This account was originally written by Bee Golding, Holly Stoppit Workshops' Radministrator and Poet in Residence, as part of our December newsletter. I have edited it a little for this context (all spelling and grammatical mistakes will undoubtedly be mine!).

We're so proud of what we achieved on the weekend of November 6th, 7th and 8th - it was an amazing adventure into producing our first ever online conference, hosted by Holly Stoppit and Robyn Hambrook as The Online Clown Academy, supported by Holly's Radministrator Bee Golding. 

On the 6th of November 2020, 12 international students of The Online Clown Academy performed a series of short solo clown acts which they created through the Zoom Clown level 3 course – exploring Personal and Political Clowning.

On Sunday 8th November 2020, we held an online Open Space session on Zoom, exploring the theme of our conference, 'Clowns In Crisis.' All weekend, through performances, workshops and a panel discussion, we'd been exploring what clowning can do for us and what clowns can do for the world. 

The Open Space was a chance for an international group of clowns and clown enthusiasts to come together and discuss what was relevant to them personally and professionally. This blog captures a little of what happened, including notes and pics from participants.

Here is a recording of The Clowns In Crisis panel discussion, which took place on Zoom on 7th November 2020, as part of The Clowns In Crisis Conference, organised by The Online Clown Academy.

The topic of discussion was: "What is the role of the clown in times of crisis? What can clowning do for you and what can clowning do for the world?

Introducing the panelists for our panel discussion, exploring the role of the clown in times of crisis, as part of the Clowns In Crisis Conference. 

The Online Clown Academy have been courting the media, in the run up to their first ever Clowns In Crisis Conference, coming up on the 6-8 November.

The Online Clown Academy is delighted to present the Clowns In Crisis Conference, 6 - 8 November 2020. 

We are asking: How Can Clowning Help You and How Can Clowns Help Others In Times Of Crisis?