Maya Sundarakrishnan Instagram – I got an opportunity to attend the MeDi Clown Academy Heal-arity workshop at @playadishakti with Fif and Hamish from Canada. It was one the best 8 days of my life: being in nature, experiencing a deep connection to myself and others through activities, silence, a lot of play and unlearning. Clowning is not about big wigs, big shoes, big make up or even being funny. Through loving ourselves, having heart to heart connections and seeing everyone and everything with love, gratitude and integrity, our clown, our innocent radiant self, emerged as we played and did the work. Without “acting”, humour came out naturally as it does in kids. The basis of everything was to be authentic, discover delight and create love. discovered how my walk and movements affect how i feel and how characters can develop. I created puppets, discovered my voice as a puppet or a clown, laughter yoga. It was a great balance of medical / hospital / therapeutic clowning case studies and hospital protocols with experiential learning. I got to meet some amazing people from different parts of the world. At the end of the workshop I got an admission in the MeDi Clown Academy. I was also invited to be an associate faculty where they will support me as I facilitate classes in physical theatre and the exploration of Komali, Therakoothu and other traditional forms. I am super thrilled as this takes me back to my roots in Madurai where the traditional arts forms started. We, (Fif Hamish and Maya) will be coming to Chennai soon for a 3-day intro to medical clowning workshop in December. Highly recommend this workshop for actors – others too. Stay tuned to the @mediclownacademy for updates about the Chennai MeDi Clown Academy workshop :) #medicalclowning #mediclownacademy #laughterheals Adishakti Theatre