Festival of the Fool
March 31st - April 1st in Zoom
Once upon a time on April 1st, fools parodied those in positions of power. They mirrored absurdity and exposed powerlessness in society.
What if we allowed ourselves 48 hours to take this idea and free ourselves from our internal tyranny? Life has become so serious over the past year! There is a way to find some joy, some happiness instead!
During this festival the Fool holds the key! All misery will be dispelled in favor of freedom. Take back your power and join us for Laughter, Fun, Energy, Excitement, Play, Magic and Release in Like Minded Community.
Sound like fun? It will be.
The Fool
A little background...
In all ages and cultures fools speak the truth or question the powerful or disrupt the status quo or embody freedom or light heartedness or trust or seek not worldly power. Or a combination of these!
Fools in the form of jesters, comedians, buffoons, clowns or storytellers can entertain, pierce our over seriousness and bring wisdom.
In this festival
you will access play, joke around
free yourself in a bright world
come to it all or dip in and out
enjoy cool workshops
sink in to the present moment
watch performances
listen to outstanding talks
meet free spirits in the Fools Fuel Cafe
dance and party
surrender to the beautifully liberating archetype of the Fool, always at the edge of the cliff, always in the sun and nothing to loose....
In short, find out how the Fool puts a finger in your wound - and becomes your healer.
HOW DOES THIS FESTIVAL WORK
Where is the festival happening? How do I access it? What if I cannot be at all the sessions?
1. The event happens on Zoom. You will receive an email link 2 hours before the festival begins, each day. This is your 'ticket'.
2. All times are in CEST (Oslo, Berlin, Paris, Rome). An hour earlier if you are in the UK/Portugal. Use this to check your time zone https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
3. You can book day tickets or the whole event. The Festival is full of events. You choose how much or how little you want to participate.
4. We want to create a warm, friendly space so having your camera on is essential in all the workshops, less important in the talks.
5. You will see more of what is happening if you are on a computer rather than a phone.
6. You will get the link to this page so you can see the program. Make a note of what sounds interesting and join at the start of that session.
7. There will be several breaks where you can chat to other people at the Festival in the Fools Fuel Cafe, all still in Zoom. Or go off away from the screen entirely. In The Fool in Your World, join us in taking the fool outside in subtle and simple ways.
8. Affordable tickets mean more people have access.
Festival Presenters
in alphabetical order
Anna Gibson is a movement guide from Virginia, USA, currently living in Brazil with her beloved. Through language, music, visual art and movement, Anna explores the texture, size and shape of her human capacity. She strives for continuous integration and the continuous shedding of limitations, moving in on the locus where creative, healing, and spiritual impulses fall into a single dance with a single aim: to live well. https://www.annabgibson.com / https://www.bodhitayo.com
Andrew Venezia is one of the world's leading researchers and experimenters with contemplative relationship. linkedin.com/in/andrewvenezia
Angela Halvorsen Bogo has worked professionally since 1990 as a clown, storyteller, singer, trainer, retreat leader and coach. She works as a clown with people with dementia in Norway. Angela teaches play, clown, storytelling and the fool. She combines playful embodied processes, storytelling and open space technologies, Theory U and Social Presencing Theater in organizational change. https://www.transformationalplay.net/
Anthony Trahair embarked upon the playful path when he learned to throw objects in the air while studying Chemistry in the UK. Preferring balls to molecules, he set off on a voyage for Europe and arrived in Italy in 1997, where he developed a lasting passion for yoga. In 2003 he moved to Switzerland for three years to attend the prestigious Dimitri School of Physical Theatre. At age 40 Anthony wrote the ultimate book for jugglers, PEARLS OF JUGGLING. Check out his podcast: The PlayfuLife Podcast. Anthony offers 1-2-1 unconventional coaching to bring the best out of you.Anthony currently lives in the Italian countryside with his wife, three cats and two chickens. www.playfulife.org www.pearlsofjuggling.com
Beatrice Otto is author of the award-winning Fools Are Everywhere: The court jester around the world (Chicago University Press), which was named the American Association of Publishers’ outstanding book of the year in its class. She then created www.foolsareeverywhere.com to build the most sparkling, scholarly and sweeping online treasury promoting the appreciation of fools and jesters throughout history and across the world. Modest ambitions, as you know, never got anybody anywhere. www.nuannaarpoq.com I www.writingredux.com I www.beatriceotto.com
Caspar Jones is a professional actor and writer who has worked with numerous theatre companies, on film, television and radio. He began his career as medieval jester to the City of York. He has performed on trains and planes, from the streets of El Salvador in the midst of civil war to the Royal Albert Hall. http://www.casparini.com/
Claire Hewitt Storyteller and Artist living Perthshire, Scotland. For forty years I have been gathering and inspiring local communities' connection to their natural environment, and to one another through the arts and carrying stream of the oral tradition. My artistic practice as a Storyteller has been enriched, manifold by this incredibly diverse community, human and wild, which stretches itself along the River Tay. My practice developed from being an Environmental and Community Artist, Art Therapist Storyteller in Scotland and in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. I have been involved in projects with Historic Scotland; RSGS; Plantlife Scotland; Scottish Forestry Commission and many Community based Storytelling projects, keeping the Oral tradition a living tradition ‘Eye to eye, mind to mind and heart to heart.’
Dada Krsnasevananda has been a monk and meditation teacher of Ananda Marga for forty years. He was born in Canada but spent the major part of his childhood in Japan. He graduated from the Australian National University in Canberra with a BA in Asian Studies and then went to Japan to study Japanese Literature on a scholarship from the Japanese Education Ministry.
Dada’s current work is focused on maintaining a good community and spiritual flow at Ananda Gaorii, planning and hosting workshops, making Ananda Gaorii more sustainable and looking after the spiritual growth of the young volunteers who come to Ananda Gaorii to learn about yoga and meditation. https:// anandagaorii.dk
Dave Sutton Festival Artist, I'm an Edinburgh based illustrator, stock in trade bright 'n' breezy visuals. Here showcasing artwork that I hope will be of interest to children's publishing companies, art editors, commissioners, educational publishers, design agencies and creatives that work in this market. You can see more of my artwork on my big big site: https://www.davesutton.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/daveasutton/
Efrem Stein Theatermaker and physical actor. https://www.efremstein.com instagram: efremstein facebook page: Efrem Stein Speelt
Helene Bøhler is an artist, a facilitator of Tai Chi and Soul Moves, a TMW teacher trainer, and a lover of music and dance. The essence of her work and life is to connect and listen in stillness, movement and celebration; to nurture and express our true nature. Come and join the celebration in joyful movement, gorgeous grounding grooves and light lifting play to meet in the Yes! of life. Facebook: TMW Norway.
Jaime Mears has worked in Theatre, Film and Television both in Australia and in Portugal since 1999. In 2007 this NIDA graduate was awarded a Churchill Fellowship for excellence in the performing arts which allowed her to pursue further training with Philippe Gaulier Anne Bogart and the SITI Company, Keith Johnstone and Complicité. She is a member of the SITI Extended Ensemble. She has taught Bouffon in the UK, Russia, Australia, Hungary and Denmark as well as in Portugal. Jaime is the co- artistic Director of Teatro Rei Sem Roupa, Portugal. She works as a hospital Clown for Operação Nariz Vermelho. https://www.jaimemears.net
Laura Simms is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, writer, and educator advocating engaged storytelling as compassionate action for personal and community transformation. http://www.laurasimms.com/
Madeleine Grantham Professional storyteller since 1992. Folk stories, myths and epics told to people of all ages in many places including: festivals, parties, nature reserves & story clubs. Trained with storytellers: Ben Haggerty, Shonaleigh, Michael Harvey and David Campbell (among many others) https://www.madeleinegrantham-storyteller.com/
Robbie Foulston is a truly foolish human, on a sometimes rocky path of trusting & learning to balance. He has learned of the Fool with Holly Stoppit, Jonathan Kay, and briefly with our very own Angela Halvorsen Bogo! He was doing things for a while under the name State of Play: https://www.facebook.com/playstateuk
Sebastian Bühler
Stefan Schultze Based in Zürich, Switzerland, Stefan is a passionate mountaineer, explorer of The Wild Life, environmental engineer, serial entrepreneur, Ecstatic Dance facilitator and DJ of Life. https://www.facebook.com/intothewildlife
Susanne R. Cook-Greuter is an independent scholar who is recognized in the field of adult development for her ground-breaking work in ego development theory and the function of language in molding us. She has a doctorate in psychology from Harvard. She is an elder of the Integral community and a benevolent skeptic. She likes to question any certainties and to expose our need to feel important. She celebrates the variety of human ways of making sense of life and feels compassion for our lot. In her eyes, storytelling, humor and laughter are medicine for our weary souls. www.verticaldevelopment.com
Wellington Nogueira, Brazilian, is a graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, NYC, where he lived and worked in Theatre, Performance Art and Film. He joined The Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit then in São Paulo, he founded Brazil’s first and foremost professional clown doctor nonprofit organization, Doctors of Joy (Doutores da Alegria). Starred in Brazilian productions of Addams Family and Jesus Christ Superstar and in Film and TV productions. Currently working on the performance piece "The Fools Tarot", to open in September in a camera near you.
Wendy Allegaert is a clown, writer, producer, performer and storyteller. After living in New York for her entire life, she moved to Portland, Oregon in 2012 to have a new sense of things. She has performed throughout the United States, working off-Broadway and regionally. Favorite collaborations include: Robert Woodruff, Ken R. Schmoll, Nancy Gabor. In Portland she's performed at Be Space, Imago Theatre and at the Moth.
Wendy Woolfson is a professional storyteller and facilitator, supporting families and professionals to work collaboratively in meeting the needs of vulnerable children and young people through storytelling and trauma sensitive practice. She is the creator of the Out of Harm Toolkit which supports understanding of self-harm. She works in small therapeutic groups for people to explore stories, including their own. Wendy has more than 15 years of storytelling experience, is a Solution Focused Brief Therapy Practitioner, COSCA counselling trained and currently works in social care for a Scottish charity and is studying Therapeutic Life Story Work. https://wendywoolfson.wixsite.com/website/professional-storyteller