The Caring Clown program at 91原创 Metropolitan University鈥檚 The Chang School of Continuing Education teaches older adults how to improve the quality of life of long-term care residents by using clowning skills to add a little cheer to their lives.
The Caring Clown program at 91原创 Metropolitan University鈥檚 The Chang School of Continuing Education teaches older adults how to improve the quality of life of long-term care residents by using clowning skills to add a little cheer to their lives.
If you are among those who find clowns somehow off-putting or even sinister, Corey Tazmania said she wants to ensure you that her caring clowns are completely different.
鈥淭here is the popular turn-of-the-last century circus clown with the white makeup and exaggerated faces, but this type of clown 鈥 the caring clown 鈥 is a family clown, so there is no makeup, there is no exaggeration,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t is just the smallest mask in the world, a red nose.鈥
Trained in physical comedy, improv and movement, Tazmania is an instructor in the Caring Clown program at 91原创 Metropolitan University鈥檚 The Chang School of Continuing Education. The three-part program teaches older adults how to give back to their community and help improve the quality of life of long-term care residents 鈥 including those with dementia 鈥 by using clowning skills to add a little cheer to their lives.
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鈥淭hese clowns are more along the lines of an eccentric aunt or uncle. Someone who maybe wears an apron or a bowtie, someone who exists more in the family world than the circus world,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e are entering the space as someone whose silhouette the residents might recognize, but there is something a little more pronounced or interesting.鈥
First offered in 2008, the program is divided into three parts. During Caring Clown I and Caring Clown II, Tazmania said the students learn about clowning, developing characters, active and compassionate listening, non-verbal consent, dementia and best care practices in long-term care homes.
Caring clowns students learn about clowning, developing characters and best care practices in long-term care homes.
91原创 Metropolitan University
She said the students taking the course can be an eclectic mix, with different backgrounds and experiences, but they all have some things in common.
鈥淭hey might have had some kind of experience either with dementia or long-term care homes, or experienced what it is to be a primary caregiver in their own family,鈥 she said. 鈥淥r, they have already volunteered in other capacities and decided that this was something that interested them, and they wanted to explore how to heal other people or give them a sense of joy. So, this is what they gravitate toward.
鈥淎nd, they learn how to have fun and play, and experience their imagination and expand their creativity so that they are able to work with each other and with long term care residents in a way that is very present,鈥 she said. 鈥淭aking the present moment and expanding it into fantasy, into joy, and into possibilities 鈥 endless possibilities.鈥
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The third part of the course, Tazmania said, is a practicum where the students go into the 10 long-term care homes that are operated by the City of 91原创. There the students will meet with different resident groups and help to entertain and cheer them up.
鈥淭here are some long-term care residents who recognize us and are excited to see us. We develop relationships with some of the residents. It can be interesting. It can be challenging with some of the residents who might be resistant to a change in their routine. But this is where we learn how to approach and engage with different residents. There are times a caring clown will do nothing but sit and share space with a resident.鈥
Among those who has taken the course is Karen Cutler, a.k.a. Poppiseed Joy, who once a week visits residents at True Davidson Acres, a long-term care home run by the City of 91原创. She plays some 鈥済olden oldies鈥 music, brings in tambourines and other probs, like scarves, and dances for an hour.
Cutler discovered the Caring Clown program after retiring from her job working for a lawyer and hearing about it at an event. She started the course in fall of 2015 and said she enjoyed learning about how to make expressions, approach residents and connect with them.
鈥淚 think I was in the wrong type of work, I should have been in healthcare,鈥 said Culture who volunteers with Hospice 91原创 working in end-of-life care. 鈥淎t first it was very hard, but I just think of myself. If I was in one of these homes and sitting there, I would be glad to see someone come to visit me.
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鈥淔rom the minute I started doing caring clown, I just realized how much fun it is for me, as well,鈥 said the 76-year-old. 鈥淚 wanted to do something for my community, to go out and cheer up people. I just like making people smile and laugh.鈥
Tazmania said she really gets a kick out of watching her students learn about clowning, develop their personas and then take them into the long-term care homes to interact with the residents.
鈥淚t is such a gratifying experience, it really is. I have goosebumps right now thinking about it. It is so exciting to see people discover 鈥 or reconnect 鈥 with creative possibilities, with imagination, with a sense of child wonder and play. And that is infectious, in a good way,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t is so fulfilling to see them being fulfilled and to see the residents experience joy.鈥
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