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Lesson from a clowning class: Learn to laugh when life weighs you down

To mark World Laughter Day, I share what clown class taught me about playing, laughing and connecting with strangers.

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11-year-old Vinitha Suresh (second from right) reacts as members of the Caring Clown Unit (from left) Shootie, Rong Er and Rojo, comically search for butterflies in the ward. It is part of Rojo's signature act to engage his audience - he endlessly hunts for butterflies that he cannot see on top of his hat. Formed in 2004, the Caring Clown Unit (CCU) Singapore is a not-for-profit outfit, that started with the expressed objective of making a positive difference in the lives of hospitalised patients, their families and caregivers by spreading warmth and cheer through humorous ward entertainment. The volunteers visit the paediatric wards of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital every last Saturday of the month to sculpt balloons, perform magic tricks, and basically be silly, to try and make a child smile.

Members of the Caring Clown Unit comically searching for butterflies in a paediatric ward of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in 2017.

PHOTO: ST FILE

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On April Fool’s Day, I was one of 12 people who climbed the stairs to the second storey of a shophouse in Desker Road to attend a class in clowning.

Among us were a software engineer, a dancer, an educator, a pharmaceutical executive, a trichologist, an A-level student from Brunei and an NSman.

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