My Time at Cal Clown

Wow! So much to say about my experience at Cal Clown! It all began a few years ago after seeing a performer in the street...he was hilarious and brilliant in what he did...I was bedazzled and wanted to know his secret! He was a clown! Gone were my preconceptions of a clown being someone who wears stupid make up and entertains children badly. A new world of curiosity had opened for me, I wanted to learn! I scoured the internet for courses and found a weekend course at Escola de clown de Barcelona. Little did I know how much this would change my life over the coming years!
So I did the weekend course...the school was beautiful!...a haven of happiness in a beautiful little spot in a forest on rolling hills with the Pyrenees as a backdrop. There was a beautiful old Spanish farmhouse in a clearing and a circus tent nestled in between the trees. I had found a community of people filled with love and good intention, I had found a place where I could grow and be human, and be me. And over that weekend I had my first taste of what clown was, the real me, uncovered and open...or at least a part of it. But the weekend wasn’t enough! I wanted more! I returned to my home in England and carried on with my life. I had no money to be doing anymore clown training though I knew that’s what I wanted to do. So I bimbled on and enjoyed my summer...nearly 6 months passed and then one day I received an email from the school regarding student/work exchange; It felt like the skies had opened! Yes! I saw a possibility/opportunity to continue on my journey in becoming a clown and replied to see if I could do the exchange. I was over the moon when I got a reply saying that I had been accepted!
A few weeks later I arrived and started as a worker at cal clown! I was so pleased to be back there in that place. There was a lovely bunch of students and workers there and I felt welcomed and loved! My experience as a worker at the school was a wonderfilled one! As fruitful and energising in some ways as the clown training itself but different! It felt more like being part of something beautiful evolving than work! As a worker I would cook, clean and do many various jobs in and around the house...allsorts actually!! And it was always a delight as the people there are so nice! Clowns!! There would always be laughter, joy, music and bimbles and on my day off there would be nothing better than a walk through the forest down to the river(so beautiful!) , going for a swim, and collecting elderflower for cordial! It was a truly fruitful experience as a worker and I loved it! But my work finished and the next time I went back it was to begin my training as a clown...to become a student!
Wow it was finally happening! After all the work I began my clown training! It was quite funny to become a student again after working there the times before. I would wake up, there would be coffee and a lovely breakfast on the table ready. We would then go on a little walk through the forest before class; a really nice way to wake up!
The courses were amazing! The classes consisted of lots of games and play! Yes! Finding your clown was the first part of the process and breaking down personal barriers to discover the inner clown and let him out. It’s really quite clever how the series of games the teachers put together draw you out and open you up! And it’s FUN!! After that you go on to develop your clown in many different ways...emotion, character, street, magic, circus, partner/group, stage...to name but a few! There’s so many different angles! And at the end of the course we did a show to the public! It’s amazing to see how myself and indeed everyone else on the course had changed in a short time! It wasn’t just a change in the way we performed either, it was a transformation of self, the opening of something beautiful within; we were different in everyday life too. I felt more love and compassion towards people and more love and light within.
I have also found many new ways to put together numbers; I have learnt many new ways of formula and theory to apply to different situations and scenarios and also completely changed my perception on how to look at things and situations. I have created new numbers much different from my old style and with my new perception I have found much joy and emotion both in my shows and in my soul.
I would like to thank Clara and Jon deeply from my heart for the work they have done with me and for the wonderful change and beauty I feel within. I feel I have received and found something pure and wonderful, perception changing and energising....I feel so much more connected to me and to the essence of being. I came to improve my perception as a performer but have found something infinitely more than I could have ever originally imagined!
The way I live my life has changed, and changed for the better! And now in my homelife I try to live my life as a clown too! Honest and pure.
My only sadness now is that my time at cal clown has finished!! Maybe I'll make a disguise and go back as a new student and start over again....as Dudley Moocoo from Eastern Europe!!
Muchos love and thanks to you Clara and Jon....and all the wonderful characters I met at my time in Cal Clown! xxx

Gary Boardman