MAIN RETREAT (5 days) ~ 24th July to 28th July 2026

FULL EXPERIENCE (8 days) ~ 24th July to 1st August 2026

With Christie Animas and Zuma Puma

How does the Fool’s easeful access to their inner world resource the Clown to open more possibilities to play within the collective?  

How does the Clown’s light and dedicated connection with an audience amplify the potency of the solo play of the Fool? And what happens when ritual is blended in the mix?

Christie Animas and Zuma Puma have been conjuring a shared playground, bringing the complementary elements of both Fooling and Clowning, mixed with rituals and psychomagic into a rich field of transformative play.

The Fool- Explorer of the Inner World: works deeply with the Earth and Water elements by its refined skills in resourcing and grounding, by exploring with ease the depth of the psyche.  

The Fool has no agenda but a curiosity towards any experience. They are fully committed yet not attached; this allows an expansive inner freedom.

The Clown- Explorer of the Outer World: plays with Air and Fire. Here, Air represents the connection and relationship to the audience or other, whether turbulent or whimsical, the clown meets tension with play, absurdity and release.

Fire represents the life force of the Clown, calling on one’s courage, risking showing themselves and their foolishness in order to ignite the spark of collective ridiculousness.

Both Fool & Clown are invitations into deeper contact with ourselves and the collective field around us.

They allow us to enter our inner worlds, meet and play with the conditionings we carry. They bring curiosity, aliveness and authentic expression, transforming inertia, stuckness and rigidity into a sense of liberation. They explore freely the essence of humanity with all its quirks, mysteries, power games, inner conflicts, collective pains and the innate love that exists within us.

As long-time friends and collaborators, Zuma and Christie explore and play honestly with the dynamics present in their relationship. This creates an atmosphere of permission, spontaneity and freedom. With over 20 years of combined experience in facilitation, performance, therapeutic exploration and group work they offer a fierce, wild, tender and loving transformational space.

WHY THIS? WHY NOW?

It has become apparent that there is a collective longing for embodying more supportive and regenerative ways of being together, with the land and with ourselves.

In our western world, it has become increasingly common to feel isolated, alone, disempowered, a victim of the system, anxious and depressed. These collective struggles can also be seen as reminders of our need for connection, empathy, togetherness, expression, solidarity, play, laughter and authenticity.

Honouring all the parts of ourselves that make us human and that innate sense that we are fully alive and active in what we create.

Being playful is our natural state of being. Playfulness is one of the ways human beings naturally learn, connect and adapt.”**  

This retreat will allow you to meet deeply what is alive in you, and at the same time to tap into a shared permission for full life expression.

Leaving the retreat with practical and embodied resources that can support you in daily life, creativity and relationships afterwards.

WHO IS THIS FOR?

This retreat is for people who long for more aliveness, expression, creativity and honesty in their lives.

For performers, facilitators, seekers, artists, weirdos, sensitive humans, therapists, shy people, playful people, people going through change, and those who feel something in them wants more room to breathe.”**

You do not need experience in clowning, performance or ritual work. What matters most is a willingness to explore, to listen, to play and to meet yourself honestly.

Some people come because they feel creatively blocked. Others come because they miss community, spontaneity or the feeling of being deeply alive. Some come because they are tired of holding themselves together all the time.

There is space here for tenderness, awkwardness, brilliance, uncertainty, joy, contradiction and surprise.

THE SHAPE OF THE DAYS

There will be a morning session, an afternoon session and on some days an evening session as well. The flow of the retreat will move between Fooling, Clowning and Synergizing the two art forms. Some exercises will be playful and expressive. Others are quieter, relational or reflective. Besides the structured sessions there will be ritual spaces, after lunch rest time, nature time, sauna time and communal living. 

There will be morning warmups and check in circles, opportunities for movement, creativity, witnessing, improvisation, performance and integration. 

We value depth, but also simplicity, humour and humanity. Participants are always encouraged to listen to their own pace and needs.

BOOKING**

MAIN RETREAT (5 days) ~ 24th July to 28th July 2026

Deposit *: £275

FULL EXPERIENCE: (8 days) ~ 24th July to 1st August 2026

Deposit* : £385

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Group, duo and solo exercises
Fooling
Clowning
Ritual
Relational play and live exploration with the facilitators
Connection with one another and ourselves
Psychomagic
Embodied Tarot — working with archetypes
Weird and wonderful immersive rituals
Embodiment / Movement / Dance
Laughter, tears, full life expression
Plenty of space for the mystery to reveal itself
Connection with the land
Community living
Unexpected happenings
Spacious Integration

WHAT YOU WILL LEAVE WITH:

A strong understanding of Fooling and Clowning, their differences, similarities and embodied insights in how these artforms can positively impact one’s life and creative pursuits.
A stronger sense of self
More confidence
Ease and empathy for yourself and others
The pleasure in being you
Inner resources for life
A deeper connection with the many voices, emotions and energies that live within you.
Resources in performance, wild expression and connection with the world outside
Strong sense of connection and being seen
New ways of seeing and experiencing the world around you
Unexpected experiences and moments of connection that may stay with you for a long time.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY:

“I arrived terrified and left feeling more myself than I had in years.”

“The combination of clown, ritual and relational honesty created something I’ve never experienced anywhere else.”

“I laughed, cried, rested, played and remembered parts of myself I thought I had lost.”

FULL EXPERIENCE: (9 Days)

Additional Dates — For those who want to go deeper and stay for longer.

This will be an integrative time for Clown & Fool Jams, being on the land, playing in nature and going to town, playing with what the transition to ‘normal life’ brings in each one of us, swimming in the river, making music, resting, dancing and living as a creative community.

This will be a softer and more integrative period of communal play, experimentation and rest.

Please Note: As an emergent community we will be encouraging a culture of self resourcing, naming our needs and taking care of ourselves.

We will also be practicing radical honesty, self accountability and responsibility.

We ask that all participants agree to be accountable for the impacts that they may have on the group and are willing to stay in connection and play with what emerges.

This is a trauma-aware and therapeutic space, though it is not a group therapy training or replacement for personal therapeutic support.

PRICES:

Partial Work exchange options are available for those who are really called to come but can’t afford the Tier 3 price.

ACCOMMODATION:

Welcome to The Ridiculous House, a magical rustic place nestled in peaceful land just outside of the little town of Horrabridge, Devon.

The Ridiculous House is home to a year-round community of creators and players.

Participants will mainly be camping on the land. There is a possibility to park a van too and rustic accommodations (at an additional cost to the venue) for those who require more comfort and would prefer not to camp.

FOOD

The food is included in the price and the participants will share in helping prepare meals together throughout the retreat.

 MORE ABOUT ZUMA PUMA (She/They): 

Canadian/British Clown, Comedian, Neuro Linguistic Programming Master Practitioner and Embodied Dreamworker.  Zuma founded Clownlife  in 2016 and has facilitated thousands of participants in 160+ programs since. She has 16 years of training with more than 30 teachers around the world in a diverse range of approaches alongside her keen and committed study in personal development, psychomagic, tarot embodiment, ritual theatre, NLP, Improv, healing and creative arts. She also works as a one to one coach.  Besides her work in facilitation and coaching, Zuma is an award winning performer and director, she has performed in 14 countries in solo, duo and company productions. She has spent the last year writing a resource book on the; Clown Arcana (Funded by the UK Arts Council), exploring the Major archetypes of the Tarot through what she calls the ‘Clown Lens’. Zuma is also the founder of the International Lost Cabaret (CIC London 2012) which has since grown to become a collective home for emergent and alternative comedy (CIC 2016) with regular shows in; the UK,  France, Germany, Canada and Australia. 

She has recently returned from 4.5 months with the ‘El Juego’ community in Colombia (where she participated in a program dedicated to conflict resolution and personal transformation) in accordance with her research in exploring the lines between comedy and tragedy, tension and release and ritual theatre (Supported by the UK Arts Council). To find out more about her work, Website: www.clownlife.org

MORE ABOUT CHRISTIE ANIMAS (She/ They):

Christie, originally from Belgium is a playful human researcher fascinated by the wealth of experiences in the world inside of each one of us that she calls the ‘Inner Villages’. She is a community builder, a musician, a Therapist and Workshop Leader dedicated to the decolonising of our bodies and psyches and to the creation of inclusive and regenerative cultures. She trained as a Voice Dialogue practitioner, in the Fooling practice with Franki Anderson and in Body Informed Leadership UK. She has a degree in Occupational Therapy and a specialization in child psychiatry, Brussels.  She is offering her group process called ‘Fool Expression’ in the UK and throughout Europe, which blends aspects of Fooling, Voice Dialogue, Focusing, IFS, Shadow work and Psychodrama. She has created and gathered an expanding, vibrant community of players in the South West of England, and collaborates with the Deep Play Institute, USA.  She also works one-to-one using the Voice Dialogue process and performs and improvises her own music using the Fool’s practice. To find out more about her work, Website: www.christieanimas.com

If you would like to join us or ask any questions about the upcoming event feel free to get in touch.

Email: synergeticplayground@gmail.com

 We look forward to seeing you soon,

x

Zuma and Christie

* After paying the deposit, please pay the remaining amount of the retreat by the 25th of June 26 to secure your spot.

**Terms & Conditions:   If you cancel over two weeks before the start of the workshop the amount over and above the deposit is transferable to another workshop within the next 5 months.