Clown, troubadour, coach and writer Angela Halvorsen Bogo relates her experiences in theatre, clowning, and storytelling. Through the lens of her varied life story we touch on authenticity, vulnerability, organisational change, play, supporting people with dementia, and value of fostering connections through play and improvisation. Towards the end she talks about her plans for a Festival of the Fool in Ghent, Belgium.

Use the timestamps below if you want to skip to a section.

Find Angela’s online events, May’s Freedom of the Fool event and the Festival of the Fool in Ghent, Belgium here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/angelahalvorsenbogo/

Angela’s website - https://www.transformationalplay.net/

And you can find me and my improv classes at https://playconnect.co.uk

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro and Angela's connection to Norway, where now mainly lives

[03:15] First experiences in improv, theatre, circus school and clowning. The value of performance and drama. Rehabilition Throught Arts as shown in the film Sing Sing.

[16:22] Attending circus scool, Working with Jonathan Kay, Phillipe Gaulier. Angela's own principles of clowning.

[22:44] A valuable lesson in a street performance.

[28:43] From clown to community storyteller in Northumbria

[31:22] An unexpected six years in a monastery 😊

[37:30] Following intuition

[42:34] Fool, clown, allowing ourselves to fail and connecting to an inner compass

[48:30] ADHD, neurodiversity and how they influence what Angela brings to work

[50:09] Helping teams face organisational change

[56:30] Clown as a way to engage with people with dementia

[1:02:12] Social Presencing Theatre and change

[1:05:58] Festival of the Fool in Ghent, Belgium. Weekend in Leeds, UK. Free online events.

Master Certified Coach and co-author of The Human Behind the Coach Claire Pedrick talks with me about improv and coaching with presence.

If you'd like to explore using improv to develop your coaching presence, Claire and I are running a short online course in July. You can find out more here. https://www.3dcoaching.com/coaching-with-presence/

There is also an in-person one-day workshop with Claire and Stuart Reid in the UK next April at the same link.

The Human Behind the Coach book is on UK Amazon here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Human-Behind-Coach-transform-themselves/dp/1788604563

Claire's The Coaching Inn podcast is here https://www.3dcoaching.com/the-coaching-inn/

Find me at https://playconnect.co.uk/

Fun conversation with Lex of Pleasure Rebels about the similarities and differences between improv and kink.

We discussed aliveness, connection, shadows, misconceptions about kink and improv, fun, integrating changes into everyday life and how to calibrate exploring practices that feel difficult for you.

Find Lex at https://www.pleasurerebels.com/

And me, Andy, at https://playconnect.co.uk/

Vix Anderton guides overachievers, overthinkers and recovering perfectionists out of the creative rut and into a place where they can get things done and feel good about themselves.

A fun, thoughtful conversation about authentic relating, improv, perfectionism, fear, trust, belonging, being seen and coming into connection.

Find Vix at vixanderton.com

Find me at playconnect.co.uk

Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

A rich conversation with Heidi Förster about self expression, going beyond the ‘rules’ we impose on ourselves, laughter and permission.

Heidi runs workshops called “Freak!” to turn those parts of us that we have experienced as unwelcome into sources of strength and authenticity. (The classes are usually in German.) You can find Heidi here – https://radikal-lebendig.de/

Talking with clown, facilitator and dramatherapist Holly Stoppit about clowning, courage, risk, play and mindfulness.

Find Holly at

• https://www.hollystoppit.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/hollystoppit