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Background & Philosophy  ~  Meet Dawn  ~  Meet the Simple Fool

Background and Philosophy
By Dawn Stratton, fool, clown teacher and founder

Hello, my name is Dawn and the school, which I began in 2007, is inspired by The Simple Fool, the muse I hope to share with you. It is guided by my 20 years of personal esoteric study and practice in anthroposophy and hermeticism, and grounded in 10 years of teaching through art and the imagination in a Waldorf School. The practices of soul alchemy that I have learned through the work of Rudolf Steiner permeate my work. I have been particularly inspired by work with Dennis Klocek in this area - See the Coros institute - http://www.corosinstitute.org or the Consciousness studies program at Rudolf Steiner College - http://www.steinercollege.org/consciousness.html - for more information. Other strong influences include theoretical and practical guidance in clowning from Vivian Gladwell of Nose to Nose and participant experience with Playback Theater and Psychodrama.

The play of discovering what is within is the Study, the Art and the Great Work of the Simple Fool’s School. By playing in the realm of imagination and archetype, the clown within lives in the threshold between matter and spirit, where we can discover an infinitely wise, funny and creative being - the simple fool. We train the living imagination so that we can learn to consciously step back and forth between the two worlds. Thus we are able to develop discernment for the truth of our perceptions in an artistic, playful and deeply moving way.

With earnest striving, students of The Simple Fool will find the opportunity to explore the unique lessons their lives place before them. These are transformed in to artistic expressions that are shared with others (the audience) to bring engaging and potent messages about what it means to be truly human. The sharing often becomes, as my teacher and clown Vivian Gladwell says, “a celebration of all those things we normally wish to hide”. Bringing the agony and the ecstasy of Truth, we celebrate what is simply and purely human.

The method of learning is not a technical training but is essentially, for those who wish it, an alchemical path of transformation. The humor, tenderness, wisdom and fun that is expressed during improvisations and performances is inspired and created by deep inner work. This is because in any alchemical process, “The consciousness of the operant determines the experience of the recipient.” Therefore it is a form of artivism - art and action for spiritual and social transformation, because when we transform and awaken ourselves, we have the power to awaken others. This is the healing gift of the Art. It is filled with joy, light and love (not to mention the humor of the Gods!) and has the potential to inspire each one of us to develop our own unique path of good work for humanity!

Although it may sound very serious, it’s really just a simply silly way to face the Truth of our challenging times with grace, joy, fun and humor.