"Performing Arts Cooperation between Central Europe and Palestine - The Clowndoctors"

[August 2010]
The project focuses upon the very special interface between art and society embodied in the clowndoctors: a group of 2 actors who visit the wards of hospitals and care homes to give 3 to 5-hour performances that are specially conceived for an audience of seriously ill children or people requiring special care.

The recognized work of these artists supports the clinical healing process, using the magic of comedy and theatre as an effective means of reducing the psychological stress and hospital-induced isolation experienced by patients.

The project is coordinated by RED NOSES Clowndoctors International which runs the International School of Humour (ISH) in Vienna to provide regular trainings, workshops and exchange of experience to the clowndoctors performers. The project involves 14 performing artists (a mixed group of Arabs and Europeans) to be trained and coached to work as clowndoctors in Palestine.

In the project, these artists will be trained at ISH, receive practical training in cooperation with selected local RED NOSES clowndoctor performers (20 persons) in 3 different European countries (Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia), be supported to introduce their own clowndoctor programme in Palestine (150 performers in Palestine) which will be implemented until the end of the project.

In addition to the artistic programme, the RED NOSES network will assist and train 2 managing persons of the Palestinian project partners, AL KASABA Theatre in Ramallah and INAD Theatre in Beit Jala, to implement new fund-raising structures at home in order to assure a permanent clowndoctor programme in Palestinian hospitals.

The RED NOSES network will use national and international dissemination structures and exploit their current experiences from building up new RED NOSES institutions in New Zealand and Croatia.

The project starts on 1^st January 2011.