History

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Buffoons, Jesters, Fools and Tricksters have been recorded since the earliest times.
Egyptian Pharaohs and Ancient Romans were the beneficiaries of the healing
effects of the injected comic relief which these silly characters introduced to the
serious and/or tragic situations thereby assisting the people to regain a balance
and perspective.

In Medieval Europe The Court Jester was the only person who was allowed to poke
fun at the king without fear of being beheaded. His cleverness, insight and biting
wit helped the king to remember his obligations to his subjects. He could be
commanded to become the Court Jester.

In the 1500's two types of fool characters emerged as central performers in Italian
Theatre. The harlequin was a trickster and the bumbler, also known as a zanni, was
the fall-guy. It is from these characters that today's Whiteface and Auguste
clowns have evolved.

Caring Clowns:

Clowns are generally regarded as funny, silly, entertainers who have a wide range
of special skills and talent, and many do have. But the word entertainment only
means 'to hold the attention of'. A clown is someone who stands out from the
crowd, is immediately recognised by the colourful clothes and exaggerated make-up
as being a strange and weird, fantasy character. Often people smile at the mere
sight of a clown.

Individual clowns have very different personalities. There are clever clowns, silly
clowns, happy and sad clowns however they all hold the attention of the audience
in their own unique way.

The name 'Caring Clowns' was introduced in 1992 by Richard Snowberg. Caring
Clowns engage in therapeutic clowning with an emphasis on the relationship with
the audience. They typically have a special audience who are experiencing some
sort of pain which may be the result of illness, injury, old age or grief. The
audiences range from hospitalised patients of all ages to senior citizens in nursing
homes and may extend to visiting homeless families in shelters, camps for children
with cancer, etc.. These clowns are often found defusing someone's anxiety or
depression or clowning with people with specific physical, emotional, social or
spiritual needs.

While circus clowns are often loud, boisterous and bold, caring clowns are much
calmer and quieter. Effective caring clowns are sensitive and posses good listening
skills. Caring clowns need to develop skills for reading non-verbal body language in
order to read the cues that will help the clown determine when to move on or even
exit the room.

The ultimate goal of the caring clown is to provide a person with momentary relief
from personal burdens and to stimulate his or her will to live. I order to do this,
caring clowns attempt to distract patients from their problems, to help them forget
their pain, whether physical or emotional, to inspire joy, and to offer the patient an
opportunity to participate in, or to just watch, some silliness.

Caring clowns attempt to work in harmony with the patient and health care
providers. The purpose of a caring clown visit is to bring warmth and cheer, provide
relief from the monotony, show that someone cares, and to decrease the stress
experienced by the patient, members of the patients family as well as the staff.

Similar to the circus clown, the caring clown shapes or molds the appearance and
performance to the audiences needs or wishes. However, while success in the
circus is measured by the applause, laughter and groans produced by the audience,
caring clowns are more interested in helping people to temporarily put aside their
problems and pains than in generating laughter and applause. Often a smile, a tear
or a timid 'Thank-you' is enough to let a caring clown know that he or she has
succeeded. Sometimes, caring clowns will not know the effect they have had on a
person unless a carer or nurse informs them of the outcome of the visit. This effect
can be beyond measure.

Coastal Caring Clowns Inc:

Our particular Group, 'Coastal Caring Clowns Inc.' was founded in 2001 by Barbara
Brewster. Barbara was a Caring Clown with the Rose Alley, in Oregon, USA, who
had travelled for a month in Russia with a troop of about 30 clowns under the
direction and supervision of Patch Adams inthe 1990's. Barbara chose to come and
live on the Sunshine Coast and she ran two Clowning Workshops from which the
group was formed with half a dozen or so members. Barbara has now moved on to
other things, in recognition of her role with CCC she was made a Life Member in
2005.