“The arrival of a good clown exercises a more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than of twenty asses laden with drugs.” ~ Thomas Sydenham
The above photo is of my friend, Inge, who is eighty-six years young and a graduate of Ryerson’s Caring Clown Program. The photo is not mine but was one that Ryerson used on their 2013 Brochure for the Program.
For several years Inge’s been telling me about her clowning and especially about her visits with other caring clowns to Nursing Homes. We talked many times about me seeing her all dressed up and taking her picture. It just never happened though.
~ Lynda Del Grande, retired teacher and Caring Clown
The above photos are mine and the right moment and time did come lately when Inge spoke about being a Caring Clown and was dressed up right in front of us – at ACT II Studio. “ACT II STUDIO is a theatre school and creative drama centre for older adults, 50 plus. It is part of the Seniors Education Programs in the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University. ACT II STUDIO has a history of developing socially relevant drama.”
It was a very special time for me as I admire Inge very much for her “joie de vivre.” She told us that she is a Hawaiian clown – wearing a muumuu, and Hawaiian leis around her neck and as her head-dress. She also wears a lovely bracelet and with her red nose and beautiful, warm smile, she’s a picture of beauty.
Caring clowns are not scary. They play many different roles in the Long-Term Care Homes that they visit. Inge told me us that as soon as they arrive on the floor, they start singing the well-known song “When you’re smiling, when you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you.” She invited us the audience to join with her in the singing at Ryerson that day. She told some stories of her actual experiences with patients in these facilities and while there are some patients who are easily responsive, there are those who are very hard to reach. It is challenging in many ways but she finds it to be very rewarding.
The above images were taken at Inge’s apartment where we shared in a more relaxed manner about the Clowning Program and she allowed me to look at some of her course material. One of her hand-outs “What is a caring Clown?” had this to say: “Caring Clowns have the ability to transform every day situations into a world of play and make believe. Connecting with their inner child, they engage in imaginative and spontaneous interactions and fun. Personal relationships are the essence of the work of a Caring Clown. By improvising moment by moment they treat each person, situation, time and place as unique. Most of all, Caring Clowns have a tradition of sharing their joy with everyone. It’s from this shared joy that makes their work therapeutic and healing.” (Lynda Del Grande, Caring Clown Program, 50+ Programs, Chang School, Ryerson University)
I asked Inge what made her want to take theatrical courses at Ryerson. She shared with me how she wrote her first play in a refugee camp when she was seventeen years old and had it performed there as well. It was a huge success. In that same camp, she formed a choir and conducted it. As you can tell, there was always an actress inside of her since she was very young. She has taken courses in Ryerson’s Theatre Department for the last twelve years.
Part of Inge’s program dealt with gerontological information on aging and dementia. It is inspiring to me that at the age of eighty-six, Inge is “ministering” to so many others both in her personal life and with ACT II. She holds the most beautiful parties at her apartment and at Christmas-time, she sometimes has about nine parties. She invites different groups over because she wears so many different hats and knows so many different people. I was once at a party she gave for her theatre group and recognized many faces at ACT II that day.
Last year, Inge walked 1 km and raised over one thousand dollars for “The Toronto Challenge.” This is a fund-raising event organized by Toronto Long-Term Care Homes and Services. The money is raised for community agencies that improve the quality of life for older adults. Ryerson University’s Caring Clowns are a big part of this event. “Our clown presence is healing, empowering, and uplifting.” (Audrey Lowitz, Graduate, Caring Clown Program)
The above image was the cover of the Program for Inge’s Graduation which she shared with me. It’s wonderful to have a friend who’s so talented, kind, caring, and gentle and who’s part of such a wonderful movement.
“Everyone wants to be near a gentle stream, a gentle person, a gentle pet, a gentle sweet clown. If I think of hard times I’ve been through, it is gentleness I have always wanted. Not people pleasing, sappy sweetness, but honest heartfelt gentleness — to be hugged, to have someone hold my hand, or to care about me even for a minute with caring gentleness. Gentleness is what the heart seeks.” (Shobi Dobi)
Hope you enjoyed this post!