Healing is “bringing the patient from a state of not being able to play into a state of being able to play. It is in playing and only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.”
-Donald Winnicott, English Pediatrician and Psychoanalyst
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our clowns were no longer allowed in many spaces, unable to visit patients during their weekly clown rounds at hospitals, community centers, and more throughout Los Angeles County. Yearning to give back and support those in a time of great need, our clowns met online and decided to adapt our program for the virtual sphere. In April 2020, our VIRTUAL CLOWNING PROGRAM was born!
The Virtual Clowning Program is open to anyone worldwide who needs support. Sessions are 15 minutes and free for all! When you sign up, you’ll be visited by two professionally trained USC Medical Clowns over Zoom where the magic will begin!
Sign up for your private clowning session below. If you don’t see an appointment time that works for you, please feel free to email us at medclown@usc.edu. Please include at least 3 preferred day/time options. We will do our best to accommodate your schedule and pair you with our professionals!
*All time slots are 15-minute private sessions with two medical clowns via the Zoom platform (your session will be encrypted to ensure it cannot be tampered with and no information will be shared between the participants or with third parties).
*The participant will need a device that can connect to the internet (computer, cellphone, iPad) to access their session. Click the Zoom session link emailed to you at your scheduled time and two medical clowns will be waiting to play!
*If you are under the age of 18, please make sure an adult (whether it be a family member or medical professional) is nearby.
*All sessions are recorded for safety, training, and archival purposes. These video and audio recordings, along with their transcripts, will not be used for any outside usage without separate prior consent.
* Our medical clowns have received formal training from the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts and have been cleared by USC’s Office of Youth Protection.
*USC Comic+Care runs on gifts from people like you! Please consider donating to the Medical Clowning Fund here.