Remembering Karen McCarty

Karen with me in Orange County California in February of 2015. We were there with Deborah Kaufmann and Dina Paul-Parks to help create the clown program at Children's Healthcare of Orange County.

Recently, I've been thinking about Karen McCarthy, who passed away several days ago. I met her about 26 years ago, when she was at the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit. During this time, the Atlanta team became vibrant and active at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. She was a wonderful spirit and a great clown.

Very early in my career as a hospital clown, I knew I had found something special. Hospital clowning offered me an opportunity to use the skills I'd developed. I studied theater in college. I also studied music, which was very useful in my work in the hospital. Early on, it was that dynamic that drew me to the world of hospital clowning, the chance to do routines, juggle, and play music for patients, families, and staff in the hospitals.

Later, Karen took all of that and then offered even more possibilities for me.

She handed me responsibilities—real ones. She trusted me to make decisions. She asked for my advice, and more often than not, she took it.  She gave me the opportunity to flourish beyond being a clown artist. She saw in me the potential to be a voice that matters. She was a mentor to me. I am grateful to her for seeing my potential to do more. Karen was a velvet hammer: soft, but you always knew when she’d landed her point. Empathy with a backbone.

Later in my career, thanks in part to Karen, I began to see the art of clowning as more than just a routine, some music, and juggling skills. It was all of those things and more. It transcended them and became more than the sum of its parts.

With Karen, I found someone who appreciated my work by respecting my opinion with her words and her actions.

We all need a Karen McCarty in our lives. Someone who’ll call you out on our B.S. Someone who sees the potential you’re not sure you have. Someone who’ll challenge you, push you, and then cheer when you succeed where you didn't know you could.

Thank you, Karen. The world is a better place because you were here.