the Downside-Up Circus » like-minded groups

Sunny in Seattle

Tara — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:11:19 +0000

Tara, Molly, and Victoria have had an excellent week in Seattle following the Fremont Solstice Parade! (See the latest pictures of Interrobang’s various gigs and adventures on Flickr.)

We recovered from our circus-on-concrete extravaganza and did some sightseeing at the Pike Place Market. We went to see Just Add Water at the School for Acrobatics and New Circus Arts, a new collaborative show put together by seven young circus professionals who did a short summer residency at SANCA. (It was a thoroughly enjoyable show, though some parts were more polished than others.) We stayed with many different friends (thanks to Allison, Marple, Erica, and Bryan!), practicing our juggling and enjoying the well-earned break from long-distance biking. And to top it all off, all week the weather has been gorgeous – sunny and warm!

On Saturday we joined in the fun at Artopia in Georgetown, juggling in a procession with our friends the Titanium Sporkestra and the Harlequin Hipsters, witnessing the absurdity and destruction of the Hazard Factory’s power tool races, wandering the market stalls, and catching several acts by various configurations of SANCA’s three youth performance troupes. The night closed out with a rather hectic marching band & fire-dancing blowout on the street!

On Sunday we met up with Lindsay and Kristian in Kirkland for a family barbeque, where we showed off our choreographed acts for our hosts. Next: Port Townsend for Fourth of July weekend, our last major leg of the tour! (Plus, for a few days we have the pleasure of a guest member, our friend Juliana who’s joining us from Oakland, CA.)

Top hats and vampires and ton-tons, oh my!

Tara — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:51:00 +0000

You may or may not know that many members of The Downside-Up Circus share a certain geek-factor: last weekend, Lindsay, Kristian, Molly, Tara, and Victoria all went to Boston for Arisia, a science fiction/fantasy convention. We went to panels and discussions on topics ranging from fairy tale history to tips for entrepreneurs. There was a live-player screening of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog, a masquerade, and several excellent mythpunk concerts by our new friend S. J. Tucker. Kristian and Lindsay had 3-D work in the Art Show, and we helped throw a Never-Never Land themed hotel room party… in short, lots of fan-fun!

But one of the main reasons we all went was to host (with the help of some friends) an open circle discussion about the overlap betweenscifi/fantasy fandom and the rising popularity of circus arts. From steampunk-themed professional circus shows to fire-spinning Firefly fans, a love of the weird and the wonderful probably has a lot to do with it. But so does the common feeling of an inclusive, creative community that is an important part of both scenes. Everyone at the kaffeklatsch had plenty to say about the topic, swapping opinions, information, and tips on where to find local circus meetups. We had a wonderful time – it was a delight to meet fellow fans and pick each other’s brains. Thank you all!

Goggles and Gears and German Wheels

Tara — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:06:43 +0000

Workers arrive at the factory and prepare to start the day, heckled by their overbearing boss. But when a little bird gets in through a window, its freedom and flight inspire a minor mutiny. The workers seize the opportunity to find possibilities for expression and autonomy, transforming their workplace with incredible feats of skill and creativity.

Last Tuesday Molly, Tara, Victoria, Kristian, and Lindsay all went with a large group of other circus folk to see the inspirational Cirque Mechanic’s In A Birdhouse Factory at UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center, a high-quality stage circus show starring a company of experienced circus artistis (including former Cirque du Soleil and Pickle Family Circus performers) who came together just for this one tour. With seats in the front two rows, we had an up-close-and-personal view of the excellent and entertaining acrobatics, aerials, trampoline, german wheel, and clowning.

With tight staging, excellent sound design, and really creative props (such as a German wheel ‘port’ which let the wheel spin in place and used the energy to wind a cable through multiple pullies, raising and lowering various other props), Birdhouse told a satisfying story that created an exciting, lighthearted world. Sweet and funny interactions between characters were carefully woven into the pacing, and the shifting of focus was very smooth, making transitions between acts (often an awkward challenge) natural. The skill level was impressive, but the professionalism and polish of the performers more so. Birdhouse is a stellar example of theatrical circus, the setting and characters supporting the use of circus skills and vice versa. If you get the chance, go see for yourself!

HONK! activist street bands & circus

Tara — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:10:54 +0000

Taking back the streets for horns, bikes, and feet! Molly & I had a wonderful time at HONKfest in Boston, MA this weekend. We arrived Saturday afternoon and wandered the streets around Davis Square, stopping every few blocks to tap our toes and nod our heads and dance our hearts out to a different band.

Each motley crew of magnificent musicians had their own sound and their own aesthetic, from the Pinettes, the all-women’s Second Line band from New Orleans to the all-percussion Lloyd Family Players. With goggles and bunny ears, boas and fake mustaches, the bands all poked fun at the usual regimented marching band style, playing popular hits, original compositions, klezmer, swing, punk, gospel and everything in between. From plaza to park to stoop, it was as if music had taken over the streets – which it did, during the huge parade on Sunday!

Molly juggles in the parade

The parade was a honktastic lineup of bands and groups, including the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble from Montreal, Canada (with a marching cello!), our friends Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band from Somerville, MA, Orkestar Zirkonium from Seattle, the Rude Mechanical Orchestra from NYC, and my new favorites, Environmental Encroachment from Chicago, IL. There was at least one coordinated dance team, a group of jugglers (who we fell in with for a time), several contingents of Bread and Puppet characters and puppets, and a silent clown-band with noiseless papier-mache instruments (who are actually our new friends The Royal Frog Ballet Theatre Company from Amherst, MA). It was incredible to feel the nearly tangible spirit of camaraderie, walking down the street with a veritable army of community support. I didn’t know it was possible for that many people to have that much fun at the same time without the universe imploding!

The parade emptied into Oktoberfest at Harvard Square, with the usual food and crafts vendors, marching bands continuing to perform in alleys and on corners during the afternoon. The weekend wrapped up with a floor-shaking five-hour marathon stage show in the Somerville Theatre, as each of the thirty-two bands played in succession for a full house of people who did not want to stay in their seats, but wanted to dance in the aisles and occasionally join the musicians onstage. We cheered and sang along, showing hearty appreciation for the wonderful folks onstage who traveled from far and wide to bring us HONK!

environmental encroachment really knows how to pump up a crowd

For those who couldn’t make it out to HONK! we’ve brought a dose of it back to the valley with us: TONIGHT in Northampton Downside-Up is performing alongside the Pink Puffers from Rome, the Yellow Hat Band from Seattle, and local favorites Rusty Belle. TOMORROW there is a parade around Hampshire at noon, followed by a performance and a workshop about the brass underground.

For more info on both the Northampton and Hampshire events go here!

Announcing: Our Performance Debut

Tara — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:28:34 +0000

The Downside Up Circus’ public performance debut will be at The Happy Pill Circus #4, the latest in a series of wildly entertaining community-oriented music-and-more jamborees hosted by The Primate Fiasco in Northampton, MA. We will be doing our thing as some visual accompaniment for the band’s excellent psychedelic dixieland music, and infiltrating the audience too. We’ll also be sharing the stage with our heroes, the ever-inspiring Bread and Puppet Theatre from Vermont. The show is NO CHARGE, courtesy of Free Press, a national organization for media reform & democracy. Come goggle and come boogie, shimmy and shout, put your left leg in and find out what it’s all about. It’s a crowd-generated cure for the recession blues – join us and help turn the downside up!

September 13th, 2009 >> 7pm >>The Academy of Music@ 274 Main St Northampton, MA 01060 >> FREE

For more info and to see pictures of our circus folk at past shows, check out the website: www.happypillcircus.com

AYCO!

Tara — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:00:41 +0000

Attending the American Youth Circus Organization Festival really reinforced for me just what it is that I love about circus: the solidarity, the community, the positivity, the fun. I’d never seen so many circus people – wonderfully unorganized, endlessly enthusiastic, innovative, creative, friendly, skilled circus people – in one place. There were crazy tights and hairstyles all over, and every third person had facepaint or was carrying clubs. People of all kinds, all ages, are working together, learning from one another, respecting each other, and all doing what we love to do.

The list of participating organizations was impressive, a who’s who of youth circus programs and troupes in the US: Circesteem from Chicago IL, Circus Harmony from St. Louis MO, Circus Smirkus from Vermont, The Stone Soup Circus from New Jersey, My Nose Turns Red Circus from Kentucky, SANCA’s Youth Company from Seattle, WA, and many others. These programs are small, unique, and spread apart. To be in one place together really made them into a community with a common goal: to bring circus to kids across America.

And those kids were incredible: talented, dedicated, smart, and funny. I got to interact with them (my favorite overheard quote, from a 13-yr-old boy: “I have an eight-pack… I just forgot to put it on this morning!”) and see them perform. The adults who support those kids, teach them, work so hard to keep these youth programs going, are incredibly inspiring individuals. They are knowledgable and passionate but still young at heart.

Victoria and I met up with the Bindlestiffs in person, who proved yet again to be not only excellent as business mentors, but wonderful people and friends. I reunited with old friends, and talked to and played with people I’d only ever heard of or met in passing, discovering connections, shared accquaintainces, shared tastes, and shared ideas. There were organized and impromptu discussions on a whole range of topics, from Social Circus to gender in circus, from where kids go from youth circus programs to performance technique. At the workshops, I got the chance to try German gym wheel, attempt new juggling patterns, and learn some Circus Yoga.

At the junction between the youth performers and adult teachers there is a gap in continuity that is slowly being filled by college-age circus enthusiasts like myself. The ‘roustabouts,’ the college students who were also the stagehands/gophers of the Festival, formed a little group of our own in green bandanas, silly accents, and shared big dreams for the future. The festival co-ordinators themselves were a recent college grad and a college student who put in a staggering amount of work to organize this major event. My next project, inspired by my Festival experience: a network to connect college-age(ish) circus movers and shakers to each other, to youth circus organizations, and to circus schools and companies!