Hello all
Here’s more about clowning, laughter and the streets from lebanon and beyond 
photo credits “clown me in”
summary
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The challenge in life is how to make a better one- I start by accepting it and therefore I am making the team of “Clown me in”
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I studied theatre and then specialized and discovered the world of “clowning” and how can one accept his life, see it in a simple way, laugh about it and through this process one can live a better life.
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After coming back to Lebanon, I started doing so, and I made a team and we started going to the streets to ask for social justice, raise awareness with environmental issues, with small stuff that annoys us like people who don’t stop at traffic lights or people who litter in the streets, and we make “clown attacks” not an attack like ISIS but an attack from a group of clowns ( can be 10 ) we go there without announcing and interact with people in a light way.
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We make another project , the “Caravan” which is more of a street theatre where we work with refugees, marginalized communities, we collect their real stories and make a play out of it and go with the caravan and perform for them.
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We do perform in several places that needs laughter the most marginalized communities, camps, schools, …etc
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I perform also abroad with “clowns without borders” we go to lesbos, to the balkan route and I collected different stories from the different communities I met, I transfer these stories to other people to create a small connection to make a bit better life.
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I have been doing this for 11 years, started in Mexico, then london, USA, Morocco, brazil and then I came to Lebanon, it was not easy to start as people were a bit surprised, you know you are a clown just go to birthdays, but I insisted in doing so, and left everything else and focused to start the idea here in Lebanon, It was helpful that I found the team who belive in the idea, My family supported and helped alot, and the street in Lebanon is very supporting as people here like to laugh.
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There are of course challenges but it doesn’t stop me from working, I will only stop when I can’t physically perform. Naturally the funding problem is there but we do crowd-funding and apply for different projects. ( as we can’t get money from our work we don’t perform in theatres or sell tickets ) I am the only one in the team working full-time as the others have other jobs. But anyways we are working and alwyas have projects.
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We don’t have problems with permits, all the authorities are cooperative with us as we are just a bunch or clowns or artists who perform some funny plays
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I think what can connect us toegther is to listen and share our stories. Since storytelling is the base of my work, this helps to open up for other people; this helps the storyteller receiver and connector ( us performing ) we can see that it ( stories with laughter ) helps; one can see the different atmosphere created at the time of the plays and even the people are always pleased and wants us to come back again.
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I can see that the world is unfair, but I can see also a lot of kindhearted people doing a lot of great things. For example in the balkans one can see 500 people left in the woods, it takes one and a half hour to reach their place, because they don’t want to be identified there as they will be stuck this way in serbia, this poltical situation besides wars and destruction is very horrible, but there are also their neighbors in the town nearby who walk everyday for one and a half hours just to deliver food to these people. And I hope that these people run the world not the current politicians, I know it is an idealistic dream, but I can see a lot of love hidden within the hatred and destruction
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For lebanon, I don’t have any solution. I am at a stage where I can’t see any big solution to our problems, what I do is to continue doing what I do, continue going to the streets performing, continue saying no, become myself a responsible citizen for now.
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- المعضلة نبع الحياه هى كيف الواحد يقدر يحسن الحياه اللى عايش فيها- اول شي فى عملية انى اقبل الحياه اللى عايشه فيها عشان كده بعمل “كلون مى ان” clown me in وبعمل الفريق
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- انا درست مسرح بعدين تخصصت واكتشفت عالم “الكلاونينج” ازاى الواحد بيقبل حاله ويشوف بطريقة بسيطة اكتر ويقبل بالاشياء اللي ما يحبها بحاله ويقبلها لما يضحك عليها ومن هون يحسن الشى اللى عايش به
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- لما رجعت على لبنان عملت فريق وبلشت نزل على الشارع نطالب بالعداله الاجتماعيه ونوعى باشيا بيئية واشياء كتيره صغيره ماتعجبنا مثل العالم اللى ما بتوقف على إشارات السير ,مثل العالم اللى برموا زباله على الطريق. بننزل على الطريق ونعمل هجوم مهرجين “كلاون اتتاك” يعنى بدل الهجوم بتاع داعش وبنعمل كلون اتاك بننزل على الشارع والعالم ما بتعرف اننا نازلين. بنكون .مجموعه ( عشره ) ونتفاعل مع الناس بطريقة مهضومة.
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- بنعمل مشروع تانى “الكارفان” هو مسرح شارع اكتر بننزل نشتغل مع لاجئين مع مجتمعات مهمشة او باوضاع صعبه نروح نسجل قصص حقيقية و بناخدها نحطها بمسرحية وناخد الكارافان ونروح نعرضها عليهم.
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- انا بسافر بره وبشتغل مع مهرجين بلا حدود clowns without borders.بنروح على لزبوس وعلى طريق البلقان. وجمعت كتير حكايات من المجتمعات دى , باخد حكايات العالم وبنقلها لعالم تانيين وهذا الارتباك بيخلق شى يحسن الحياة
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- بقالى 11 سنه بعمل هالشى , بلشت بالمكسيك وبلندن وبامريكا وبالمغرب وبالبرازيل وبعدين جيت ع لبنان وجيت( كان صعب بلش لان كل العالم حسستنى انى جايه من المكسيك و شو بتعملى - اعملى عيد ميلاد) بس ساعدنى اصرارى لانى تركت كل شى تانى بعمله بالحياة وركزت على هالفكرة. ساعدنى انى لقيت فريق مؤمن بالفكرة. وساعدنى اهلى كمان دعمونى كتير . وساعدنى الشارع بلبنان لان العالم بتحب تضحك بلبنان
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- اكيد فى مشاكل بس ما بوقف غير لما جسمى يتعب. فى مشكلة مصارى دايما بس بنعمل تمويل جماعى crowd funding وبنقدم على مشاريع. ( لان ما بنقدر نطلع مصارى من شغلنا ما بنعرض بمسرح ومفيش تذاكر ) انا بشتغل بدوام كامل على المشروع بس باقى الفريق عندهم شغل تانى. ده مجرد عائق بس ما بيوقف
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- بنطلب دعم لمشاريع مختلفة .بنعرف انه للاسف ما فينا نعمل ما فى حدا يكون بدوام كامل لان هدا الشى ما بيعيش بس كل الوقت فى مشاريع عم بنعملها
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- ما عندنا مشكل بالتصاريح (المخابرا ت الجيش الدرك بيدعموا).بيخلونا نشتغل لاننا شو عم بنعمل احنا شويه مهرجين او فناني بنعمل مسرحيةونضحك.
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- بنخيل دايما ان اللى بيوصلنا احنا كعالم من بعض أننا نسمع منيح مش معنى انى اسمع بس اشارك القصص. والحكاية هى أساس شغلى وده بساعد اننا نفتح راسنا وقلبنا لتقبل الشخص التانى خصوصا لما تسمع الحكاية بضحك. ده بيفيد الناس اللى بتجلى والناس اللى بتسمع والناس اللى بتوصل الحكاية
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- الناس اللى بنقدملها العروض رغم انهم ممكن يكونوا فى وضع صعب وماعندهم امل بس بيصير جو كتير مختلف وبيقولولنا ارجعوا تانى
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- بلاقى كل الوقت العالم كتير ظالم وبالقى كتير عالم ملاح بالحياة بيعملوا اشاي كتير حلوه بس احنا تحت نظام كتير اكبر منا. يعنى بروح على البلقان بلاقى 500 شخص مخبيين بقلب غابة تحتاج ساعه ونص لنوصلهم خايفين انهم يقولوا نهم فى البلد لحسن يخلوهم فيه صربيا مثلاو لانهم ناكرين وجودهم متروكين هيك وفى نفس الوقت فى حروب ودمار - بس كمان فى جيران فى قاعدين بها الضيعة بيمشوا كل يوم ساعه ونص ليعطوهم اكل. بحلم ان العالم دول هم اللى يكون ماسكين البلاد . ده حلم مثالى بس بعتقد فى كتير جب بالعالم بس ما ببين.
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- بلبنا حاليا ما عندى حل - بس بضل انزل على الشارع بضل اقول لا. بكون انا شخصيا مواطنه مسئولة يس انا واصله لمرحله ما بعرف شو بدو ينعمل بلبنان
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clowns are awesome
but a clown attack could be needed in Egypt.