Healthcare clowning

An elderly man with a red clown nose is smiling and holding hands with someone. He has gray hair and a beard, wearing a plaid shirt, sitting in a wooden chair. In the background, three women are seated on couches, smiling and chatting in a cozy room with horizontal blinds on the window.

Dell'Arte in partnership with places of healing

For questions and inquiries,  please contact Program Director Julie Douglas at juliedouglas@dellarte.com.

Many Dell’Arte graduates participate in healthcare and humanitarian clowning programs across the world as part of organizations like Clowns without Borders and the Medical Clown Project. The US branch of Clowns Without Borders (founded by Moshe Cohen) had Dell’Arte as its original mailing address, and alumnus and guest faculty Jeff Raz co-founded the Medical Clown Project in 2010.

As the pandemic helped to reveal, emotional and physical well-being are highly linked to human connection. That said, residents in elder care don’t often get many visitors or engage in activities, and in hospitals it is difficult for a child to be a child. Medical clowns provide that much-needed human connection that aids in empowerment and brings hope to situations that can sometimes feel somber and powerless.

Fueled by greater understanding of the social determinants of health, social prescribing is on the rise. As defined by a peer-reviewed article in the AMA Journal of Ethics, social prescribing is “a systematic approach to addressing patients’ social needs by referring them to or implementing community-based interventions and facilitating social connection based on individual need.”

Pictured: Dell'Arte International’s Healthcare Clowning Pilot Program visit to Timber Ridge in McKinleyville on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. This activity is supported in part by the Ink People, the Humboldt Creative Alliance, and Humboldt County’s Measure. Clowns: J. Julie Douglas ("Olive" in flowered dress), Allessandra Russo ("Cake" in dress) and Victoria Timoteo ("Goose" in suspenders). Photos by Mark Larson and courtesy Timber Ridge.

A woman dressed as a clown, wearing a green dress with white lace details, a red nose, green makeup around her eyes, and a yellow hair accessory. She is sitting on a chair, playing a black acoustic guitar, with a ruffled, layered skirt and pink and white striped stockings.
People dressed as clowns performing in a room with elderly audience members. One clown has a floral dress and a red nose, another has a yellow dress with striped socks, and a third has a hat with a yellow nose.
An elderly man with a red clown nose sitting in a wooden rocking chair indoors, gesturing with his right hand, wearing a beige cap and casual clothes, while a woman with a red clown nose and walker stands beside him in a room with large windows, a bookshelf with pumpkin decorations
Three women dressed as clowns posing together in a room. They are wearing colorful, playful costumes with clown makeup, including red noses and exaggerated expressions. One woman is holding a rubber chicken.
An elderly woman with curly white hair, glasses, and a blue sweater, and an elderly man with glasses and a plaid jacket, sitting at a table. The man is holding a yellow rubber chicken with an animated face, and they are engaging in a conversation indoors, with books on a shelf in the background.

Summer Intensives on Healthcare Clowning

Dell’Arte launched its first summer intensive on Healthcare Clowning—co taught by Douglas, Michelle Matlock, and Jeff Raz—in the summer of 2024.

“We know that artists who come to Dell’Arte are hungry not only to increase their theatrical skills, but also make a difference in the world. This program helps actors do both by working with folks in need on unconventional stages,” says Dell’Arte Head of Training Tony Fuemmeler.

Dell’Arte is fortunate to have found a partner in Timber Ridge that provides a variety of engaging activities for residents and believes in the power of this initiative. Dell'Arte is eager to continue this work with additional healthcare partners in Humboldt.

With the assistance of a grant from the Ink People and the Humboldt Creative Alliance funded by Measure J, the pilot project began in September. Dell’Arte is offering more training on the subject in summer of 2026.

Healthcare Clowning Training