Backstage With The Circus

Shona, left, friend and provider, played our fearless caterer first thing in the morning. Nicole, right, child face painter pitching in with breakfast prep.

What I did on my summer vacation? I ran away and joined the circus. I love back stage photos. I love being backstage and I might be at some of happiest moments when I am on a film set, especially if it's my film set, ha ha. I love performers and the make up and the nerves and the food and the excitement and the notes( breaking down the performance afterwards). I was really lucky this past weekend, friends let me participate in their circus festival. The festival had acrobats, fire swallowers, jugglers, escape artists, clowns, gymnists, musicians, tighropewalkers and street theatre. And one newly born "advice giver". Yep, I busked my idea of advice on the street. It was an incredble social experiment for me and also an incredible experience to talk to so many interesting people, take their puzzles and hopefully make them laugh or inspire them with their decisions and situations. The questions I was asked were all over the map and all level of fun and depth, and seriousness. Very cool and I loved talking to everyone. I put a photo of my advice sign in here somewhere.
Below, Jean Saucier and Davio and Nicole.

Michelle and Zane.





Above, Anthony, Georgina and Anna. Below Scott.

Anthony and Georgina.









After show beer garden, The Walkyries!


Scott and Dan who co-produced a theatre show during the festival.

The next morning.








Just graduated from circus performance school in Montreal, Fernando Dudka. He performs the Equilbriste you see in photos. (for Americans, that means balancing in French)











Red Bastard. He is one of the best performers I've seen in ages. He has something for everybody because he is so visual with body work and costume but so cosmopolitan intellectually. Stand-up style with literary and existential brocade. And just look at him, he funks up funny!



Jen on the left who performs on "the silks" a classic circus style where she uses long silks hanging from the ceiling and does interpretive dance and acrobatics hanging in the air. She is beautiful and her show will surprise and inspire you. On the right is the Amazon third of fantastic "all girl fire acrobatic group" called The Valkyries. Exciting powerful women and they are from Montreal. Or is that redundant? I love them to bits.

Carnival Electro Delightful one man show which plays with the idea of where imagination works and how art can be made out of a dream or one's transformative experiences. The narrative is as if the moon is dreaming and the moon dreams of ladders, clouds, tiny aircraft, safety and how to make all our own dreams become a way of living where true happiness lives. Plus, it's very funny.