JanFeb_2012

Take 2 Red Noses &
Call Me in the Morning!
Tips for a Hospital Clown
Spending seven years on the road with
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus,
I was given the opportunity to visit many
hospitals from the East Coast to the sunny
shores of the West. It was on these visits that
I was able to meet many patients and their
families, to see what they were going through,
and to bring a little joy to the situation at
hand.
For some, we were there to bring a little
“circus magic”, since the patients were just
too sick to come see the show when it came
to town. Others just wanted to meet someone
new, not a doctor or a nurse or any other
character you might encounter along the
winding halls of a hospital.
We were “outsiders” and brought a little
glimpse of the outside world that lay just
beyond the front doors of the lobby. I always
felt great joy in the knowledge that what I had
brought to the patients (and families) really
gave them an escape from the real world.
They were able to abandon the situation they
were in, if even for just a few moments, and
come join us in the “world of imagination” we
carried with us.
After leaving Ringling, I joined the
Funnyatrics program at Children's Medical
Center in Dallas, Texas. The program, started
by Brenda Marshall and Tiffany Riley back in
2005, had been established as a fully functional
therapeutic program at the hospital. In the
Funnyatrics program, the clowns work in
teams of two. When I was on the circus, we
would actually split up and go by ourselves to
the rooms. In my opinion, having a partner
makes the work easier, because you have
someone else to play off.
As I have moved from circus clown to
hospital clown in my day-to-day life, I have
learned a few things that apply to the hospital,
and clowning within its walls. If I can, I would
Page 28
By Kelly James Ballagh
“Dr. P. Brain”
like to share those thoughts with you!
In our orientation we learned about
hospital signs. We learned that signs on
the patients’ rooms are very important to
follow. If you see a sign you must read it, since
most rooms with signs are isolation rooms.
That means we cannot enter. Most ICU rooms
have signs up! As a circus clown, the patients
know you are coming to “entertain” them with
all the magic of the circus. Their expectations
are set to that wonder and excitement.
As a hospital clown, you are dressed in a
costume (i.e. a doctor’s coat, nurse’s scrubs,
or a patient’s gown) that the patient and
family recognize from the hospital.
You’re no longer an “outsider” coming
in to visit, but rather someone who
belongs there inside the hospital.
This can be tough for a clown, since
the doctor’s coat, as an example, is
symbolic of a doctor in a young
patient’s eyes. To them, the
doctor is the person who comes
and “pokes and prods”, even
if for the patient’s own good,
which may cause a little
apprehension when they
see the coat. The “doctor”
clowns must use the
humor they embody to
win over the patient.
One trick
in doing this
is allowing the
PATIENTS to be “in
charge”. Ask them questions, let
them decide what you should do, and
above all else, let them have fun with it.
The reason you to do this is simple; the
patients have been told what to do
and when to do it ever since they
entered the hospital. Allowing
The New Calliope