Back in my days as a camp counselor, I used to love the in-between times. Specifically, the time between sessions. That's when I could really take in what was around me, spend time with my fellow staff members, drink tea and reflect. It was that kind of camp. I especially loved rainy weekends on the back porch behind Canary Cottage, mug of tea in hand, water dripping off the trees and onto the roof. Those were cherished moments of peace and perfection.
With the circus, it's different. During shows, I'm still trying to figure out how to manage my days. How much can I go out, how much time can I spend in the sun, at what time should I eat so that I have enough energy but don't feel weighed down? And during a run, just how much can I do on my day off? I want to go out and do things, but I know my body needs rest. The clowns went and biked 80km on one of our days off. They saw beautiful things and got horrendous sunburns... Clowns may not have the same physical demands as an acrobat, but the job of a clown is very demanding physically and certainly emotionally. I don't know how they did it.
I'm sure I'll find the answers to these questions once the show runs longer. But in the meantime, I feel like I'm not exactly using my time as well as I should.
But the hardest thing for me right now is in-between cities. With this circus, we never move to the next town immediately after finishing in the town we're in. We usually have a week off, sometimes more. I find these periods very stressful and I tend to get kind of down. I think a lot of that has to do with not actually having a home anywhere in France and scrambling to find somewhere to stay, something to do.
More than anything, I feel lonely. I don't have a home here yet, and my friends are the people I work with. In between work, I squat in the apartments of of acquaintances and friends working in Europe. So strange, this circus life. How do you find the balance between the traditionally nomadic reality of circus life, and the more sedentary-except-when-on-tour reality of contemporary circus life?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
La Coursive
Terrible floor notwithstanding, the theatre we're playing at in La Rochelle is amazing. I feel like I'm famous. They leave us these delicious organic juices, dried fruit, granola bars, and a wide selection of teas. Once, we came in and there was a big vase of roses in the little lounge area for no reason other than that La Coursive is awesome! And the night of the premiere? Well... look!
That is a giant box of soft caramels! And they gave us little toy boats as a souvenir! they even had our names on them! And the fruit! The delicious, delicious fruit...
Its good to be in the circus.
That is a giant box of soft caramels! And they gave us little toy boats as a souvenir! they even had our names on them! And the fruit! The delicious, delicious fruit...
Its good to be in the circus.
The Floor
As you can imagine, for someone who works on the ground, the floor is kind of a big deal. And the floor in La Rochelle? Merde. Complete and total merde.
Its not just that its uneven. Its not just that there are chunks of it splintering off. No, the main problem is that for some reason they decided to build it with lots of tiny slats. All uneven. Its like being on a bumpy board walk. And while it is kind of cool to feel the texture of the wood under the wheel, the novelty wears off as soon as you try and do anything and the wheel wobbles around all over the place.
There were nights where I thought my wheel was going to fall over at the very start of my number. Even the musicians were worried. And for one line, every time I jumped to do the move, my wheel would rock, I'd hit my shoulder, lose my momentum, go back to the boards and start over. One night, I even had to single out (I normally do three) it was so bad. I haven't done a single hip circle in performance... ever. Not ever! I was appalled.
I, for one, am looking forward to being back in the Chapiteau. Even though I'm told that in the next city, we may very well all die from heat.
Its not just that its uneven. Its not just that there are chunks of it splintering off. No, the main problem is that for some reason they decided to build it with lots of tiny slats. All uneven. Its like being on a bumpy board walk. And while it is kind of cool to feel the texture of the wood under the wheel, the novelty wears off as soon as you try and do anything and the wheel wobbles around all over the place.
There were nights where I thought my wheel was going to fall over at the very start of my number. Even the musicians were worried. And for one line, every time I jumped to do the move, my wheel would rock, I'd hit my shoulder, lose my momentum, go back to the boards and start over. One night, I even had to single out (I normally do three) it was so bad. I haven't done a single hip circle in performance... ever. Not ever! I was appalled.
I, for one, am looking forward to being back in the Chapiteau. Even though I'm told that in the next city, we may very well all die from heat.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Est-ce Que C'est Moi?*
There is nothing more glorious than live performance. I say that, of course, with a hint of bitterness. The third show in La Rochelle was one of the most technically disastrous shows I have ever witnessed. The good news is, apparently the show can hold its own, even when the technical side of things go awry.
So what went wrong? There were many little problems, but my favourites were the straps and the mat.
The beginning of the straps number is a bit long. Mostly because there are no straps involved, just a lot of drunken wandering. Part of the scene, doncha know. But normally, after the mood is established, a little firecracker type thing goes off and the straps come down from the ceiling. Only this time, nothing happened. The sad thing is, the intro to the number is so long, I didn't even notice that anything was wrong!
So A. goes over to the piano tell the composer that there are no straps coming, only by this point the technicians have climbed into the grid to get the things down manually. Meanwhile, M. is meandering around the stage improvising trying to cover the gaping hole that the wait has created.
Hilarious!
Then, there's the mat. At the end of the show there's a big group trampo-wall number. Normally, there's a staged fall from the top of the structure and the acrobat who does it, none other than A., lands in a big mat. Only there's no mat. If the improvising during the straps act was hilarious, this was pants-wettingly good.
Now, either somebody has it in for A., or dude just has some seriously bad luck. Considering how often he bumps into stationary objects, I'm going to go with the latter.
Oh La Rochelle! What else do you have in store for us?
* You had to be there.
So what went wrong? There were many little problems, but my favourites were the straps and the mat.
The beginning of the straps number is a bit long. Mostly because there are no straps involved, just a lot of drunken wandering. Part of the scene, doncha know. But normally, after the mood is established, a little firecracker type thing goes off and the straps come down from the ceiling. Only this time, nothing happened. The sad thing is, the intro to the number is so long, I didn't even notice that anything was wrong!
So A. goes over to the piano tell the composer that there are no straps coming, only by this point the technicians have climbed into the grid to get the things down manually. Meanwhile, M. is meandering around the stage improvising trying to cover the gaping hole that the wait has created.
Hilarious!
Then, there's the mat. At the end of the show there's a big group trampo-wall number. Normally, there's a staged fall from the top of the structure and the acrobat who does it, none other than A., lands in a big mat. Only there's no mat. If the improvising during the straps act was hilarious, this was pants-wettingly good.
Now, either somebody has it in for A., or dude just has some seriously bad luck. Considering how often he bumps into stationary objects, I'm going to go with the latter.
Oh La Rochelle! What else do you have in store for us?
* You had to be there.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
It's Alright! I Broke the Fall With My Face!
T'was the night before the premiere and the second of a set of seven shows. After three run throughs without an audience (so hard), we had the welcomed presence of the theatre employees seated in the public. The show starts, things move along as they always do... intro, wheel, trampoline, Bacon... when suddenly, A. starts the big drop in his number, loses contact with his straps and hits the stage head* first!
Might I add that I am seated on stage directly behind him during that drop? And that A. is an incredibly stubborn young man? Seriously, dude hit the floor hard and instead of stopping, he insisted on finishing his act! Frankly, there is a line between perseverance and stupidity. And considering how out of it he was after smashing head first into the floor, and that it wasn't even a real performance, and that we had the premiere the next night, he should have stopped.
The good news is, he didn't do the trampoline number. The bad news is, he didn't leave directly to the hospital to get checked. He did go eventually, but got antsy and left.
Did I mention he fell head first onto a hard wood floor?
Argh!
Fortunately, he was okay. We all feared we would have to redo the entire show in the morning so that it would work without him for the premiere that night. But the circus gods smiled upon him (and us) and everything turned out okay. Never have you heard such a collective sigh of relief.
But there is one good thing to come out of all this.
The video footage is a hoot!**
* Later accounts suggest that it may in fact have been ear first.
** I don't actually like to watch videos of people getting badly hurt. But the laughter coming from those who do suggest that the video is quite amusing.
Might I add that I am seated on stage directly behind him during that drop? And that A. is an incredibly stubborn young man? Seriously, dude hit the floor hard and instead of stopping, he insisted on finishing his act! Frankly, there is a line between perseverance and stupidity. And considering how out of it he was after smashing head first into the floor, and that it wasn't even a real performance, and that we had the premiere the next night, he should have stopped.
The good news is, he didn't do the trampoline number. The bad news is, he didn't leave directly to the hospital to get checked. He did go eventually, but got antsy and left.
Did I mention he fell head first onto a hard wood floor?
Argh!
Fortunately, he was okay. We all feared we would have to redo the entire show in the morning so that it would work without him for the premiere that night. But the circus gods smiled upon him (and us) and everything turned out okay. Never have you heard such a collective sigh of relief.
But there is one good thing to come out of all this.
The video footage is a hoot!**
* Later accounts suggest that it may in fact have been ear first.
** I don't actually like to watch videos of people getting badly hurt. But the laughter coming from those who do suggest that the video is quite amusing.
La Rochelle
As previously mentioned, we're currently in beautiful La Rochelle. A city of towers, donkeys in underpants and Fort Boyard. This is the first stop on our three or four year tour and also the city where the official premiere will take place.
Its strange to be in a new city, to be in a hotel instead of my caravan and to think that soon, we'll be leaving this place behind as well. As I'm sure I've mentioned, I've never been on a show that's done more than one city and certainly not one that will be performed close to 400 times! I find that my relationship with circus is changing, as is the way I perceive performing shows.
But there's plenty of time to talk about all that. For now, here's a glimpse of this beautiful city!
Its strange to be in a new city, to be in a hotel instead of my caravan and to think that soon, we'll be leaving this place behind as well. As I'm sure I've mentioned, I've never been on a show that's done more than one city and certainly not one that will be performed close to 400 times! I find that my relationship with circus is changing, as is the way I perceive performing shows.
But there's plenty of time to talk about all that. For now, here's a glimpse of this beautiful city!
Yikes!
Hello, all!
I've been pretty neglectful of the blog as of late, and for that I apologize. We've been in La Rochelle for two weeks now and while you would think that since the show ran for a while in Salins we'd have some free time here, you'd be wrong.
The director had much tweaking to get done which meant rehearsals during the day, shows and night, and crashing there after. But he went home for the last leg of the show here, so now I actually have some free time.
Stories and pictures coming up!
I've been pretty neglectful of the blog as of late, and for that I apologize. We've been in La Rochelle for two weeks now and while you would think that since the show ran for a while in Salins we'd have some free time here, you'd be wrong.
The director had much tweaking to get done which meant rehearsals during the day, shows and night, and crashing there after. But he went home for the last leg of the show here, so now I actually have some free time.
Stories and pictures coming up!
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