Day Seven

On our last day at Clown Academy, we ventured into DC to do a little sightseeing.  We were not used to being out as a group sans makeup and started off the day a little confused as to why people weren't honking their horns and asking to take pictures with us.  

There was a whole lotta walking being done today, much to TJ's chagrin.  So, a little wading in the World War 2 Memorial was a necessity.

Hey there, Missouri girls!  I guess technically I should be in this shot too.

Massachusetts pride for Ingrid and Caitlin!

We just can't help but entertain people wherever we go...

I think Abe is our biggest fan.

Haha, get it?!  BIGGEST fan!!!  

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

After our little performance on the Mall, we headed into Georgetown for a little lunch at Johnny Rockets, a walk through Georgetown University, and some shopping for us girls.

Upon returning to Stone Ridge we sadly had to say goodbye to two more of our team as Annie and Abbi got picked up to head home.  The rest of us ordered the smallest medium sized pizzas on earth and packed up to head to the airport bright and early tomorrow morning. 

Thanks to Tom von Oehsen for sharing his love of clownery with all of us and organizing an unbelievably great service trip.  You have taught us how much fun giving of yourself can be and that when you believe in what you are doing, the impact is far greater.  This week would certainly not have been the same without Sky Jaffe who not only helped to develop our skills but made us laugh and gave us a biology lesson every day whether we asked for it or not!  Thank you, Sky, for your time, patience, and amazing sense of humor.  Thanks also to the Sacred Heart Network and Stone Ridge School in particular for providing each of us with this opportunity.  We will never forget it.

Day Six

I am not sure there are words to describe what an amazing day we had here at Clown Academy II today.  It was the perfect ending to a great week of performances.  Not only did we host our friends at Stone Ridge and their families, but we returned to Rosemount to do a full performance there as well.  It was a very full day in so many ways - full of energy, fun, love, laughter, and miraculous moments.

The outdoor venue today threw us for a bit of a loop, but we just got resourceful and made it work!

This is a great shot of Krystyna giving TJ "more anger!  more emotion!" in our Bagel Boy skit, which is just hysterical.  Poor Bagel Boy, he had no idea what he was walking into. 

Ta Da! Thank you, Rosemount!

Then it was back to Stone Ridge to prepare for our grand finale.  

This is a shot of us providing moral support for Cetta which she snapped while hanging from the trapeze bar!

A little more circus yoga with Sky right before the curtain call.

Our lineup for performance...

Here is a little sneak peek of our grand finale.  To see the real thing, watch the video...

After the performance, we showed Mrs. Karrels, Head of School here at Stone Ridge, a few tricks.

Not too shabby, Mrs. Karrels! 

We closed out the day with some dinner, reflection, and of course, a dance party in the gym.

The quote of the day is:

"Don't be sad because it is over.  Smile because it happened."

That pretty much sums up how we feel right now!  

We have been trying to figure out how to upload the 41 minute video of our final performance to the blog, but it is proving itself more difficult than anticipated.  If anyone has suggestions, we will gladly take them!  Hopefully, we will have the video available for everyone soon.

Day Five

We were busy busy busy clowns today!  Our day started by blocking our final performance for the Stone Ridge community tomorrow afternoon and learning the skits that we will be doing.  After a few rehearsals, some practice time, and a full run through, it was time to get all made-up and clown-ified!

We ventured out into the streets and onto the DC Metro during rush hour to our performance destination today.  According to TJ's count we received over 50 car honks (including a quick ambulance siren) and one person, clearly not a clown fan, actually threw bread at us.  That part was unfortunate, but we still feel that our stats for the day were pretty solid.  There were also about a dozen picture requests and we had two people ask us to come perform at their office!  Maybe that's an idea for next year.

We were at Martha's Table this afternoon, which is an organization dedicated to fulfilling the needs of low-income and homeless children and families.  When we got there, the kids were busy doing homework.  As I am sure you have guessed, we were a welcomed distraction! 

Since the age group of the kids at Martha's Table was a little older than the children at Rosemount, they were more outgoing and not as skiddish.  We had loads of volunteers who wanted to try out all our tricks and some of them were pretty good!  

One of these little cuties told Maddie that she understood why we couldn't come everyday.  

"That would be just too much fun!"  Awww!  How precious is that?

The people at Martha's Table were documenting our time there as well and will be posting some pictures and quotes from kids and clowns on our time together.  Check out their website for more information: http://www.marthastable.org/

Next week, you will see us in the NEWS section at the top of the homepage.

The kids especially love the wigs.

1, 2, 3, HEY!!!!

This was probably our best site visit this week.  Maybe it was all the honking on our way to Martha's Table or the all the excitement we stirred up on the Metro but there was just something special in the air today and we all left feeling fantastic!  

After a quick stop at Starbucks on the way home, we closed out the day with a spaghetti and meatball dinner and a pool party!  

Day Four

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  We had a great day here at Clown Academy 2 today.  We started off by heading to Rosemount preschool to put on a little show for some 3-5 year olds.  It was a pretty packed morning with four 30-minute performances and we were completely exhausted by the end!  It was definitely a very different experience from yesterday, but just as rewarding.

Here is Annie and Maddie showing off the dinner plate routine, which inspired some of the summer counselors at Rosemount to give it a whirl...

Caitlin and TJ both got whacked dozens of times during out slapstick comedy routine, because for some reason all of the little ones thought that was just sooooo funny!!!  Adorable.  

They were troopers and just as animated the 37th time as the first.

The kids also loved the face painting!  Most of them were a little hesitant at first, but once we won their hearts with our tricks, they were waiting in line to look just like the clowns!

We also got lots of volunteers to test out balancing feathers on their fingers...

and balancing on the globe. The excitement on their faces was pure heaven!

After our last performance at Rosemount, with high fives for everyone on the way out, we headed to the ZOO for lunch!!!

We got a few stares and some very confused looks walking in looking like we did...

 

But we also made some friends.  At least Sky did.

Once we got back, we started planning out our performance for tomorrow and preparing for our big show on Friday!  As a thank you to our sister school for hosting us this week, we have invited all of the faculty and staff here at Stone Ridge to bring their children, families, and whomever else might enjoy a trip to the circus to come see us perform.  We have a lot to nail down before then, so tomorrow is going to be another busy day.  Winding down tonight, we reflected on what we have done here this week and discussed the importance of bringing your enthusiasm and energy to all types of service.  We feel very lucky to be able to be giving something to others in our community while having so much fun at the same time.  It just doesn't get much better than that.