vacuum the rest of the glass out of the vehicle.
Breaking something can be easy; repairing it will take work….
I walked from the parking deck across the university campus and approached the medical school building. The destination is familiar. We've met in this building several times over the semester. I open the door and walk into the halls of the Emory Medical School. I am at the university to co-teach students at medical school as part of Emory’s Arts and Social Justice Fellows Program.
Over the past few months, I've enjoyed playing in a different playground. I got the clown around with the Atlanta Opera. Doing this work was a special treat for me. It was my second opportunity to work with the Atlanta Opera.
As I played the music, there was a line of performers singing and dancing along. They all replied, "It's Alright "!. This started as my version of the Curtis Mayfield song "It's Alright." It's one of my favorite tunes to play in the hospital. At home in Georgia, people sing along. For them, it is a gospel refrain from the black church, and they are eager to join me in singing….
I was a plainclothes clown, not knowing what to do. Should I buy the avocado? Should I put the avocado down and walk away?
At first glance, she looked like she is in her 60s. She was lying in her bed with a look of stoic unease. I often see this look on the faces of adults in a way that I don't see in children. A sense of fatigue and weariness is unique to adults. dr. tiny, and I carefully approached
At this point, I stopped everything again and said. "Why am I singing? You should be singing all the lyrics to this song."
After another show today, a group of young girls began to crowd around me. Music was playing, so I took out my spoons and started playing them on my hand and leg. As the girls saw this, they began to step closer to me.
The older folks sat on the sidelines and laughed and smiled. The young adults sat closer to the children to tend to their needs. The children paid close attention to the show and quickly interacted with us.
The site of young children and adults joining us in the parade warms my heart. In one of the parades today, a woman saw a clown balancing a juggling club. After seeing this, she decided to play with us.
Later, it began to rain when we arrived at our next camp. We paused, wondering if we would be able to do our performance in the rain. We decided to continue the performance. Halfway into the show, the sun came from behind the clouds, and a rainbow appeared in the distance.
Today, we finished our first day of clowning here in Turkey for earthquake survivors. I woke up in Istanbul at 4 o’clock this morning to meet the rest of the team for our flight to Gaziantep. We performed in five different locations from the morning into the early evening.
In my experience, there has been a stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community. Many of us feel pressure to conform to traditional notions of masculinity, making it difficult to express emotions. I grew up in a society that enforced these notions of masculinity.
It was an evening of Black love. Six black men on stage expressed love, joy, intimacy, masculinity, frustration, anger, longing, pride, and even juggling, yes, juggling.
Clowns are known for not following the rules. It's one of the things we expect from clowns. Following this tradition is something we do in the hospital constantly. As medical clowns, we take the medical aspects of our work seriously. We are trained to function in the hospital as we do our work. That said, we are still clowns. We still find some norms to break as we follow medical regulations.
Vincenzo Tortorici, a friend, and clown, passed away 10 years ago this August. He was an actor, musician, clown, and overall wonderful artist. Looking back on his passing, I can't help but ponder how so many things are different now compared to how they were when he died. I'm also aware of what remains the same.
I'm always looking for new material to perform in the hospital. Usually, some of the better musical material are things right under my nose, everyday things, or songs I grew up with. It's just a matter of finding the right piece and seeing the opportunity to use it.
The room was full of bodies moving, of people responding to the cues I gave them. They moved eagerly, without reservation. They followed the cues I gave them, each person interpreting the instructions in their way. It was like a room full of people doing the same dance, yet each person had a unique version of the movement. We were suddenly moving together. Suspended in a moment where all that mattered was our movement. We moved, experienced, learned, and shared our experiences.
In the morning dr. tiny and I approached one of the hospital rooms. Inside the room were an eight-year-old girl and her mother. Seeing us, the girl called out. She said, "Hey, are you clowns"? We, of course, said, "yes." The girl was surprised to see us, and she asked if we were "really clowns."
As I sat in rehearsal listening to the music, I choked up. I've been listening to my mother sing and play all of my life, but this experience was different. My mom, Florence Gordon, passed away six years ago. Several years earlier, I made recordings of mom playing and singing gospel music. Listening to one of the songs in this rehearsal made me choke up and cry. These recordings of her singing…
It's about to happen. I am at the airport waiting for my flight to Amsterdam. After that, I will travel to The Hague for the Healthcare Clown International Meeting, H.C.I.M. 2022. I've been looking forward to this conference for a long time. It was initially scheduled for October 2021. However, the COVID pandemic caused it to be postponed. I am glad it's happening. I'm doing two presentations at the conference.
I was so happy when I looked at the screen. There were about 25 small squares on my computer. Each square had a person waiting to take the class. Some looked back at me, waiting to begin. Others were going about their business eating, stretching, or playing on their computers, It was an early Monday morning, and I wanted to start with something energetic
There is a vibrancy in the image heightened by an almost 3-D quality of his body in front of a pattern behind him. Each time I visited the museum and saw this image, I noticed how the young man seemed to float in front of the canvas…
The words were familiar if not identical to comments I've seen before. They talk about the purpose of art in our world, how artists' work can serve a greater good in our society. Too often, we think that the artist's primary goal is to entertain…
C.O.V.I.D. has caused fundamental changes to how clowns work. Many of us are doing virtual clown work. We stare at computer screens and do our best to entertain our audiences. This is a new challenge for performers…
I recently had a conversation with Ampie Alblas. They are a blogger from Belgium who writes a blog called Collecting Clowns. Ampie was working on a story about a film made in 1916 called “Natural Born Gambler.” This film is unique because it is considered one of the first films directed by a black man, Bert Williams…
I've been thinking about representation recently—specifically the representation of Black people in our society. Many people seem to be willing to take an honest look at the role race plays in our culture. I am encouraged by this reckoning. I also have some earned pessimism.
Recently this ripple of cultural change has been felt in my professional world. There's been a lot of discussion in the circus and clown world regarding racial issues. Some of our performing/circus organizations function under the presumption that "we performing artists" are not racist.
I am taking a walk this morning. I walk through my neighborhood across the campus of Agnes Scott College and into Downtown Decatur. My destination is the courthouse, specifically the site where the Confederate monument once stood…
We are seeing changes in our society regarding black lives matter and racial justice.
The NFL has flip-flopped on its former stance. Four years ago, the league banned Colin Kaepernick from playing in the league. His offense? He dared to protest police treatment of African-Americans peacefully.
We have seen the video of the policemen killing George Floyd. Mr. Floyd was killed in Minnesota in broad daylight by police officers as he was stretched out on his stomach with his hands in handcuffs behind his back. A police officer unnecessarily forced his knee into the back of Mr. Floyd's neck. He died moments later.
That black man in the street just didn’t look right. (Sounds familiar to me.)
Today, I joined many others as we run for Ahmaud. I am one of many people running or walking 2.23 miles
One of my favorite moments when I'm performing as a clown is the…. pause—a moment of stillness before a big reveal.
There is a moment when the tension builds. The clown has been busy working. Will the clown succeed or fail?…
Yesterday I had two meetings with a bunch of clowns.
It started as a big mess—clowns talking over each other. One clown played the ukulele while another clown played a completely different song on the kazoo. There were lots of missteps as clowns introduced themselves,
I shaved my face today.
I was careful not to cut myself. I took the time to focus and made an effort to do the job carefully. This is not unique. I shave on a regular basis. Today, I’m taking the particular note of this because it’s one of the things that is somewhat “normal. “ I did this because I wanted to have something routine. So, I shaved, knowing that I had no plans of going anywhere today….
If you're reading this, thank you.
This blog is where I have come for the past year to express myself. I started it in the winter of 2019. I needed a place to record my thoughts, my ambitions, the things that were turning in my mind. I needed a place to be … me….
I wait in stillness for a reply. After a moment, the preteen boy interrupts the pause by speaking.
A woman showed me an image on her cell phone. It was an image of an old photo. By old photo, I mean an image many of us remember as a film picture before the days of digital cell phones. As she showed me the photo, she said, “Does this look familiar ?“…
As I look around the room, I notice that I am the only person of color here. And I am the only man in the room. The place is full of white women and…me…
We've been in Freeport for a week. Since we've been here, we were able to make some connections in this community. One day we were riding to a show in the back of a truck. As we traveled down the road, we passed a woman who saw us perform in a medical clinic a few days ago. She waved at us and said," Thank you for making me laugh," as we drove away….
The principal of the school asked for a volunteer. Many hands shot up in the air, eager to be chosen. After a brief survey of the eager hands in the air, the principal picked one. It was a young girl…
"This is a bumpy road," the girl said. "Yes, it is," I said. "There's also a lot of traffic. Hold on tight". Our taxi made a sharp turn to the left, then turn to the right with more bumps in the road. Then we went up a steep mountain and down that mountain as if it was a roller coaster…
“She’s crying because you are leaving.” We just finished our show at Mary Star of the Sea Catholic School in Freeport, Bahama. Most of the students were making their way back to the classroom; however, there was one girl who didn’t want the show to end. Her teacher told us that she was upset because it was over…
The audience arrived minutes after we got to the theater. We set up the space and did the show. We performed the show outside, in front of the theater, because the inside is flooded.
The show Sunday morning was at a Baptist church. The church is in a rather remote area on the island. It took about fourth five minutes by car to get there. This is a small church with a beautiful view of the ocean outside their front door.
We finished our week in Nassau Bahamas today. We taught several workshops this week, plus we ended our time here with a show on Thursday afternoon…
Tuesday, Leora, Clay, and I worked on our show in the morning. We put pieces of our different acts into one cohesive structure. We still have some work to do to finish the final show order, that said we made significant progress working on the show…
Monday, we went to the facility where we will be doing our shows and workshops. When we arrived, we were quickly greeted by the staff there. She took us on a tour of the shelter. It’s in a basketball gymnasium next to a bigger athletic facility.
Yesterday I clowned in a new hospital. It was Piedmont Columbus Regional in Colombus, Georgia. While I was there, I came across this painting. I was sure that the man in this frame was Tom Hanks…
I am going on a tour of the Bahamas with Clowns Without Borders this December. As I read one of the emails about the tour, a specific sentence got my attention. They made it clear that this is a tour involving a lot of work. It is not a vacation trip…
Today my partner and I walked into the emergency department. The ED was not busy. There was silence in the room. The unit secretary had just taken a phone call, a nurse was typing at her computer, a maintenance worker had just repaired some equipment.
Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of M.C.ing the talent show at our church called "Oakhurst's Got Talent." It is still on my mind today. This evening was a lot of fun. It was an excellent fit for our church community, an opportunity for everyone to come together outside of typical church experience…
I've been a lifelong fan of Buster Keaton. I remember as a child watching his films. More so than the movies of Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, it was Buster Keaton who got my attention…
Today is October 25, 2019. At the time that I'm writing this, it appears that the clown scare of 2019 has not taken hold…
I like this picture, great clowns/comedians. I also love how Buster Keaton is set apart from the other three…
Dr. Gizmo and I were traveling walking through the pediatric ICU unit of the hospital. Many of the patients in this area are unconscious. However, sometimes, we find a patient who is awake and eager to see us. Today that's what happened…
Today is my mom, Florence Gordon's birthday. I'm writing about her now, but I think about mom all the time. One of the things I remember most about my mom was her unassuming nature. She didn't make a big deal about herself. However, She was a force to reckon with…
This summer, I received an award. It’s from the Tanne Foundation. The foundation identifies artists and supports them with the award…
I went to my area carrying my props, juggling balls, baseball bats, and my juggling hat. As I was getting ready to perform, I heard a voice. It said, "I went to high school with you."
Dr. tiny and I were doing our musical yo-yo routine. dr tiny does his best yo-yo tricks while I play the ukulele. The patient was a 10-year-old Hispanic boy. He sat in his wheelchair and laughed as tiny went through his yo-yo repertoire.
I had the pleasure of participating in the second Decatur Dinners on August 25. There was an earlier dinner on April 28. These dinners offer an opportunity to discuss racial issues in a way that is personal and intimate and hopefully in a way that leads to more conversations and progress…
OK, something that's been on my mind recently. It's a song. It came to me when I was listening to a jazz station on Pandora. The music got my attention…
A seven-year-old boy stands up from his chair and looks at the clown. The boy has a serious look on his face. The clown looks back with an expression as if to say “what should I do?” The boy looks at the clown and gives him a big gesture…
“I don’t want to be in this picture either,” I said.
We were taking a picture because mom was insisting on it. Moms do that sometimes. When her mom told us to pose together for the photo, I saw the look on this 14 year old’s face; the eye roll topped off with practiced indifference…
We approach a patient's room. My clown partner, Dr. Gizmo waited outside the room. As I walked into the room, I saw a mother and a young girl, about eight years old. I asked the young girl if she had seen another clown in the area…
On July 2-4, I attended the Circus Arts Therapy Training at Carrie Heller’s Circus Art’s Institute. This training was an opportunity to step back and look at the social circus work I’ve been doing. I first began doing social circus work in 2001, with Cirque du Monde…
In my post on June 15, I mentioned the monuments at The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. There was a story about these monuments in the June 27 edition of the AJC. Dekalb County is in the process of accepting its monument from the memorial.
This thought made me think of the lyric, "this is not my beautiful house .." from the Talking Heads song, Once in a Lifetime. It was my reaction that Marcia saw. Thinking of this song made me smile.
Marcia, Grace, and I went on a trip to Alabama last week. We visited the locations on the Civil Rights Trail in Alabama. We started at the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham. From there we went to Selma, to see the Edmund Pettus Bridge…
Tiffany Riley has written a book about medical clowning. I’m pleased to say that she decided to include an essay I wrote in her book, Beyond the Red Nose – The Serious Business of Healthcare Clowning.
I was strumming my ukulele as I walked through the hospital. One of my clown partners was with me singing along to the music. As we were traveling down the hallway, I noticed a woman with a subtle look of confusion on her face…
I was hired by Liquid Sky Entertainment to perform at The Battery outside SunTrust stadium before Braves home baseball games. I've had a lot of fun working with the artist there.
I had a great day working in the hospital today. My partner was Reuben Haller, who like me is a musician. Working with Reuben got me thinking about the different ways we use music as clowns in our work in the hospital…
Fear of clowns #3 - A solution.
In my previous post about clown fears, I talked about ways of dealing with Coulrophobia, fear of Clowns…
I grew up in the shadow of my big brother. He was an artist before I was. I watched as he learned to play music, and as he began his life in visual art.
As professional clowns, we sometimes see people who have a fear of us. Often this fear is exaggerated. I've seen adults run from the room in a panic only because a clown has been in their presence…
I recently helped produce an original musical by my church. This was the second production our church has done…
I’ve been listening to a lot of bossa nova recently. It started when I found myself listening to the Antonio Carlos Jobin station…
Coulrophobia is an irrational fear of clowns.
Fear of clowns is a big issue in my world. As a professional clown, I come across this issue more often than I would like. What drives this fear is irrational…
Today I had a conference call with several other clowns from around the country. We were talking about ideas to make our clowns and our medical clown team leadership more aware of racial and LGBTQ diversity.
This past Sunday, I had the pleasure of preaching at my church, Oakhurst Presbyterian, in Decatur, Georgia. Our transitional pastor, Katie Ricks, asked me to do the sermon because this past Sunday was Holy Humor Sunday. Holy Humor Sunday, also known as Bright Sunday, is a day that originated in the tradition to celebrate joy and laughter.