New Orleans-July 3-20th
Selena McMahan and Alice Nelson
Journals in reverse chronological order
Alice July 14th
How can a couple clowns possibly contend with America's
entertainment
for kids; video games, movies with special effects and all
those fancy
sparkly toys??? Well, when you're performing for kids who've
lost all
those things, they use the one toy they will never be without… their
imagination.
As clown duo Farquar and Dasani, Selena and I have been
taking
children to the ocean, the desert and the swamp in search
of the
perfect home. The children come with us, playing the roles
of ocean
bubbles and seaweed, swamp trees and even a shark! (the kid
who plays
this role usually won't let go of me and Selena has to pry
him off…he
takes his role very seriously). The kids go crazy as we dive
under a
giant blue ocean tarp and our heads pops up through holes.
When the show is over, we ask them "okay, does anyone
have any
questions for us about Clowns Without Borders or the show.
Yes, you,
in the stripped blue shirt."
"YOU'RE FUNNY!"
"Okay, thank you. Any other questions? Yes, you in the
pink shirt."
"I LIKE THE PART WHEN THE MONSTER CHASES HER!"
"Okay, good stuff…um…any other questions?"
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?"
"Well, we like to make people happy and bring laughter.
So we're
going to all the different summer camps"
 And man, oh man. Some camps sure appreciate it. There are
still 13
000 families in trailer or mobile home parks. Shiny while
trailer
after shiny white trailer, glistening under the hot sun at
the Diamond
FEMA Trailer park. Selena and I will perform for the children
here,
in an old courthouse, shredded by Katrina. And for the kids
at
Diamond, it seems there's not a lot around for them to enjoy.
Other
performance venues we've played include community centers,
schools and
yards.
We do several shows in gymnasiums with over 200 children,
who are
rambunctious and steamy. Kids often go nutty during our interactive
show, as we are something different for them to enjoy. And
our
clowning around doesn't exactly calm them down….however,
near the end
of the show, when Farquar and Dasani threaten to be apart
from each
other, you could hear a pin drop. After realizing that sending
Farquar via Express Post to the moon won't work and Dasani's
magic is
bogus, they blame each other for their inability to find
the perfect
home. At one particular performance a young girl in the front
row
yells, "Y'all shouldn't be fightin'! Y'all are friends!".
I love how
they come along with us on our adventure.
But you can't blame the kids for being unfocused. They lost
structure
when they lost their homes, schools, family members and don't
know
when they might lose their FEMA trailer. The heads of our
partnered
organizations are grateful that we have come to bring smiles
to their
kids. And the kids are grateful too, "Are y'all gonna
come back
soon?".
Selena July 11th
"So what is Clowns with….or is it… without?….Borders
exactly?"
"We're an international non-profit doing clown shows
in areas around the world that have suffered some kind of
crisis."
"Well – welcome to New Orleans…!"
The tone of voice full of the implication of all of the
hardship that so many people have withstood and continue
to withstand day after day. This voice belongs to a teacher
at one of the Catholic Charities summer camps where we perform.
We incorporate the kids in our clown show. When we go underwater
they are the seaweed, some blow bubbles, one is a shark.
In the swamp they are the trees and help me hide from the
swamp monster and then transform the swamp monster back into
Dasani (Alice). Our show at this particular summer camp is
very energetic and when we get to our desert scene, the kids
get a little carried away telling us which way to go to find
water. "There! No that way! That way!" One kid
in the front row can't contain himself and periodically shouts
out "She's funny! You're funny! Funny!"
We are here in New Orleans performing for kids all over
the city. We are partnering with a large variety of organizations – local
church groups, organizations that sprung up after hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, established arts programs, a local farmer's
market:
Catholic Charities
Dominion Power Ministry
Emergency Communities
Jefferson Youth Foundation
Kingsley House
Kidsmart
Pentecost Baptist Church
Play Power
The Renaissance Project
The Verge
Zion Hill Baptist Church
All of these groups are doing amazing work fighting to rebuild
and support kids whose support structures have been ripped
apart. We do a show at the Emergency Communities summer camp
in the Diamond FEMA trailer park. Only 35 kids but they get
out of hand easily and the counselors have trouble keeping
them quiet and sitting down during the show – they
start talking to each other or come up on stage with us.
These kids live in a trailer park - rows and rows of white
boxes – so many of their parents working at night,
or not working at all. Most people in the park seem to stay
in their trailers all day and it's a drop-in camp program
so the counselors don't have much authority – the kids
can always just leave and go back to their trailer.
 Our
show is in the "courthouse" – a former
courthouse that was totally ripped apart by the storm. Only
the basic structure is still standing, the floor a mess of
ripped up tiles, insulation and wires hanging from the ceiling,
but it provides much needed shade on such a hot day.
At the end of the show the kids want to see our props. They
want to take our stuff or they want us to give it to them.
One little 4 year old girl absent mindedly takes my orange
arm floaty from the show and starts to walk away. A patient
counselor says, "Baby, you need to give them back the
armband." The girl doesn't seem to even notice that
she's being spoken to; she walks in the opposite direction
with the floaty. The counselor tries again, "Honey,
look at her, she needs the floaty to swim in the next show.
What's the matter? Did you sleep okay? Baby, look at how
sad she is. You need to give it back to her so she can do
another show." I put on a sad face, the girl looks up,
smiles and gives it back to me.
I am so impressed by the counselors at this camp – wow
is it hard to teach these kids respect when they have been
disrespected over and over so many times – before the
storm by the systematic oppression of poor black children
in this country, and after the storm being pulled around
from one living situation to another, so that almost 2 years
later they are still living in a bleak trailer park with
the constant threat that they will lose their FEMA benefits.
Of course they want to grab at our arm floaties, stereo,
clown noses, even the half eaten apple from our show. I really
can't blame them.
Two days later we return to the trailer park to teach a
workshop. The kids trickle in slowly. I do a very little
intro to clowning with them. We start off going around in
a circle, each kid coming up with a clown name and a gesture.
Peachcows, Blue, Skip, Blockbuster, Netflix, Heeltoe, Blueberries,
Sir Isaac Hagen Daaz of Utah, CocoGoddess, Spiderman, Red,
Stars, and Dasani (Alice) and Farquar (Selena). We do a group
juggling exercise throwing balls in a pattern. The kids actually
stay still and quiet totally concentrated for it! Then we
all practice silly walks, and chant each person's new clown
name as they do their walk one at a time. Finally, we practice
tripping. "Hey Heeltoe, how's it goi...WOAH!…..(look
back) what was that?" They totally go for it. And at
the very end, one by one they put on a clown nose, do their
silly walk and trip as we chant their new clown names.
We've had a great time, the kids have really opened up in
just that one hour, and they have been respectful to each
other and to us.
Yes there has been a crisis in New Orleans, but as a woman
who watched our show at the Pentecost Baptist Church reminded
us, the crisis is not contained to New Orleans. This particular
woman is still living in Dallas because she can't afford
to move back to New Orleans to live. Her old home was ruined
and is contaminated with black mold. Rents have skyrocketed
and there are few jobs. She can only come to visit her son
and his kids briefly. She asks if we aren't by any chance
going through Dallas so that we could perform for all the
displaced people at her church there, cause they could really
use us!
There are so many people who have been displaced
by these hurricanes all across the U.S.A., faceless in our
media. What does that mean for Clowns Without Borders, an
organization whose mission is to work in areas of crisis?
Is our entire country an area of crisis?
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