All Things Art: Send in the Dell ’ Arte Clowns at Timber Ridge
A sense of anticipation wafts through the dayroom at Timber Ridge Renaissance McKinleyville as residents chat and greet each other, when three bright, colorful and friendly clowns burst into the room. The son of two of the residents, who had been visiting with his parents, excused himself, saying that he had a dentist appointment to get to. Olive, Cake and Goose waylaid him before he could leave, slidinginto a
routine where they pretend to administer dental care to the congenial man. After much tomfoolery, they allowed him to go on his way, laughing. The Bible tells us that laughter is the best medicine, and by the reactions of the residents at Timber Ridge, that must be true. Laughter keeps the doldrums at bay by triggering endorphins, the body ’ s “ feel good ” hormones, and has been proven to reduce stress hormones, while also increasing immune cells and infection fighting antibodies. Olive, Cake and Goose (Julie Douglas, Alessandro Russo and Victoria Timoteo) have visited the residents at Timber Ridge Renaissance in Eureka and McKinleyville every Friday since mid - September, enjoying more smiles every time they go. J ulie Douglas, head of Arts Engagement at Dell ’ Arte International, based the program on the Medical Clown Project, where she worked as a medical clown for six - and - a - half years in the Bay area of San Francisco. Alessandro Russo and Victoria Timoteo are former students of Dell ’ Arte who took the Medical Clown training with Michelle Matlock last summer. The Dell ’ Arte Medical Clown Project is supported in part by the Ink People, the Humboldt Creative Alliance, and Humboldt County ’ s
Measure J (the Transient Occupancy Tax). Douglas takes meticulous notes on what works with the residents and what doesn ’ t, capturing the responses of their audience. She tries to get a sense of the room when they first enter and how it shifts as the clowns interact with the patients. The clowns not only work with larger groups in the assisted living open meeting area, but also in the memory care unit where the work/play is more individualized. "Sometimes it ’ s better to do one on one, ” says Douglas. “ Everyone needs different things. ”
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