Patty Wooten presents ... 
Hospital Clown Newsletter: Interview with Shobi Dobi
From Journal of Nursing Jocularity, Spring 1998, 8(1), pp 46-47.Shobi Dobi is the editor of the Hospital Clown Newsletter, a twelve page quarterly publication that provides inspiration and guidance for clowns working in hospitals. I have clowned alongside Shobi Dobi and was amazed at her power and effectiveness with patients of all ages. She has so much to share.
PW: How would you describe your "clown"?
SB: Well, I'm really more fun than funny.
PW: What made you decide to become a clown?
SB: One summer, for my birthday, a friend of mine gave me a weekend clown character development intensive workshop with Arina Isaccson of the Clown School of San Francisco. Five minutes into the workshop Shobi Dobi just popped out. It was as if she'd been there all the time and just needed an excuse to play. And play it is. Clowns have a good time playing, we come from a place of childlike playfulness. We reach out and touch another's inner child and invite them to join in our playtime. This process instills a sense of joy within the other. This playfulness is such a contrast to the serious, somber atmosphere of a hospital.
PW: So the essence of being a clown is playfulness? 
SB: Yes. It is not a matter of being funny, but rather of having fun. Clowns are in the present--vulnerable and innocent, often childlike in their antics. They reach into their audience to find the child to play with. They tease doctors, dance with nurses, fall over their own feet, lose their hats, bump into doors--all in play. When I enter the hospital, people just look at me and smile--yes everyone! In all the time I've been clowning, only once did I find someone I could not get to smile or laugh. (A cardiac patient--hmmmm.)
SB: When I get into Shobi, I turn on an inner joy. There is a glow inside that I have found is very contagious. Everything comes from that joy. Open heart listening, human touch, eye contact, compassion all coming from the heart. That may seem like a big responsibility, but I receive a lot of help by opening up to a higher source--a universal joy.
PW: How can people get in touch with this inner joy?
SB: If you can begin to laugh at yourself, then you will open up the bubble of joy inside of you. I never pass a mirror without making a silly face. Some people, like me, have a very rubber-like face, able to create countless expressions. I wasn't born with that rubber face, I acquired it through use! I suggest you stand in front of mirror and make faces until you start to laugh. Learn to laugh at yourself. Don't pass mirror without making a face. When I visit in hospitals, I give the parents of kids a clown nose and then tell them to go into the bathroom and make at least ten funny faces and then come in and show their kids.
PW: You have a very successful Hospital Clown Newsletter. Why did you start it?
SB: I had a strong feeling that there were a lot of clowns out there in the world doing caring clowning and needed to network. It is an overwhelming experience to be a caring clown and you have to be able to share it. A great deal of emotion goes through you every time you go into a hospital. We experience some incredible miracles. I also wanted it to be a source of inspiration to those who thought they might want to clown in health care facilities. Each newsletter has some basic bedside routines, things that are simple and easy to create. I also tell the readers about mail order sources to obtain any props, supplies or books I refer to. I will usually give some instruction about the use of puppets. Puppets are a great way to entertain. One of the most important parts of the newsletter is the space reserved for clowns to share stories of their experiences with hospital clowning. Finally, I provide some spiritual insights and inspirations. To really be effective as caring clowns, we must be vulnerable and stay in touch with our source of joy. To do this, we need a strong faith. I'm not talking about religion, but rather a sense of spirit. Our clowning is best when we allow spirit to move through us. I try to give people some techniques to get into touch with that place of sillness and source of joy so they can keep their hearts open, and allow spirit to move through them.
PW: What kind of clown routines can nurses use easily during their workday?
SB: Well, that's an individual choice and preference. If nurses read the Hospital Clown Newsletter, they can choose which style and "bits" work best for them. I think puppets are great. Be sure to choose a puppet that have a pliable face, one that works easily on the hand and can make expressions. They need to "come alive" to be fun and funny. Sometimes people worry because they aren't ventriloquists, they won't be entertaining. Really though, people don't really care if your mouth moves. Sometimes, I draw a big smile on a paper face mask and wear that when I use puppets Then the puppet announces, "Shobi is the best ventriloquist in the world." Of course nobody can see my mouth move because it is covered by the mask.
PW: Shobi Dobi, how can people become hospital clowns or find clowns in their community to provide this service?
SB: There are many ways to learn caring clowning. Our newsletter is a good start. I think chapter six in your book Compassionate Laughter has great tips and resources. Clown Camp provides week-long intensive training. Richard Snowberg, Director of Clown Camp, has written an excellent book to help clowns get started. To find a clown in your community, you can contact the Clowns of America either by mail or on their web site, but you need to remember that just because someone is a clown, that doesn't qualify him to be an effective hospital clown. It's a very special service. In fact, I believe that if hospital Administrators could spend just one hour behind my eyes and see the joy that a clown brings out in the hospital, there would be a clown in every hospital in the world. Now that's what I'd call health care reform!
My blessing and advice to everyone:
Resources:
- Shobi's Website is at: http://www.hospitalclown.com/
- Hospital Clown Newsletter - Heart to Heart Caring Clowns, PO Box 8957, Emeryville, CA 94662, e-mail:
- San Francisco Clown School, Christina Lewis, 1000 Prague, San Francisco, CA; phone:
- Clowns of America International, PO Box 570, Lake Jackson, TX ; web site: http://www.clown.org/
- Clown Camp, Richard Snowberg, Director, University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse, 1725 State St., LaCrosse, WI 54601; phone:
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This article was originally published in "Jest for the Health of It", a regular feature in the Journal of Nursing Jocularity.
Feature columnist Patty Wooten, BSN, is also a past President of the American Association for Therapeutic Humor, author of two books related to humor, and a national speaker presenting on the benefits of humor.
