Exploring our relationship to play and games through OOFA with Sarah French and CLOWNING with Vivian Gladwell
An invitation to lose and discover yourself in play.
Finding the game is the radical act at the heart of all clowning improvisation.
Starting with the empty canvas, the silence and the unknowing that precedes every true act of creativity this course invites us to find the game.
Games are found, not conceived. They come to us through our listening. They live within us and in the spaces between us. They grow wherever there is freedom, pleasure and irreverence. Games can seem silly and sometimes profound.
This course is an invitation to delve into the richness of the here and now.
The group is limited to 12 participants. Beginners and professionals alike are welcome.
PREREQUISITES:
No prerequisites. Feedback will be adapted to your level of experience.
COURSE DATES
8 Sundays – please check your local time below or click here
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm U.K. time
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm New York time
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Seattle time
FEE: 375 GBP (British Pounds)
For enquiries please email Sarah: sarahfrench@nosetonose.info
Click here to book this course or enquire
Note: On some IPADS or IPHONES you may need to “long press” the link above and open new tab.
To book a course follow the link Click here to book… above. You will see on the form whether there are available places. Submit the form with your details and we will let you know how to proceed with payment. Your fee is REFUNDABLE MORE than 2 months before the start of the course. There is a £20 admin fee for refunds. If the course is cancelled your fee will be refunded in full.
Fees are paid online.
We welcome those with previous experience of either storytelling or clowning.
For more information about our way of teaching clowning and our style of work you can read the website articles.
Facilitators:
Sarah French
For as long as she remembers, Sarah has been interested in how people play. She was a practicing psychotherapist when she stumbled into the paradoxical world of Clown, which set her on a very enlivening path, despite her hesitations & fears. She studied & taught clowning with Vivian Gladwell of Nose to Nose, & other teachers, including Jef Johnson, & the spinner dolphins of Hawaii, who are the clowns of the sea. Sarah created OOFA to extend her research, and share and promote discoveries with larger communities.
OOFA offers clowning & creativity labs, along with books & games that are playful, if not also practical (The Book of Greetings, The Dance of Pants & Other Dances, Party of Animals…). Sarah’s approach to teaching is inspired by her adventures as a social worker, psychotherapist, English language teacher, elementary school teacher, TV actor, clown and clown teacher, museum docent, recorder player, and more.
Sarah lives in Ghent, NY.
*You can also ask her about “Pathways to Wholeness” sessions & “Tarot Conversations.” Sessions may include energetic balancing, emotional release, an intuitive exchange of information, supportive re-patterning, frequency attunement, soul talk, journeying, & other guidance. They are designed to support you to weave your most meaningful, heart-filled life.
Click here for more info about OOFA
Vivian Gladwell
Vivian is the founder and director of Nose to Nose and has given hundreds of workshops around the world. He lives both in the UK and France where he started clowning in 1978. He speaks French and English fluently.
Vivian began teaching in 1988 as part of the Lifeways Festival at Emerson College – UK. He trained as a facilitator with the Bataclown in 1990 and joined their team in 1991 also working as a modern day Court Jester (Clownanalyst).
He created Nose to Nose UK in 1990, Nose to Nose of North America in 2006, Nose to Nose Germany in 2008, NTN Italy in 2016 and Fool View, the Social Clowning group and has trained facilitators in the UK, the USA, Germany and Italy – view history.
He continues his role as ambassador for the work by researching the applications of clowning in the context of teacher training, medicine, conflict management, ecology and intercultural work in many countries (South Africa, USA, Senegal, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Italy, Germany, Norway…)
He holds clowning as a social playground for exploring our humanity.
MORE INFO CONCERNING COURSE FEE…
Q: Can I talk to someone? A: Yes, just send an email with your phone number to mail@nosetonose.info and we’ll call you as soon as we are free to do so.
Q: Are there still spaces available on the course? A: Just click on the link Click here to book… above. You will see on the form whether there are available places.
Q: Can you put me on the waiting list? A: Sure, just click on the link Click here to enquire and fill the form. We will put you on our waiting list and let you know when a place becomes available.
More about OOFA:
OOFA specializes in crafting playshops for private groups.In playshops, participants explore “prompts” derived from theater, clown, dance, dream studies, the social sciences, & nature. We move, experience, invent, & reflect. Playshops use a wide range of exercises. Whether looking at fellow participants while performing a simple action (like humming!), or intuiting our way into the infinite stories contained in a piece of cloth, we connect to play as our most natural state, & the path to full being.
Who benefits? Everyone. Including businesses, educators, therapists & counselors, men’s groups, women’s groups, actors, artists, poets & writers, designers, scientists, spiritual explorers, diplomats & mediators, directors, dancers, & improvisers, as well as innovators, entrepreneurs, & change-makers of all kinds.
When we give ourselves permission to play, creativity flows.
Testimonials
“Sarah manages to teach what can’t be taught. With warmth, enthusiasm, and immense creativity, she is able to structure playshops that educate from the inside out. I have participated in multiple playshops with her, and have continuously been astounded by the depth of my experience. Also, I have never had more fun.
Her exercises and activities are physically, emotionally and intellectually engaging. Through them we are able to access deep creative parts of ourselves. After every playshop, I feel renewed and ready to take on whatever challenges come my way.”
– E.S., Actor, Writer, Teacher, Brookline, MA, playshop participant
“A unique experience that ignited many questions and questioned many beliefs.”
– J.C., Educator and Entrepreneur, MBA, Hopewell, N.J., playshop participant
“It was exhilarating to find the space/energy/spirit within that experiences the world as a playground (rather than a responsibility). I’m not easily comfortable with strangers. But the group felt safe, which is no small trick… And magic happened.”
– J.H., Artist, Princeton, N.J., playshop participant
“Sarah sets up the ultimate playdate – one in which we can step out of the every day humdrum and experience a part of our being that is essential and free. Through simple prompts, she gently yet magically opens us up to uncover unexpected parts of ourselves, bringing forth awareness, invention, and sheer joy. Everyone comes out feeling more alive, more connected to one another and chock-full of new ideas and insights. I’ve seen it work with groups of children as well as adults. Who knows? You might even find yourself coming up with a new form of communication or invent a prototype for a useful machine! …’OOFA’ play labs connect us to the deep pool of creativity within us and between us.”
– T.F., Artist and Educator, Brooklyn, NY, playshop participant
“I feel that your work helps [us] get out of our heads or stuck emotions or even emotional patterns and share the space with our hearts. It feels very liberating and unifying. There is no need to do anything else but be yourself. It just happens like magic. And it doesn’t matter whether it means letting out your silliness or seriousness. In fact, through these games a place is created where everyone and every feeling and emotion is accepted and even needed.
In our Thursday co-op for me as a teacher it was amazing to actually try out producing the sounds my students make on a regular basis (like extremely loud or silly sounds). I think it’s the closest I’ve ever experienced being in someone else’s skin or body. In our hearts we’re all so much more similar than in our heads!
Thank you for your work!”
– S.Z., Waldorf Teacher, Brooklyn, NY, playshop participant
“Sarah’s treatments have helped me tremendously in my healing process. Her wide knowledge of different fields and techniques, combined with her empathy, allows her to reach the person at many different levels. I’ve tried many other types of treatments, but none have helped me as deeply as Sarah’s has.
Her gentle touch and guiding words have allowed me to find a much deeper connection to myself and to release many energies that were no longer useful.
Sarah works from the heart. She is a genuine healer.”
– T.G., PT and Craniosacral Therapist, Brooklyn, NY, therapy client
“It was such an enlightening, and, if this makes sense, LIGHTENING time! I’m so grateful for that experience and immediately played with some of the exercises that evening with my boyfriend’s 9 year old. We had a blast!… Your work is vital.”
– L.G., Writer, Somerset, N.J., playshop participant
“OOFA strikes me as offering possibility across fields and disciplines for engaging and useful practice in creative problem solving. The prompts present opportunities for reflection and action, for organizing avenues of thought and creating resourceful response. The language of OOFA-MIAOW is both embracing and expansive; it creates a safe place and also a structure for wild interior exploration.”
– E.H., Children’s Librarian, East Hampton, NY, playshop participant
“Sarah French uses a combination of energy work, channeling, animal communication, and more traditional psychoanalytic-based talk therapy to help address life’s challenges. She is especially adept at problems confronted by people in creative pursuits. Sarah helped me to work through various creative blocks. She has the gift.”
– D.S., Artist, Brooklyn, NY, therapy client
“The experience at Sarah’s OOFA play session was amazing. I felt at ease, and felt joy and warmth course through my whole body and mind. Sarah’s gentle voice and her movements helped bring out the inner child within me.”
– M.M., Writer and Therapist, NY, NY, playshop participant