Suzie Ferguson
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Boss Clown

12/14/2017

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So as of January I will be the new Artistic Director of Hearts & Minds.

Writing those words is extremely surreal.

​I am at once excited and utterly daunted by the task. A familiar feeling as an artist and theatre maker, and more or less how I feel at the beginning of each new creative project I take on.

And the huge joy of this particular project is that I get to serve the wonderful clowns of Hearts & Minds.  My artistic family. A big responsibility. A big joy. A big challenge. I will do it with my whole heart.  

I am so excited for the future of Hearts & Minds. Bring it on!
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The Weird Sisters

12/14/2017

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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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less empty pockets

9/17/2017

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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.
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Empty Pockets

8/28/2017

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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.
PictureTop from left: Lucy, Ben, John Bottom from left: Kerry, Anna,Diane, Me

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!
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Dr Wallop and Dr Beatz

8/28/2017

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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!
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Some badly photographed moments from this week that give just the tinest glimpse of the wonderful worlds i have been allowed into!

7/14/2017

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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!
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clowns in medical school

7/14/2017

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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!

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Some Differences

7/13/2017

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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:


  1. The clowns don't ask permission before entering the rooms of the children. As first I was quite surprised by this...it is sort of one of our major rules in Scotland. We take pride in the fact that we might be the only people in a child's day who asks their permission for anything. But it was really interesting to watch the Pallapupas approach and to see a different way. Becasue they are so integrated into the medical team, it kind of makes sense that they come and go in the same way as the doctors and nurses. Of course they would always leave the room if they weren't welcome (although I only saw this happen once), and in the transmission, they are advised of anyone to avoid) but they had such a great flow and energy. They seamlessly went from room to room, bringing with them the story or state from the room before. And their skill level meant that they could change their level of play instantly depending on who was there.
  2. The clowns sometimes work alone. When they work on the ward, they kind of leap-frog along the corridor. They will set up a game, one clown will leave and go to the next room, and the next clown will finish up there and follow, and so on. When I played on the floor, it went like this: Maybee and Fonenda were attempting to wax Gota Gota's moustache. He insisted that it was fashionable, said he'd heard someone in the corridor say so, and went to find out. Maybee and Fonenda decided that if it was fashionable, then we wanted one too. We left to go and find him. In the next room, Gota Gota was trying to find us the perfect moustache. The game carried on, and evolved like this for several rooms. The first room was a room of teenage girls, so the theme of depilation and waxing was appropriate. The next room was a 6 year old girl, who found Maybee putting her mums' ponytail on her upper-lip hilarious. Lots of different levels of play. It felt like a real whirlwind, and it was quite a different way of working to what i'm used to, but it was fun and effective! No uncertain beginnings, having to re-kindle or find energy or a game.
  3. Their visits are short. On the ward, their visits are really quite short in general. They enter, leave a splash of silliness and laughter, and leave.
  4. They assist in medical procedures.  During transmission, the nurse will let them know what they will be doing, and the Clowns make sure that they will be there. If they hear a child crying, they immediately go to distract them. They make sure the position themselves on the opposite side of, for example, the arm that is having the canula fitted.
  5. Pallapupas are in the Hospital de San Joan de Deu 5 days a week. They visit the Hospital de día every morning and two afternoons (the 2 afternoons were added recently at the request of the hospital), and surgery everyday. Each day they also visit a different floor of the hospital.​
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Professional responsability and bringing it from home

7/13/2017

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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.
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Recipe for a successful clown in surgery programme

7/12/2017

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Ingredients:​
  • 1 paediatric hospital that prioritises person-centred care
  • 2 or more high quality, experienced, hospital clowns. 
  • Some children who need minor surgery
  • Lots of trust, mutual respect, and the desire to collaborate

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.
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Mascarillo introducing his pet Chinese dragon, 'Sin-Champú' to the medical staff...
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    I am a therapeutic clown and performer. Writing here is part of my wider practice and reflection on clowning as an (therapeutic) art form.

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