What a pleasure to make a piece especially for the Galoshans Festival this year, and to have the chance to make work at the Beacon Arts Centre again. What an inspiring workshop space!
I so hope we get to perform this again. It was such a pleasure to work with Lucy and Diane - they are hilarious, committed and creative performers, and made the devising process of this piece a pure pleasure. The design work of Fergus was once again an incentive to raise our game, and make sure we delivered something that lived up to his vision. He wrote a lovely blog about the piece which you can read here. He is way more eloquent about it than I could be! Melanie Jordan was a great outside eye, and brought out our characters and gave us confidence to take up space and be slow. Here are some snaps...
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During our 2 week residency at Mavisbank School, a young theatre company came in to perform their panto. I was intrigued. They seemed like a company that go around all schools, so I wondered how they might have adapted their performance to suit this audience...
All of the children were wheeled into the school hall - some in chairs, some in bed. They all have profound and multiple learning disabilities, none have verbal communication and they are dependent on others for all of their primary care needs. The show began. 'Hello boys and girls!' 'You can do better than that, boys and girls! Say it louder, boys and girls!' and then, 'Clap your hands, boys and girls! Come on! That's it! Clap your hands!' My. Heart. Sank. I saw nothing but terror in the eyes of the performers. Most of the children were taken out of the hall before the end of the performance. The directors were sitting at the back of the hall checking e-bay for Christmas Elf costumes. !!%$&*&^%^&**!!! I don't blame the theatre company - these were talented young performers, with no training or expertese in working with this audience, and they'd been booked for a gig and they need to pay their rent. As far as the school is concerned, they are keen for their young people to have access to The Arts but what is available at the moment for schools for children with complex needs in Scotland is seriously lacking, and in my mind, most of it is a total waste of time and money for children, schools, and theatre companies alike. Our aim with the Empty Pockets project was to do something about this, and use our combined knowledge to make something completely different, genuinely enjoyable and worthwhile for the young people it was made for. Our 2 week residency enabled us to consider every detail and possibility of the theatre piece in collaboration with the children, who taught us everything, and staff who gave us amazing and insightful feedback. Textures of props, colours, sound and volume, recorded voice or live voice, proximity and distance, interactive and passive experience, language, characterisation, level of conflict, vocalisation, silence, breath and space. All of these things were directly informed by testing and workshopping with children in their classrooms. Where one theatre company might need the audience to be brought into a school hall, we wanted to develop a piece of quality theatre for the classroom to give the children a better chance of being relaxed and able to enjoy and participate in the experience. We wanted to make the ordinary extraordinary, and leave their everyday space bristling with a sense of magic and play. Equally central to the project was to respect children's abilities (no 'clap your hands' to a room full of children who can't voluntarily move their hands) and empower them by making a performance that was truly affected by, and gave ample space for each individual’s reactions. We wanted to take risks and place our audience at the centre of the performance. Most of all, we wanted to engage with every child’s right to have an effect on the world, including on the world of play and make-believe. I am so proud of the outcome, and feel passionately that this piece of theatre should have a long life touring schools in Scotland. Hopefully there will be some photos and maybe even a little film soon. It isn't something that can really be effectively described here. After our first sharing, we overheard one class teacher explaining the project to somebody in the corridor, 'This company has come in and shown us that our children can enjoy theatre' Well. you can't ask for much more than that. Luckiest of Me's, I get to work on the development of a piece of theatre for children with profound, multiple learning disabilities (pmld), with a wonderful and inspiring group of people - Ben Winger, Diane Thornton, Lucy McGreal, Kerry Cleland, Anna Newell and John Keilty. Thanks to Creative Scotland for the funding. We spent 2 weekends meeting each other and sharing our collective experience of work in this area as well as finding themes, images, story ideas, music and props. It was so exciting to be in a room with skilled artists who are all passionate about what they do and about theatre and art being accessible to all.
The next phase of the development will take place at Mavisbank School where we will be for a 2 week residency, testing out ideas and making discoveries...watch this space! When I arrived back in the UK, it seemed absurd that after all these observations abroad, I hadn't observed Hearts & Minds clowns at work since I started with the company in 2010. So last week I went to Glasgow Sick Kids to see Dr Wallop and Dr Beatz weave their magic! It was a really wonderful experience, seeing two people I know so well, in a hospital I know so well after a month of total newness. I had so many lovely chats with staff about how they'd like to see more of the Clowndoctors and the good work they do.
It was great to get an outside perspective. I can see how a few changes to the way we interact and do things could have a really positive effect on the way we are integrated on the wards. And of course I am biased, but Wallop and Beatz were totally fantastic! They seamlessly engaged with children of different ages and cognitive abilities at once, including everyone AND being funny at the same time. I'll finally be on the floor again myself on Thursday, and I CAN'T WAIT! I obviously couldn't take photos of any of the children in hospital - but rest assured, out of shot of these photos are giggling children, parents and staff!
Another branch of Pallapupas' integration strategy is their university course. Pallapupas run a 3rd year elective for medical students at the Universidad de Barcelona.
The first session is a lecture by Xaví on Pallapupas, its beginnings, its mission, values etc. The end of this session is interrupted by 2 members of the Pallpupas team. The students immediately get a sense of why the programme works. The next sessions consist of role playing medical procedures without and then with clowns being present. The rest of the sessions are a kind of intro clown workshop that gives the medical students tools to be open, imaginative, playful and confident in their interactions with the children on the ward. At the end, the doctors will have started to discover their own 'inner clown'. Pallaupupas are really committed to the idea that people can experience their illness in a different and more 'healthy' way. Xaví would like it that one day, there would be no need for hospital clowns, becasue the medical environment and staff, and attitudes of the patients and parents would have evolved so that they could live their illness through a different lens - one of play and laughter and imagination. I think that might be wishful thinking - but only because this hospital isn't about to give them up! On my travels, in general I have been amazed at how similar our approaches as hospital clowns have been, and even more so, in how the universal clown language really does exist - we aren't working on a cerebral level, but on an emotional one, and of course this transcends culture/language/heritage. It is about being Human.
But there have been differences, and I have found these to be enlightening and interesting to mull over! Here are a few I have noticed while visiting Pallapupas:
So I have been thinking a lot about artistic support for hospital clowns, what this might look like, how we avoid 'burn-out' and keep ourselves creatively tip-top after years on the floor. But i think it is fair to say, that without personal professional responsability and rigour, no amount of training or artistic support will save us.
As Xaví said, "we as individuals, have to bring it from home. Pallapupas is not a Clown School". Monthly training, or coaching or residential courses are all very well and good, but if we feel like we know it all already, or if we feel bored or uninspired, then maybe that is all (hard raised) money down the drain. It is up to US to find the inspiration and spark each day we work on the floor, to explore new possibilities and frontiers in the work we do, to encourage, surprise and push one another. And from there, training or coaching or residential courses can be the icing on a delicious and nutritious cake. Xaví, one of the most skilled Hospital Clowns I have seen on my travels, writes notes at the end of each day he works. He has worked with Pallaupuas for 11 years, and was Artistic Director for 4 years. Grounds, you might say, to pat yourself on the back and cruise your way through the hospital clown day. But you don't get to be that good without the kind professional rigour that he talks about. If you don't already write and reflect on your own practice after each day working on the hospital floor, start. Ingredients:
Method: First, build trust and a good relationship between the clowns and the medical personnel: The medical team often saw Pallapupas assisting in medical procedures in the Hospital de Dia – distracting children when they were getting injections or lines put in. They were impressed by their level of professionalism, and by the fact that it made the nurses jobs easier (less anxiety, less attempts to put a line in because the child is relaxed/not moving). Staff saw that this approach could easily be transferred to a surgical setting Take things slowly, be patient and keep talking: Initially the clowns just visited children as they were waiting for surgery. But they found that the moment of separation (as they were taken to surgery) was made worse, as the children had built relations with the clowns. Follow your instincts and trust in your skills: One time, the medical team suggested that the clowns come into surgery too. They changed quickly and went in. It was a success. Learn from your mistakes and ask questions - never go home with a question unanswered: The team focussed in on what needed to happen with each child using trial and error, hand in hand with the medical team. It didn't always go smoothly, but now they have a clear methodology that works for everybody. The Pallapupas surgery programme was a total collaboration between medical team and the clowns, and this is very clear to see. It works because it grew organically, with trust and with time - and becasue everybody wants it to work. Well. Let me tell you. My mind has been blown. Yesterday and today I observed the Pallapupas clowns visit and accompany children as they went into Surgery to be aneasthetised. I saw children giggling as they walked down the corridor to the Surgical Room, lying on the bed about to go under general aneasthetic and laughing their heads off! Waaaaaaa!! This work is SO EXCITING AND EXTRAORDINARY AND IMPORTANT. And it's not that these kids are all unusually brave and resillient. Before the clowns come to meet them, they are often in floods of tears or pale and quiet with anxiety. And that is not to mention the parents... I will explain a little the mechanics of how it works. There are 2 surgery rooms and each clown takes responsability for 1 room each. In a morning, each room might have 5 or 6 proceedures scheduled. The clowns are given the list in the morning. Once they are in their surgical garb, they run through who is on the list, ages, what they are in for and check if there are any repeat customers (these can be more challenging as they can be more anxious...or more excited becasue they know they will see the clowns). Then they begin. There is a very clear structure and mission for the day. They meet the child and set up a game. The game is usually something that will involve a journey (along the corridor) and going to a new place (the surgical room). It will also involve blowing or breathing into a mask. And a lot of silliness. Then they leave and meet the next child and do the same with them. Then they check the surgical room to see how long until the first child goes in. When there is only 10 or 15 mins to go, they will go back and continue the game with the first child and start to incorporate the idea of using the mask. This will be a playful continuation of the same game. They might also leave and check in with the second child too, depending on timings. Then the medical team arrive, and with any luck, the game has reached the ideal point to go on the journey. They go down the corridor together (on foot). A parent is allowed with their child in this hospital too. Once in the surgical room, the child will need to put on the mask and breath into it. Then the child is asleep, and almost without fail, the parent will burst into tears. One of the clowns will accompany the parent out of the room to the cafe or waiting room, and the other goes to check-in on the second child. The clowns find games in the same way that they do on the floor - by using what is there. On Tuesday, Oxígena was training to be a cheerleader. She needed a song - the girls mum chose Beyoncé. A nurse played Beyoncé on the ward computer, and the clown started to dance. Then she realised she needed a wind machine to make her hair flow. So off the clowns went to find a wind machine. They came back later with the face masks for the girl and her mum. They all had to blow through the masks at the clown (much hilarity and slapstick). Then they decided to film a music video. They would make this super-modern and do it down the corridor (in the surgical room)...
And the idea of all of this is to humanise the environment. To help children and thier parents to play, even when they are feeling anxious or scared. To distract them. To help the child live their experience in a different and better way. It was INCREDIBLE to see and hear how integrated they are in this environment. Several times, doctors, nurses and anaesthetists came up to tell me what a great and important job the clowns do. One even said she wanted to do a study on the different types of ways that the clowns engage! It was clear that the clowns make their jobs easier. They are just a part of the team. No-one bats an eye-lid. They have access all areas and complete trust. And they make everyone laugh a lot. What I saw today at the Hospital de San Joan de Deu was an integrative approach to healthcare - a holistic model that puts the emotional wellbeing of the patient on a level with their physical wellbeing. It looked good. I really hope that it is our (not too distant) future in Scotland. But of course, getting to this level of integration takes time, commitment and all of the right ingredients... |
AuthorI am a therapeutic clown and performer. Writing here is part of my wider practice and maybe some of my thoughts will trigger some thoughts of your own and I hope that helps. Archives
March 2023
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