Tag-Archive for » Healing Power of Joy «
- “The magic starts within each of us.” ~Chris Sullivan
A lot of clowns talk about running away with the circus, but few have the opportunity that Chris Sullivan was offered in March, 2011.
Chris is now a performing clown with the 141st Edition of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey The Greatest Show on Earth – Fully Charged. He shares his experiences and inspiring perspective…
“Everything has been going great with the show. I’ve traveled all over the United States this year seeing more of it than I could ever have imagined possible. Before I joined the circus I had never really traveled West of the Mississippi river… other than flying to Dallas,Texas August of 2010 for the Ringing audition and flying to L.A., California to catch my connecting flight to India earlier this year.
Last August I did the audition. It was a wonderful workshop lead by Karen Hoyer and a few of the Circus clowns. We each participated in the workshop doing various exercises, group exercises, partner work, and finally our own five minutes of spotlight to perform something which we had prepared in advance. After the audition they talked to several people individually– unfortunately I was not in that cut. So after seeing the show that night, I ventured back to TN the next morning.
During the time at home I pondered about some friends who I knew were planning a trip to India. I inquired with the group leader and was invited to join them. So I spent my winter preparing for the trip. During the last week of January I flew to L.A. where I met up with our team made up of two clowns from Minnesota Brad Stone and Sandy Kephart, and two clowns from Texas Brenda Marshall and Brittany Allen. All of us are Moose Camp Alumni and had seen each other the previous two summers.
The trip to India was amazing. We spent time doing Vacation Bible School programs with two different orphanages, we also spent time doing shows in Schools, Churches, Streets, a treatment center, and even Roof tops. The children in India are absolutely beautiful. You can see Gods love in their eyes and joy in their smiles.
People today take so much for granted– myself included. However to the children we were working with the smallest and most simple things meant the world to them. This really made me reflect on things and has been teaching me to reduce and simplify my own life.
A week after I returned home I got a call from the Director of Talent inviting me to join the 141st Edition of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth. He allowed me to finish a theatrical project I was currently involved with at home… So I packed my red nose and big shoes and on March 25th I flew to Ohio to join the cast of Fully Charged.
The circus has been around for going on 142 years. As a result the show is one of America’s oldest living traditions. Older than Coca Cola and Baseball. Clowning itself has been dated back to early Egyptian times centuries and centuries ago B.C. as a young Egyptian Pharoh witnessed a clown performing and called him a “Divine Spirit.”
So far this year I have spent three months in California, as well as time in Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts… just to name a few. It really is fun to zig-zag across the country in the mile long Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey train.
Aside from the show — which is three hours of non stop three-ring fun from pre-show to finale, we do all sorts of advance and public relations work for the show. During these times I’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with boys and girls clubs, boy scouts and girl scouts with our Scout Clinics, Libraries with Reading with Ringling, Schools with Circus Fit, and Museums presenting “Science of the Circus.”
We have done some really neat projects too, like opening a Fresno, Grizzlies baseball game, juggling and shooting our Human Fuse down the Vegas Strip, and being the opening act for the Chicago Thanksgiving Parade.
I’ve also been privileged to work for the Starlight Foundation, Ronald McDonald Houses, and various hospitals which host the Beads of Courage program. I’ve found that these experiences can be the most heart-warming.
Children need and deserve entertainment… no matter how healthy or sick they are. If they aren’t able to come to the circus then it is our job to bring a little of the circus to them. I am proud to be a small part in making that possible. Afterall, they do say that “laughter is the best medicine.”
The magic starts within each of us. If we believe in ourselves and believe that what we are doing as clowns then it is all realistic to children. To quote Steve Smith- a former teacher of mine- If we believe in what we are doing then there really is a Neverland, snow on Christmas, and all day suckers. The magic and healing power of clowning and laughter is very real.
Now I am back home in TN for Christmas and New Year. Reflecting back on my journey and experiences this past year is really a little overwhelming. Everything happened and went by so fast. But, thats how things go when you are in a new city each week or two. Pricilla Mooseburger once told me that “Life is like an elephant blanket. Each blanket has thousands of tiny sequins which work together to make a beautiful design. As performers, we are each earning our own sequin on that blanket.”
I believe everything happens for a reason. We all have paths that our lives are meant to follow. I am and always will be a dreamer. Gandhi once said “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Now realistically I know I can’t change the world. But if I can make it a little bit better for someone through humor, I’ll do that.”
You’re invited to receive our FREE Hospital Clown/Healthcare Family Entertainer/Applied Humor Therapist/SmileMaker e-Newsletter… by signing up to receive FREE Hospital Clown e-Newsletter (click on this link here) Published ongoing since 2007!
AHeart4Clowning.com Readers Top 10 2011 Article List!
- TIP: How to Promote Your Hospital Clown Group Quickly, Easily at Little Cost
- Laguna Woods Caring Clown Senior Clown Alley Entertain Children of All Ages, with Heart
- Fun Hospital Clown Musical Stethoscope Idea
- Most Memorable Clown Moment: “Robbo’s” Humanitarian Clown Trip with Patch Adams to Russia
- The True Heart of a Clown
- A Heart 4 Sharing Humor Through Clowning, Interview with Kathy “Piccolo” Keaton
- Hearts and Noses Clown Troupe
- Hospital Clown Caring Clown and Healthcare Family Entertainer Performing for Children of All Ages
- Top 6 Hospital Caring Clown Healthcare Entertainer Training Articles/Resources
- Therapeutic Clowning Heals with Laughter: Jumpa and Sparkles At the Alberta Children’s Hospital
>>>5 Related articles you might find helpful on Injecting Healing Humor in the Healthcare Setting, are listed below this blog post (click on the title of this article, if you don’t see topics listed below)…
>>>You’re invited to receive our FREE Hospital Clown/Healthcare Family Entertainer/Applied Humor Therapist/SmileMaker e-Newsletter… by signing up to receive FREE Hospital Clown e-Newsletter (click on this link here)
>>>AHeart4Clowning Books and MultiMedia Programs, click this link: AHeart4Clowning Books and MultiMedia
Click here for More: Leave Smiles Behind!
Along the meandering journey of an Applied Humor Therapist, Healthcare Family Entertainer, Hospital Clown or SmileMaker, many opportunities present themselves to share laughter, cheer and provoke smiles. Sometimes, those opportunities are in disguise, incognito or difficult to recognize, but it is important to identify them and seize the moment!
Don’t take “No” for an answer — here’s why – remember a little human psychology:
- Often in our darkest moments, when we need humor the most, we are not willing to receive it, or leave no margin of space to fit it in. This is where patients may often be found.
- Sometimes folks do not know how to accept a gift –from anyone, and it’s easier to pass on it. Not in the mode to openly accept, and especially from a surprise like you…
- Facilities sometimes see the obstacles more than understanding the far-reaching benefits of establishing a Humor Program.
- You are there as an active participant in this Great Adventure — this means you are not passive. You have a role, a duty, a blessing and responsibility.
Does this mean you should force humor or a red sponge nose, onto someone?
No — never.
As a professional Hospital Clown, Healthcare Family Entertainer, Applied Humor Therapist, or SmileMaker, our actions must be totally in control at all times, gentle, leaving space for the patient to make choices and decisions in our interaction with them.
But it does mean don’t accept “No” for an answer. There’s always a way — here are some examples:
- When a patient turns away a hospital clown, we are actually empowering them. We are the only one they can say “no” to. They may not want to hurt someone’s feelings, or be in too much pain to be even thinking about that. let them know even by a wave goodbye, accompanying by a smile and a wink, that’s it’s “OK,” turn and go. A little levity lessens their pain.
- Sometimes working with the patient, staff or visitor to help prepare or “warm up the audience,” makes them far more receptive to you and your gift of entertainment or small token of FUN. Humor helps.
- We may enter a patient’s room with some FUN idea, but must remain open to allow them to write the script, as we proceed — ongoing. They are the author; you are the facilitator.
We all agree on the widely-recognized fact that Healing Humor helps lessen pain, boosts the immune system, and brightens an otherwise sterile atmosphere. How to implement a Humor Program may be the main thing in question. Every facility is entirely different, so it’s program will also be unique, and not be a mandated system that isn’t a fit. A little help, some discussion and assurances paves the way to giving it a try.
Take no prisoners, leave only smiles behind!
5 Related articles you might find helpful are listed below this blog post (click on the title of this article, if you don’t see topics listed below)…
NEWly-published book especially for Hospital Clowns, Caring Clowns, Healthcare Family Entertainers, Applied Humor Therapists and SmileMakers, about entertaining in the healthcare setting (click on this linked text): Injecting Healing Humor in the Healthcare Setting: Entertaining Effectively in the Healthcare Venue
You’re invited to receive our FREE Hospital Clown/Healthcare Family Entertainer/Applied Humor Therapist/SmileMaker e-Newsletter… by signing up to receive FREE Hospital Clown e-Newsletter (click on this link here)
Dr. Steven Eisenberg specializes in Medical Oncology and Hematology, is a strong proponent of using music therapy and humor, as part of helping his patients…
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
If video player doesn’t work, view vid by clicking this link: Music Therapy w/Onologist Steven Eisenberg: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41743465/vp/43793404/
Dr. Eisenberg is founder of EnlightenMed, LLC: http://enlightenmed.com/
Lyrical Life: Healing through Connection, also established by Dr. Eisenberg: http://www.lyricallife.org/
Watch for upcoming interview on AHeart4Clowning TalkRadio!
>>>5 Related articles you might find helpful on Injecting Healing Humor in the Healthcare Setting, are listed below this blog post (click on the title of this article, if you don’t see topics listed below)…
>>>You’re invited to receive our FREE Hospital Clown/Healthcare Family Entertainer/Applied Humor Therapist/SmileMaker e-Newsletter… by signing up to receive FREE Hospital Clown e-Newsletter (click on this link here)
That’s right! Absolutely NOTHING… and it’s pretty drab, boring, downright cheerless, and probably depressing — for everyone. Don’t let this happen! Add color, smiles and cheer to the healthcare setting near you — TODAY.
“Healing Humor is NOT a Band Aid — it’s a Way of Life.
It’s for EveryBuddy!” ~ Becky Cortino
REMEMBER: A Smile is a terrible thing to waste.
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Resources and other Great Stuff to help you:
5 Related articles you might find helpful are listed below this blog post (click on the title of this article, if you don’t see topics listed below)…
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Resources – Guides on: How to Establish a Hospital Clown or Healthcare Family Entertainer Group, and Entertaining in the Healthcare Setting, click this linked text (here)
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You’re invited to receive our FREE Hospital Clown/Healthcare Family Entertainer/Applied Humor Therapist/SmileMaker e-Newsletter… by signing up to receive FREE Hospital Clown e-Newsletter (click on this link here)
—Share Miles of Smiles: Funny Smilemakerz Kit for Smiles on a Stick and Endless Smiles—
My Road or the Highway?! Entertaining Effectively in the Healthcare Setting...
I would suppose from the other side of the clown nose, in the healthcare setting, things look a little differently than as to those of us entertaining children of all ages, behind the world’s tiniest mask, as a hospital clown.
Now as I think about it, probably it also seems counter-intuitive that we are in fact performing as a family entertainer, sharing laughter, cheer and applying generous doses of humor wherever our meandering trail leads us that day in the hospital or healthcare setting, in the midst of all the sickness, sadness, uncertainty and death.
Ahhhhh! Such is the divinely topsy-turvy world of the hospital clown, caring clown, healthcare family entertainer! How perfect a setting, especially due to the very nature of the clown, where inside-out, upside-down, and what is — in actuality — is quite apparently not. See…?!
“Flexibility” is the name of The Game, as those clown shoes meander into each room and public space of the hosting facility:
- Each situation encountered is always entirely different from the last or the next, making profuse applications of “Improv” absolutely essential. (Expect this and you won’t be so surprised lol)
- With varying patient’s conditions and ongoing staff intervention of treatments and procedures, it is not always possible to complete each schtick or sight gag performance in its entirety. (Remain flexible, and you won’t disappoint.)
- Procedures and policies change, and new ones are often implemented, changing things-up for hospital clowns and healthcare family entertainers. (Deal with it — roll with the changes.)
- It is not appropriate for the hospital clown, caring clown or healthcare family entertainer to set about their work that looks like play with a mind only focused on their “work.” The true goal or mission of what they’re about isn’t really the ‘work’ at all — it’s all about the audience. (Keep the audience in focus, always in mind, as you entertain.)
We know it is said “For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required,” and truer than true this could not be, for those of us so blessed with the privilege of spreading goodhearted laughter, cheer and Joy in the hospital or healthcare setting.
In the process of what we do, we are often allowed into a space where few are allowed or tread. That is hallowed ground indeed, where we cast away all that is, ignore our cares and fears, leading those who we meet right there to a place of Joy and Wonder of what might be — could be — is.
All very counterintuitive, you might think?
Thinking not: it all depends upon your perspective.
5 Related articles you might find helpful are listed below this blog post (click on the title of this article, if you don’t see topics listed below)…
NEWly-published book especially for Hospital Clowns, Caring Clowns, Healthcare Family Entertainers, Applied Humor Therapists and SmileMakers, about entertaining in the healthcare setting (click on this linked text): Injecting Healing Humor in the Healthcare Setting: Entertaining Effectively in the Healthcare Venue
You’re invited to receive our FREE Hospital Clown/Healthcare Family Entertainer/Applied Humor Therapist/SmileMaker e-Newsletter… by signing up to receive FREE Hospital Clown e-Newsletter (click on this link here)
Know When -- or if, the Show Goes On...
With the kind of work we do as hospital clowns, caring clowns, healthcare family entertainers, applied humor therapists and smilemakers in the healthcare setting, we are accustomed to encountering different situations and health conditions at every turn on Rounds.
However, whenever unprecedented disasters occur, the ‘norm’ of standard operating procedures of visitations changes up radically.
By the nature of our work, we exist to entertain, provoke smiles and share laughter with all we come into contact. But in times like these we have to know when — or if, the show goes on under the existing conditions.
As always, the best strategy is to take a cue from your audience.
The 10th anniversary of 9-11 brought back many memories, and part of them for me was the next hospital visit we had immediately following this tragic event.
Feeling compelled to “be there” with the patients, but unsure of their demeanor, we arrived ready to see where the winding path would take us that day.
The main things most folks seemed to want was not only a smile, but just to talk. They wanted to talk about what was on their mind and in their heart. On such an occasion as this, a gentle presence is the perfect prescription. It’s amazing what folks will tell a clown!
Often, a gentle presence is all that’s needed. It’s beyond knowing “when enough is enough.” It’s all about silencing ourselves to hear what our audience needs most from us — and then simply providing that.
Sometimes this means you packed some great new props and you won’t use them this time.
How about you? Have you clowned or performed for immediately following a disaster, or for disaster relief survivors? What was the experience like for you?
Entertaining in the Moment with AHeart4Clowning
As performers in the hospital or healthcare setting, our focus is on the patient. Because we’re constantly sizing up our audience’s situation, looking for ways to empower them, easing their discomfort, while gently applying generous doses of healing humor – improvisation is the most effective mode of delivery.
This is a key element, and why “skits” don’t work in the one-on-one healthcare venue. ‘Schticks,’ tricks, sight gags, and other portable components that can be pulled out of your hat, from your sleeve, and plugged-in anywhere at any time are invaluable and if appropriately used, can be effective.
Entertaining in the Moment is the most effective way to dispense Healing Humor, as an Applied Humor Therapist. Otherwise, if we are so busy ”performing,” we miss the all-important connection with the patient, and the flight to that Place of Joy and Wonder. For this reason, I call the act of Entertaining in the Moment “The Sweet Spot.”
Two related articles you might enjoy (in addition to 5 listed below…):
Hospital Clowns, Healthcare Family Entertainers: Which Comes First: The Patient or the Act?
Hospital Clowns and Healthcare Family Entertainers Perform for Children of All Ages
(TIP: Click on the title of this post, if you want to read but do not see the additional list of 5 Related posts…)
What is a Hospital Clown? What about pediatric clowning?
Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe shares a glimpse inside…
Hearts & Noses final cut from Robert Sinrod on Vimeo.
Cheryl Lekousi, Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe Executive and Artistic Director was a special guest on AHeart4Clowning TalkRadio Show
Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe
(TIP: Click on the title of this post, if you want to read other related stories, but don’t see list of 5 Related posts…)
Piccolo's Musical Stethoscope
At the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH) Conference in Orlando, I attended my friend Kathy “Piccolo” Keaton’s session on hospital clowning. As part of her presentation, she reviewed various props she uses during her hospital visitations.
She shared a lot of great ideas and fun stuff with the attendees, but the one item that caught my eye was her Musical Stethoscope! I was so captivated by this fun, cool idea, I asked Kathy’s permission to share it with you, and she agreed.
As you may be able to tell from the picture of “Piccolo,” she is wearing her Musical Stethoscope, a plunger attached to stethoscope tubing and ear pieces (could be play, costume or real). But wait — there’s more! Inside the plunger is the real fun, which Kathy explained… it’s a music button!
“You can get these little music buttons at any craft store. They’re for people making dolls or music boxes, cost only about $3, and play all kinds of tunes. I have Christmas ones I switch out during the holidays,” Kathy said.
The featured tune in Piccolo’s Musical Stethoscope the day she demonstrated it: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
Kathy’s BONUS TIP: “Be sure NOT to say it’s musical – just push it and place it on their heart, and then softly say: “Oh . . . . you have a song in your heart!” It’s really sweet, and everyone around appreciates the thought.
Total fun! Thank you Kathy aka “Piccolo” for sharing this very cute and clever idea, to inspire others.
>>>If you would like to hear more of Kathy’s wealth of experience, I interviewed her on AHeart4Clowning TalkRadio Show:
>>>For More Information about Kathy and her applied humor therapy work, be sure to visit Piccolo The Clown’s website: http://www.piccolotheclown.com/
>>>Did you enjoy this tip? To read more, sign-up to receive our FREE Hospital Clown e-newsletter: http://www.aheart4clowning.com/sign-up/
Jumpa and Sparkle share Healing Humor
At the Alberta Children’s Hospital,when they need a little laughter, they simply send in the clowns…
Jumpa and Sparkles are Sisters of the Heart… click on the picture to view their recent ‘in-action’ video!
…or click on this link:
http://www.globaltvbc.com/Therapeutic+clowns+healing+with+laughter/4692557/story.html