HUMOUR AS HEALING with Jean-Paul Bell

THIS EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED
Can humour help put life into perspective? Can it help us understand the orthodox, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected and survive the unbearable?
Classically trained mime artist, humour consultant, keynote speaker, comedy writer and performer Jean-Paul Bell will answer these questions. His career has spanned 40 years in theatre, comedy, festivals, schools, television, and in corporate and educational films.
In 1996, Jean-Paul created and co-founded the Humour Foundation, which included the Australian Clown Doctor Program. The program benefits patients, family, and the entire hospital community, bringing fun and laughter to sick children in hospital, providing diversional therapy and giving the chance for families to reconnect through laughter. In 2010 he wrote Laughter is the Best Medicine, chronicling the experiences of a number of Clown Doctors as they do their rounds in children’s hospitals around Australia.
As creative director of the Arts Health Institute he has facilitated national programs, education, and research to bring the arts into health and aged care environments. The highly successful Play Up program, involving humour therapy for elderly people suffering from the effects of dementia, has been implemented around Australia and incorporates the skills of over 60 performers in 70 Residential Aged Care Facilities. An acclaimed documentary, The Smile Within, highlighted his innovative approach in applied theatre for people in aged care.
In 2002 Jean-Paul visited Afghanistan for Patchwork for Peace together with 22 clowns from around the world as shown on the ABC documentary Honeymoon in Kabul. From there he travelled to other war-torn countries such as East Timor.
Then in 2011 Jean-Paul fulfilled a long-held ambition to lead a group of physical theatre performers in The Roof of The World Tour, performing and teaching workshops in schools built by Sir Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust. This was the first time Sherpa children had the opportunity to see Western-style clown, mime and acrobatic performances.
Jean-Paul believes in education for ‘living in the moment’. Tonight the Jester, Clown and the Fool will be honoured particularly for their role in RELIEF HUMOUR. Expect some tricks.
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW METHOD REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE EVENT.
1. You need to be a member of Meetup - Byron Philo Café or a guest of a member.
2. DO NOT indicate on this website that you are attending. The administrator will do that after you have paid.
3. You can only pay the $10 attendance fee by making a bank transfer of $10 per person to: BSB 722744 Account 100114703 Byron Philo Café.
4. You must then send an email stating that you have made the transfer and how many people are coming (limit of 3 per member) to peter.gough1@gmail.com
5. Once the bank transfer is complete the admin will mark you as attending. Do not do it yourself. Please note: limited to 30 attendees. If you make a bank transfer after the limit is reached we will return your fee.
We will start at 7:00 sharp. Food is available at the club along with drinks of course. Many people come early to eat and socialise before the meeting. The Kitchen opens at 5:30pm. As there is a wait time to be served food please arrive early to make sure you get your meal before 7pm.
The Anzac Room is to the right as you enter the club, opposite the reception desk. You can be signed in but you may prefer to become a member for just $5 and so get discounts on your food and drink. Here is the link to their membership page. https://byronbayservicesclub.com.au/members You can down load the application form and speed up the process when you arrive. https://byronbayservicesclub.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/MEMBERSHIP_APPLICATION_Online.pdf