By now you've probably heard that PIPPIN won a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, not to mention Tony's for Direction of a Musical (Diane Paulus), Leading Actress in a Musical (Patina Miller), and Featured Actress in a Musical (Andrea Martin).
The incredibly talented and all-around phenomenal lady Gypsy Snider of les 7 doigts de la main was the mastermind behind the circus creation of the show.
I could show you the PIPPIN medley from the Tony Awards, but way more fun is the reaction of the cast upon learning the announcement that their show just won a flippin' Tony.
Congratulations, PIPPIN!
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Yellow and Red
My brother once asked me if all circus tents are yellow and red. Apparently he's not the only one under that impression...
source: Unknown
Friday, June 7, 2013
And Circus Folk
How fitting. Especially since it feels like we haven't seen the sun in months. Seriously, Switzerland. Get it together.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Love of Circus, Love or Circus
While warming up for a show one afternoon, I glanced over at one of my cast mates and couldn't help but notice a certain look in his eye. It was a look I knew far too well, having had it myself more times than I care to recall. It was also a look that I'd seen quite a lot over these first few months of the tour...
It's hard to talk about heartbreak without becoming maudlin or falling into cliché. But I swear, looking at his eyes, I could see him trembling at the core. There's no escaping that rawness, and I know that for me, having to perform in that state is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. But that is a topic for another post.
What all of this really makes me wonder is if it's possible to have lasting love in the circus? When the news that yet another member of our little troupe had ended it with their significant other (this was the fourth couple to split in in so many months), one of my colleagues wondered aloud "Do any couples make it in the circus?"
I immediately started listing off all the happily married and solid circus couples I knew, some where both partners are in the circus, some not. And while that list made me feel better in the moment, I was left with lingering doubt.
It's one thing to be with someone while on tour, but tours end and visas expire. Who knows where the next contract will lead, and for how long? Many couples try to make it last, but if the stats on this tour are any indication, few make it. When I first started working at my previous circus, my then-boyfriend (with whom I had been for two and a half years) and I barely lasted a month.
As magical and wonderful as circus life can be, it can also be extremely lonely. Facebook is really good at reminding you of that. My news feed is constantly flooded with engagement announcements, wedding pictures, and baby updates. I know that isn't the life I want just yet and that I would be terribly bored if I suddenly found myself tied down somewhere. But I'm going to be 30 this year. Shouldn't I have all this sorted out by now? Aren't these the things I'm supposed to want?
And I do want most of those things some day. But I still haven't been to Asia or Australia and hope very much to find work there, not to mention the handful of countries in Europe and South America I still want to visit. And there are so many exciting companies out there, and interesting projects in the works! I haven't performed in a German variété yet, or done some crazy gig in Dubai. Not to mention all the social circus I would still like to be a part of.
But with every year I'm away, the fewer and fewer people I still have waiting for me in my home town. Every new contract feels like starting from scratch. New friends, new ties, new home... It's hard to meet and keep new people in your life when you leave a town as suddenly as you appeared.
I do ache for those roots, and as much as I want to live out all those aforementioned adventures, the desire to share those adventures with someone else keeps pushing its way forward.
So how do you do it? How do you balance the love of circus and this crazy circus life with that most basic human need for love? How do you build a foundation with someone when the most solid thing in your life can be torn down and packed into a truck in a matter of hours?
I'd try and answer that question but the tent needs to be put up, the sawdust put down, and the show, as always, must go on...
It's hard to talk about heartbreak without becoming maudlin or falling into cliché. But I swear, looking at his eyes, I could see him trembling at the core. There's no escaping that rawness, and I know that for me, having to perform in that state is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. But that is a topic for another post.
What all of this really makes me wonder is if it's possible to have lasting love in the circus? When the news that yet another member of our little troupe had ended it with their significant other (this was the fourth couple to split in in so many months), one of my colleagues wondered aloud "Do any couples make it in the circus?"
I immediately started listing off all the happily married and solid circus couples I knew, some where both partners are in the circus, some not. And while that list made me feel better in the moment, I was left with lingering doubt.
It's one thing to be with someone while on tour, but tours end and visas expire. Who knows where the next contract will lead, and for how long? Many couples try to make it last, but if the stats on this tour are any indication, few make it. When I first started working at my previous circus, my then-boyfriend (with whom I had been for two and a half years) and I barely lasted a month.
As magical and wonderful as circus life can be, it can also be extremely lonely. Facebook is really good at reminding you of that. My news feed is constantly flooded with engagement announcements, wedding pictures, and baby updates. I know that isn't the life I want just yet and that I would be terribly bored if I suddenly found myself tied down somewhere. But I'm going to be 30 this year. Shouldn't I have all this sorted out by now? Aren't these the things I'm supposed to want?
And I do want most of those things some day. But I still haven't been to Asia or Australia and hope very much to find work there, not to mention the handful of countries in Europe and South America I still want to visit. And there are so many exciting companies out there, and interesting projects in the works! I haven't performed in a German variété yet, or done some crazy gig in Dubai. Not to mention all the social circus I would still like to be a part of.
But with every year I'm away, the fewer and fewer people I still have waiting for me in my home town. Every new contract feels like starting from scratch. New friends, new ties, new home... It's hard to meet and keep new people in your life when you leave a town as suddenly as you appeared.
I do ache for those roots, and as much as I want to live out all those aforementioned adventures, the desire to share those adventures with someone else keeps pushing its way forward.
So how do you do it? How do you balance the love of circus and this crazy circus life with that most basic human need for love? How do you build a foundation with someone when the most solid thing in your life can be torn down and packed into a truck in a matter of hours?
I'd try and answer that question but the tent needs to be put up, the sawdust put down, and the show, as always, must go on...
Monday, June 3, 2013
Surprise!
One fun thing about my circus is that it offers free postcards that the public can fill out and the circus will then mail on their behalf. The office staff goes through the postcards to make sure no rude messages go out as the image on the card is the poster of the show and doubles as publicity.
And so one cool, rainy Swiss day, one of the chaps at the office came across a postcard threatening to blow up the circus.
As horrifying as that sounds, it should be noted that the threat was allegedly made by Osma Bin Laden, so... maybe not too serious? Nevertheless, the director of the circus was notified and he said that protocol dictates that the police be notified.
That's when two of Biel's finest arrived on bicycles.
Take that, Bin Laden!
The threat really was taken seriously, though. Images of the card were sent to the highest levels and supposedly a writing analysis was done. Basically it was the bosses of the bike cops who would decide whether there would be a show, or if the entire tent would need to be evacuated.
Many coffees at the buffet tent later, the bike cops informed the circus that the threat probably wasn't legitimate and that the show, already underway, could go on.
It was only the following day that anyone mentioned this to me, and even then, we (the artists) weren't supposed to know.
Feel free to make your own explosion related pun.
And so one cool, rainy Swiss day, one of the chaps at the office came across a postcard threatening to blow up the circus.
As horrifying as that sounds, it should be noted that the threat was allegedly made by Osma Bin Laden, so... maybe not too serious? Nevertheless, the director of the circus was notified and he said that protocol dictates that the police be notified.
That's when two of Biel's finest arrived on bicycles.
Take that, Bin Laden!
The threat really was taken seriously, though. Images of the card were sent to the highest levels and supposedly a writing analysis was done. Basically it was the bosses of the bike cops who would decide whether there would be a show, or if the entire tent would need to be evacuated.
Many coffees at the buffet tent later, the bike cops informed the circus that the threat probably wasn't legitimate and that the show, already underway, could go on.
It was only the following day that anyone mentioned this to me, and even then, we (the artists) weren't supposed to know.
Feel free to make your own explosion related pun.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Oh No! Not Again!
If there's an award for Season With Most Injuries, I think that the tour of 2013 is a heavy contender to win it.
Our costume woman was trying to get into her compartment after the stairs had been put away for transport and didn't quite make it. The resulting fall left her with a dislocated shoulder and a minimum of three weeks on the side lines.
It's incredible how the absence of just one person can weigh so heavily on a circus. Build up and tear down are a fast and furious frenzy, and when someone is missing, it's as though the entire circus stumbles over itself. If one step in the process is delayed, somehow no one can do their job properly! X can't be done until Y is completed, but Y can't be completed unless Z is moved out of the way and so forth and so on. And that's just build up and tear down. There are all the day to day tasks as well.
Here's wishing M a speedy recovery and even more importantly, that things settle down on the injury front.
Our costume woman was trying to get into her compartment after the stairs had been put away for transport and didn't quite make it. The resulting fall left her with a dislocated shoulder and a minimum of three weeks on the side lines.
It's incredible how the absence of just one person can weigh so heavily on a circus. Build up and tear down are a fast and furious frenzy, and when someone is missing, it's as though the entire circus stumbles over itself. If one step in the process is delayed, somehow no one can do their job properly! X can't be done until Y is completed, but Y can't be completed unless Z is moved out of the way and so forth and so on. And that's just build up and tear down. There are all the day to day tasks as well.
Here's wishing M a speedy recovery and even more importantly, that things settle down on the injury front.
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