Breathe in, breathe out. Relax. It would have felt like a moment of meditation if it wasn't for the noodle strainer on my head and the red nose tied to my face.
Breathe in, breathe out. Relax.
It would have felt like a moment of meditation if it wasn't for the noodle strainer on my head and the red nose tied to my face.
I'm sitting in a room at St. Albert United Church, sharing a quiet moment with about 12 other people who look equally silly.
Right now, we're all searching out our inner wise fool.
“Let's arrive here together, in this place, for something fun, something challenging, maybe something easy. I never know what it will be.”
That's how Christine Lesiak, professional clown and artistic director of Small Matters, an Edmonton-based clown theatre for adults, started her two-hour workshop on clowning last Wednesday.
The course is part of the Sundaes on Wednesday series the church offers in the summer – a different kind of service meant to bring people together outside of Sunday mass.
Some, like me, arrived here simply out of curiosity about clowning. Others came to search out spirituality in laughter.
“A lot of these things are understanding the holy experience within us and drawing on what is already there, rather than me telling you who you are supposed to be,” says Rev. Mervin Gallant.
“We find ways to help you open up.”
In this case, opening up takes us back to earlier days.
By the time we sit down to search out the wise fool within us, we have already spent an hour crawling on the floor pretending to be animals, shared our favourite nursery songs and acted out moments of fear and joy remembered from childhood.
What sounds like a trip back to pre-school was meant to return us to a time and place when acting foolish was encouraged, not restrained.
Later on, Lesiak says that's the first step into clowning – though it's not what clowning is all about. Much like the funny hats and noses we wear halfway through the course, remembering our childhood is a means to an end.
“You start from that place. Ultimately (clowning) is about play and playing with the audience and finding the pleasure to play,” she says. “And people remember play more from childhood. So it's the thing that connects people the easiest.”
I'll admit, it doesn't quite work for me, but I can see the transformation in some of the others.
People are laughing and giggling, frolicking at their own silly appearance. They dance and stomp and cheer and show off their hats and moves to the others.
“Laughter is probably the fastest way for someone to heal and to release and shift their energies,” says Lorene Lund, one of the attendees of the workshop.
“The clown is an energy that lots of people don't go into. They don't realize that laughing and joking is very spiritual and has a very high vibration and sometimes its necessary for survival, or, you know, for your sanity.”
Karen Laflamme, another attendee, agrees.
She was inspired to join the clowning workshop because it was spontaneous and enjoyable. It also taught her a lot about herself and others, she says.
“You accept yourself, that is spiritual,” she says.
As the workshop winds down, we discuss our experiences.
One person says she did not want to make a mistake, which held her back from acting foolish at first. Another says she found it exciting to not know what will happen next.
But it was also easier to be a clown in a group that has no audience, she says.
All of these responses are key to learning to clown, says Lesiak.
Clowning teaches you to accept yourself and your actions without question, she says. You may not always do what's right, but you certainly never do anything wrong “as long as you are safe and respect yourself and others.”
“It's about personal exploration and being able to play again and wanting to find that place of self-acceptance and taking pleasure in who you are, the ability to laugh at yourself,” she says.
“The gold is in the mistakes. The clown is painfully, authentically human.”
The Sundaes on Wednesday series is offered every Wednesday at 7 p.m. from July to August at St. Albert United Church. The program explores a variety of ways to nurture spirituality through different workshops, with ice cream sundaes at the end.
For more information go to stalbertunited.ca.
