Posts in Clowning
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF HOSPITAL CLOWNING
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF HOSPITAL CLOWNING

Celebrating 25 Years as a Hospital Clown

This fall, I will begin my 25th year of working as a hospital clown.

 It's hard to believe that 25 years have passed since I first started doing this work as Squeeze the Clown. As I mark the beginning of my 25th year, I want to take a moment to think about my history as a hospital clown. 

I was excited to be hired by the Big Apple Circus and to be one of the original members of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit in Atlanta. Michael Christensen of the Big Apple Circus created the modern idea of hospital clowning. I’m proud to have that connection to Michael and the BIg Apple Circus. As a new hire, I was one of eight members who traveled from Atlanta to New York for weeks of training in hospitals and studio rehearsals. These rehearsals were artistically inspiring, and the hospital work was emotionally challenging. I was drawn to using humor to lift spirits, and children's hospitals were new to me. At the time, I didn't realize the impact a clown could have in a setting like a hospital.  But I did know that I wanted to make people laugh. 

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Art, Clowning, Hospital ClowningMeredith GordonBatch 7 Comments
This Summer, I'm Inspired by the Great Ones
This Summer, I'm Inspired by the Great Ones

This Summer, I’m Inspired by the Great Ones

Over the past few weeks, I've enjoyed entertaining audiences at various libraries and camps. I really enjoy doing these shows. I'm eagerly anticipating my upcoming hospital clowning performances in Columbus this autumn. In the meantime, I've been keeping busy with shows at camps and libraries this summer.

I do some comedy, music, and juggling during my summer show. It's the skills I've learned mixed with some basic performing skills.  While I'm doing all of this, I also take time to talk about some of the artists who have inspired me. While the list of those who have inspired me is long, for these shows, I focus on three artists:  Bert Williams, the Mills Brothers, and Josephine Baker. These performers were all Black artists who were internationally renowned when they were in their prime…

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Clowning, Afro-American IssuesMeredith GordonBatch 7Comment
Clown Week in Montreal, Post #3 Meeting of the Noses Conference
Clown Week in Montreal, Post #3 Meeting of the Noses Conference

The topic for the panel was  "How is a clowning agent of social change? Should that be the role of the clown? How can clowns help society? 

I thought about this topic a lot, and I felt some extra pressure because I was expected to comment on it. Clowns can be agents of social change, and our organizations should play a role in that. That said, during the panel, I focused on how difficult change can be. 

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Clowning, Clowns w/out Borders, Afro-American Issues, Hospital ClowningMeredith GordonBatch 7 Comments
Clown Week in Montreal,Post #2 The Montreal Clown Festival
Clown Week in Montreal,Post #2 The Montreal Clown Festival

We walked past where we were supposed to go.

We had the address, but somehow, we misread the signs on the street. After walking through the streets of Montreal, we finally found the right address. We had missed it once or twice before. We walked right by without recognizing that this was the address where the show was. That said, after we found the right address. We opened the door and saw a narrow staircase. Just as we reached the top of the stairs, I looked around the room.  There were a few sofas, a ticket booth, and several people milling around before the show started. Then, I gazed across the room and caught the eyes of a woman sitting at a table; she looked at me and loudly said, "Meredith!"  The woman was Vanessa Rigaux from the Montreal Clown Festival. After that, we knew we were in the right place. Gina and I made ourselves at home before the show.

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Art, ClowningMeredith GordonBatch 7Comment
Clown Week in Montreal, Post #1 The Workshop
Clown Week in Montreal, Post #1 The Workshop

I recently had the opportunity to attend a  three day workshops, a clown festival, and a clown conference in Montreal. The experience was nothing short of exhilarating and eye-opening. I am always looking for ways to enhance my skills, connect with fellow performers, and stay updated on the latest with what's happening in the industry. I will mention more about the clown festival, conference, and other posts. Here, I will focus on the workshop I took the first three days of my week in Montreal.

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Art, Clowning, ActingMeredith GordonBatch 7Comment
Broken Glass, Art and Social Justice
Broken Glass, Art and Social Justice

Someone smashed my car window. Broken glass was everywhere!

My car was parked in a public lot, and someone decided to break my window after I parked it. I don't know who did this. I was only away from my car for a few hours. It happened in a public car lot. Now, I had to spend the rest of my day addressing this problem. I had to clean up the mess to make the car drivable, and then I had to drive somewhere where I could vacuum the rest of the glass out of the vehicle.

Breaking something can be easy; repairing it will take work….

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Art, Clowning, Afro-American Issues, Social JusticeMeredith GordonBatch 7Comment
A clowns walks into a Medical School…
A clowns walks into a Medical School…

I walked from the parking deck across the university campus and approached the medical school building.  The destination is familiar. We've met in this building several times over the semester. I open the door and walk into the halls of the Emory Medical School. I am at the university to co-teach students at medical school as part of Emory’s Arts and Social Justice Fellows Program.

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Art, Clowning, Racial Issues, Social JusticeMeredith GordonBatch 7Comment
It's Alright to Snälltolka in Barcelona
It's Alright to Snälltolka in Barcelona

As I played the music, there was a line of performers singing and dancing along. They all replied, "It's Alright "!. This started as my version of the Curtis Mayfield song "It's Alright." It's one of my favorite tunes to play in the hospital. At home in Georgia, people sing along. For them, it is a gospel refrain from the black church, and they are eager to join me in singing….

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Clowns w/out Borders, Clowning, Social JusticeMeredith GordonBatch 7Comment
I will not go quietly.
I will not go quietly.

Clowns are known for not following the rules. It's one of the things we expect from clowns. Following this tradition is something we do in the hospital constantly. As medical clowns, we take the medical aspects of our work seriously. We are trained to function in the hospital as we do our work. That said, we are still clowns. We still find some norms to break as we follow medical regulations.

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Clowning, Hospital ClowningMeredith GordonBatch 7 Comments
Onward, Sudden and Suspended at HCIM
Onward, Sudden and Suspended at HCIM

The room was full of bodies moving, of people responding to the cues I gave them. They moved eagerly, without reservation. They followed the cues I gave them, each person interpreting the instructions in their way. It was like a room full of people doing the same dance, yet each person had a unique version of the movement. We were suddenly moving together. Suspended in a moment where all that mattered was our movement. We moved, experienced, learned, and shared our experiences.

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Art, Clowning, Clowns w/out Borders, Hospital ClowningMeredith GordonBatch 7 Comment