Can you really take a course seriously when your teachers’ names are Tic Toc and Frizzle?
You can when they’re actually Joyce Friedman (shown in jester hat)and Cheryl Lekousi (in her trademark red hat), both of whom have been members of the Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe since 1999. Between them, they estimate they’ve made over 1000 Boston-area hospital visits and cheered thousands kids. 
While Hearts & Noses clowns are all volunteers, the training and work are not taken lightly. In fact, every Troupe hopeful must undergo a regimen consisting of 90 hours of training, workshops and supervised visits before they’re allowed to go bedside.
The Introduction to Hospital Clowning workshop (scheduled for Oct. 22-23) in the Boston area is a two-day, intensive, interactive workshop offering the keys to improv-based hospital clowning for children, including the opportunity to:
- Discover and develop your clown personality;
- Learn the art of Clown World improvisation;
- Practice hospital clown/patient role-playing;
- Learn techniques for empowering the patient.
Through professional training, volunteer clowns engage and empower children who often feel they’ve lost control of their lives. They also engage parents, providing a welcome, lighthearted respite. “We invite the child to interact in many ways. A visit can last a moment or much longer, as dictated by the patient,” Friedman says.
She describes what clown hopefuls can expect: “We divide the weekend into two parts. Day 1 is an introduction to improvisation and discovering what is ‘clown world’ and how to develop the beginnings of a character. We touch on the physical and emotional. Every exercise we teach can be applied to skills you need in the hospital room. Day 2 focuses on how to bring clown skills into the hospital. We talk in depth about empowerment and engagement. We spend most of the day role-playing with one participant pretending to be a child in the bed and two others acting as clowns. We practice entering the room, discuss what to do in the room, and how to leave. Being an experienced performer is not a prerequisite. Hospital clowning is not about performing but all about the child in the bed.”
The Troupe provides three forms of training: (1) The Art & Joy of Hospital Clowning Manual – a 160-page manual and DVD presenting the Jeannie Lindheim Hospital Clown Training Process; (2) Two-day Workshop – ‘The Art & Joy of Hospital Clowning’ (click here for schedule); and (3) Customized on-site training workshops across the U.S.
On occasion H & N Troupe members participate in international hospital clown conferences. During 2016, volunteers attended the Healthcare Clowning International Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal. “These provide a forum for the hospital clown community to share experiences and set training and organization guidelines,” Lekousi says. “There’s an effort that all troupes use the same concepts to teach hospital clowning everywhere so that a hospital that wishes to have a program will know what the standards should be.”
“Often, someone will take our workshop with no plan to ever become a clown. The exercises reach far beyond hospital clowning. They teach us to listen to and see the people around us. They teach techniques of empowerment and care. For me, it has made me a better me,” Lekousi said.
The cost of the 2-day Workshop is $300. Limited scholarship assistance may be available. Location: Needham, Mass. — Knights of Columbus Hall. Limited space available – Register now!
To apply, please download and fill out our workshop application form here or print and return it to:
Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe, Inc.
Attention: Training Workshop
PO Box 920570
Needham, MA 02492
For further information about upcoming Workshops: info@heartsandnoses.org / 877 256-9612.
For information about an on-site customized Hospital Clown training workshop for your group, contact Cheryl Lekousi at info@heartsandnoses.org .