Clown, troubadour, coach and writer Angela Halvorsen Bogo relates her experiences in theatre, clowning, and storytelling. Through the lens of her varied life story we touch on authenticity, vulnerability, organisational change, play, supporting people with dementia, and value of fostering connections through play and improvisation. Towards the end she talks about her plans for a Festival of the Fool in Ghent, Belgium. Use the timestamps below if you want to skip to a section.
Audio only version on the Play Connect podcast here or listen below.
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Links
- Find Angela’s online events, May’s Freedom of the Fool weekend, and the Festival of the Fool in Ghent, Belgium here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/angelahalvorsenbogo/
- Angela’s website – https://www.transformationalplay.net/
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro and Angela’s connection to Norway, where now mainly lives
03:15 – First experiences in improv, theatre, circus school and clowning. The value of performance and drama. Rehabilition Throught Arts as shown in the film Sing Sing. I wrote a bit about the Sing Sing film and RTA programme here.
16:22 – Attending circus school, Working with Jonathan Kay, Phillipe Gaulier. Angela’s own principles of clowning.
22:44 – A valuable lesson in a street performance.
28:43 – From clown to community storyteller in Northumbria
31:22 – An unexpected six years in a monastery 🙂
37:30 – Following intuition
42:34 – Fool, clown, allowing ourselves to fail and connecting to an inner compass
48:30 – ADHD, neurodiversity and how they influence what Angela brings to work [50:09] Helping teams face organisational change
56:30 – Clown as a way to engage with people with dementia
1:02:12 – Social Presencing Theatre and change
1:05:58 – Festival of the Fool in Ghent, Belgium. Weekend in Leeds, UK. Free online events.
Short 40 second clip from the conversation 🙂
“We’re incredibly brilliant and sensitive beings and we actually can create incredible space between us when we adhere to certain principles. For instance, that we care as much about the others in the group as we do about ourselves and drop all the stories about great things we’ve done and blah blah blah. None of that is relevant. The only thing that’s relevant is where we are now and what we’re doing now and if we can show up now without our stories.”
Angela Halvorsen Bogo