Clown Workshops

Did you know that every professional clown has different makeup? It's like a trademark, their own particular brand. They register their face with an organisation called Clowns International (I promise I'm not making this up) and it goes in a directory. The clown in the picture is Pipo de Clown from the Netherlands.

I have to admit to the very common concern that I find clowns a bit creepy. I'm not a full on Coulrophobic, which is a fear of clowns, but like many of my generation I think that Stephen King's Pennywise in the book and film It has put me on edge. 

I'm not exactly setting up an easy sale of Clown Workshops, I know. However, they are available and they are taught by some very good and extremely entertaining people. So, why on earth would your team want to have a Clown Workshop as a team building experience?

We all have an inner clown. In some of us it's more apparent than others, but it's there. It's the part of you that might be drawn to acting or storytelling. The latter is very much in vogue in business as brands try to make themselves stand out in a crowded market. Some large corporates have storytellers in their organisation who go around teaching and training and generally helping employees to tell the corporate story in a positive and engaging way.

If you have ever spent any time in a large open plan office you will be familiar with visitors' inner clowns emerging when they walk through the door. Some people do a little Norman Wisdom routine. Taken to extremes they may do that thing where they pretend there's a staircase behind a nearby screen and 'walk down it'. Inner clowns also emerge when crossing the road in front of traffic. Many will adopt a walk which implies that they're hurry without them actually moving any more quickly. Often it looks as though they are imitating a chicken.

These are the behaviours that we default to when we're being observed. To be a clown is to strip yourself bare of your usual armour and to stand exposed. If you spend a little time in clown training it can free you up, so that you can become a better actor and storyteller. If you want to be stuffy you might say that it strips you of your dignity, but then what is dignity but some wall that you put up in the hope that it protects you. In most cases people see through it.

So, there it is. Clown workshops will, without doubt, be fun and they tend to be run by nice young people and not by slightly scary old men in greasepaint. However, they also have a value beyond just messing around. The value is in that much sought after commodity called authenticity.

If you would like a visit from a professional clown to discuss the benefits of their work in further detail give us a call. It has to be worth it just to see their car fall apart when they arrive.