March 2, 2010 Features

Funny face

Clowns Sans Frontières prove that laughter really is the best medicine

by Sophia Loffreda

Smiles for miles: Clowns Sans Frontières take the show on the road. GRAPHIC VIVIEN LEUNG

To most children, a red nose brings to mind one of two things: Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, or a runny nose courtesy of the common cold. But to those in orphanages, refugee camps, conflict zones and amid natural disasters, a red nose can mean so much more.

Clowns Sans Frontières is an organization that believes laughter is as essential for children in areas of conflict as any western medicine. The group has travelled to some of the world’s poorest countries, where food and shelter are difficult to come by.

The non-profit’s volunteers perform contemporary circus acts and hold workshops in hopes of relieving the suffering of those in difficult situations through laughter. For these children and their parents, a friendly face and a red nose mean a chance to forget about the realities of their daily lives, if only for a few hours.

CSF vice-president Vincent Potel said he carries his nose with him everywhere, and that it has become a large part of who he is.

When meeting for an interview in a tiny east-end café, Potel was easily identifiable by his T-shirt—a black shirt emblazoned with an orange-haired clown sporting a red nose of his own. The plastic red clown nose has become an international symbol of peace, said Potel, thanks to the work of social activists and professional clowns like Dr. Hunter Campbell “Patch” Adams.
Patch Adams, whose life inspired the eponymous film starring Robin Williams, founded the Gesundheit! Institute in West Virginia in 1972 and ran it for 12 years as a free community hospital. He travelled around the world with a group of international performers and volunteers, donning red noses and bringing joy to those suffering from illness or poverty.

Since its founding in 1992, CSF has continued to fill his rather large rubber shoes, recognizing the simple yet powerful healing qualities of the red nose and the value of bringing smiles to unlikely places.

“You have a responsibility when you put on the red nose. You really are on a mission,” said Potel. “You represent something that is very important for these kids and you don’t want to break that magic.”

CSF’s volunteers do not heal through traditional medicine, but through their performances. Most are trained artists, musicians or circus performers. Potel briefly attended clown school, but considers himself more of a musician than a clown.

In 1998, during the infamous ice storm that tore through eastern Ontario and western Quebec—including Montreal—Potel and friends filled buses from the city’s less affluent communities and gave free concerts while riding around Montreal. The project, called Le cabaret roulant, included CSF Canada’s founder Jacques Thériault, a.k.a. “Jacko the Clown,” and marked the beginning of Potel and Thériault’s collaboration.

When asked how he makes the kids laugh, Potel downplayed his comedic talents.
“I don’t really do much, I just pop up behind them, make a funny face, and they laugh!” he said, hardly able to contain his smile.

Not formally trained in the art of juggling or balloon-making, Potel is open to being laughed at. He claims the costume helps him play the part and that the kids he works with have an inspiring honesty about them.

“You have to emotionally get involved and make yourself very vulnerable if it’s going to work,” he said. “Kids especially know when you’re faking. You accept that they will laugh at you and there is something very soothing about that. They are seeing these adults that usually discipline them, but instead they are acting silly and they don’t make sense.”

The most important thing for CSF is that the shows allow children to hold on to those moments of silliness, and Potel is passionate about the sustaining power of the performances.
“When living a tough daily scene, they tend to hold on to happy events,” he said. “So we go and we create that. They get to laugh and play—every child has a right to that. I cannot stress that enough.”

Potel added that when a crisis hits, laughter is often taken for granted and ranks low on the list of essentials. CSF has filled the void, working alongside organizations such as the Red Cross and Médecins du monde to amass the funding and resources necessary to travel to countries in need. The three organizations held a joint event on Jan. 20 called L’union fait la force, where they raised over $20,000 for relief efforts in Haiti.

CSF has sent three clowns to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Due to the organization’s limited funding, missions are usually kept to a small number of clowns and performances can only be organized in areas where camps have been established. The first group of clowns in Haiti are providing CSF with daily updates about the progress.

The organization has done work in Haiti before, performing in the impoverished neighbourhoods of Lakay and Lakou in 2002 and returning each year until funds ran out.
Finding funding for CSF’s international projects is certainly a challenge. Although CSF sells T-shirts and red noses, donations help to cover the costs of transportation and supplies (trunks full of balloons, juggling material and other props).

Potel said that despite the difficulties of running a non-profit organization, volunteering continues to be one his most rewarding experiences. He notices that when clowns come back from missions they are “changed and illuminated.”

Part of the healing and restructuring process is hope, said Potel. As a word that gets thrown around a lot these days, hope is in short supply where it is most needed, he continued. CSF aims to ensure that every child maintains a right to laughter.

Since Feb. 16, Jacko the Clown, musician Bertrand Roy and magician Sébastien Louis-XVI have descended to Port-au Prince.

They have been performing for children and their parents and spreading smiles in the country’s devastated capital. Jacko also asked Potel to join the group on Mission Haiti, but as a father of three and CSF’s head fundraiser, Potel will remain in Montreal, raising money for the mission.

“When you do good, it always makes a difference,” he said. “It comes back to you somehow and it can be in the oddest way, but it always does.”

For ways to donate to Clowns Sans Frontières and for more information, visit clownssansfrontieres.ca.

CSF also offers buying their signature red noses in bulk, so those interested can give to family and friends. Videos and photos from Mission Haiti are posted regularly on the Clowns Sans Frontières-Canada Facebook page.