Clown in Healthcare
The PlayFoolSpirit Clown in health care is a sensitive clown. She uses her clowning skills, including dance, mime, singing, playing musical instruments etc (but no language) to bring joy to a day which is very often characterized by boredom, isolation, illness and pain. A PlayFoolSpirit clowning session in health care is not a clown show, it is an improvised play, focused on meeting people individually. They are invited to engage into the improvised play, but they don’t have to participate if they don’t wish. They can simply watch.

The PlayFoolSpirit Clown is not intrusive. When she makes contact with a patient or an elderly person she is aware and respectful of the person's state. It is the clown’s joy and intent to meet people, but she makes contact with them from a place of compassion, acknowledging their reality. She doesn’t try to make things better or to take away their misery. She is just there, sharing a moment of being, sharing a moment of contact and of play.

The PlayFoolSpirit Clown is not a therapeutic clown, but there might be a comforting effect for people, when a smile was brought into their face or when a cord in their heart was struck.

The PlayFoolSpirit Clown is very aware of old people’s senses being quite reduced. They might be almost blind or might not hear much any more. They live in a very small world compared to what we are used to. The clown needs to use her sensitivity and her skills to approach an individual patient in a way that is appropriate. Simple props are a helpful tool to make physical contact when vision and hearing are gone. Sometimes simply holding a hand for a while is all there is to do.

A PlayFoolSpirit Clowning session in a hospital or retirement home takes about 30 min.