Roi Et - Clowning with the kids - Final day

Saturday October 25, 2008 -- 9-11 am - Open House
Family, neighbors, community get to come and see what we've been doing with the kids. I lead a sample 1/2 hour workshop, then Pat does his juggling class. We do goofy warm-up movement to music and then move into funny walk. Duuun dtalok! The kids have fun with that for a while. And then I introduce falling -- falling backwards (into the mat), and I combine it with bumping into each other and then falling down. Two clowns walking towards each other, accidentally bump into each other and fall down. Two older boys do it and everybody laughs. Classic clown slapstick silliness. Parents and other adults from the neighborhood are lined up along the railing watching what we're up to. They are smiling and look happy.

I wonder how much the kids are absorbing and how much they will use this, what we've been doing in clown workshop. Are they getting it? Does it make sense to them, are they liking it? Do they want to use it? Juggling and such is much more tangible and concrete of a skill to practice. What we are doing is a little more abstract. Conceptual. And then of course there is the embarrassment of looking like a fool. Here it is good to be funny. Tini tam dtalok dee!

The kids create little mini shows to present to us. They're divided into six groups and have to come up with a presentation on their own incorporating what they've learned over the past two weeks. What they come up with is incredible! Great choreography and formations, with some juggling and others doing acrobatics around them, for example in the image of a flower opening (backbends away from juggler who is standing in center). Mirroring cartwheels and partner acro positions. Some silly movement and mime. Yey! They are incorporating all the elements. And two girls especially do an extended little clown routine. Doing funny walks and meeting each other but get stuck to each other with their handshake and can't get loose and then fall down. Bumping into each other. And even doing the silly fake 'walking down the imaginary stairs' schtick Liz and I had played with. And everybody's laughing, so they can see it works -- people are laughing and it's good! I was excited and proud to see them use what we've been dong and play with it, making it their own. Woohoo!

In general I was very impressed with what all the groups came up with and in such a short time -- just a couple of hours. Creativity and imagination at play! In the end, beyond specific clown schtick and funny moves, I think my workshop has helped open the kids up expressively and creatively, stimulating their creativity and ideas and sense of play. And that is the ultimate goal. Mission accomplished.

The teachers report to me that the kids are very happy and love "teacher Anna." I'm glad. Because sometimes it's been hard to gage if they are actually enjoying what we are doing and getting something out of it, some holding back a lot or shy or too cool... But apparently they all do, no matter their varying degrees of showing it in class, since they all excitedly talk about it on their break -- and as evidenced by their little shows they came up with.