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
Read More
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
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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."
Read More
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
Read MoreMy nostalgia has led me to stumble across some pictures of our work. Mainly photos with Vincenzo Tortorici. Vincenzo was with me when I began as part of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit. He was instrumental in helping us establish hospital clowning in Atlanta. I always enjoyed working with him…
Read MoreA few notable moments from my most recent day clowning at The Children's Hospital Piedmont in Columbus, Georgia, with dr. tiny, a.k.a. Ron Anglin. Ron is doing an excellent job of organizing and maintaining our clown presents in Columbia. …
Read MoreFolks,
I will be involved in two presentations at H.C.I.M., the Healthcare Clown International Meeting. The conference is October 6-8th at The Hague in the Netherlands. The Healthcare Clown International Meeting is a conference of medical clowns from across the world. Three years ago and I was able to attend the conference in Vienna. This year, I'm delighted that they excepted the two proposals for the workshops…
Read More"I have a legacy.", he says. He raises his hands in celebration, knowing that his work is remembered. Jonathan Perry is a former hospital clown. He is celebrating a memory he created. A picture on my phone reminds him of the legacy he started twenty-one years ago. He was one of the founding members of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit…
Read MoreThe patient looked back at me as he smiled. He was about to say something, but then he paused to think about precisely what he was going to say. After thinking it over, he said, "I bet you can't drop your hat down onto your foot and then toss it back up onto your head."..
Read MoreYesterday 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,
Read MoreA 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 ?“…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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."
Read More
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.
Read More
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…
Read More