| REFLECTION 1 |
Intro to EdCon: Embracing the Circus Paradox
BY ALTHEA YOUNG
My doubles partner and I just started
our very first circus company. We
started with the idea that we’d slowly
build material, maybe make a show
and if we failed—that would be okay—
because it was a learning experience,
and really who’d buy tickets to see two
kids put on an hour and twenty minute
show?
We kept it casual, but in reality we
wanted our own company badly,
although neither of us wanted to admit
it. At the ages of 14 and 18, we were
already used to being turned down
by festivals and cabarets. In rejection
letters, they would use the words
age and experience as if they were
interchangeable:
“Dear Applicant, we regret to inform
you that you have not been selec ted
to participate in this year’s festival.
You were one of our most talented
applicants, and it is clear that the
future of circus is in good hands. We
hope you apply again, once you’ve
matured.” So I was simultaneously
filled with panic and elation when our
company The Brave Little Circus was
invited to perform at this American
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Circus Educators Conference (aka
EdCon, aka a building full of my circus
heroes).
As the first day of the conference
rolled around, I entered Circus
Center in San Francisco delighted
to see many of my old friends. I
was with my people; circus people.
At EdCon the work/study youth
are called ‘bandanas’, because we
wear bandanas to signify that we
are volunteers. We bandanas spent
the day packing goody bags, setting
up food and moving mats. In the
afternoon, as attendees slowly trickled
in, we circled up to get to know
one another. After meeting these
young people, all of whom had such
great work ethic and compassionate
communication skills, it became clear
to me that the high level of maturity,
not uncommon amongst young people
from the circus, was especially alive in
my fellow volunteers.
After all the attendees had signed in
and made their name tags, we headed
downstairs for dinner. At every table,
there was a conversation about
circus. My muggle friends usually get
irritated when I talk about my crazy
circus theories, so being in a room
full of circus people talking about
circus stuff; I felt like a kid in a candy
store. But as the urge to share my
crazy circus philosophies built up;
the realization of who I was among hit
me. I wanted to share my theory that
the only thing that defines circus is
the fact that it is undefined, which is
why it has limitless possibilities and
the potential to become the ultimate,
integrated art form. So we should do
our best to never define it, but the
act of setting a rule of never setting
rules is a paradox and therefor circus
is a paradox. Instead of saying that, I
sat and ate my dinner, eavesdropping
on someone else’s conversation, too
afraid to chime in. They were everyone
I grew up wanting to be.
During dinner, my partner Ellie arrived,
so we headed upstairs to the theater
to get ready. Beautiful performers
donned their perfectly bedazzled leos,
and we scavenged through bags of
clothes we had thrown together last
minute, just trying to find two t-shirts
that were the same shade of white.
Once we settled on this makeshift
“contemporary” costume we moved
to makeup. Truthfully, we’re usually
too sweaty from working out to wear
mascara, and neither of us are what
you’d call beauty enthusiasts, so if
you were watching us battle the liquid
lipstick, it would have been quite clear
that we are clowns. By the time we had
tackled hair and makeup, it was time
for the show to begin.
Each time an act took to the stage,
I felt more lucky to be from the Bay
Area. Prescott Circus was first with
an invigorating Moko Jumbie stilts
act which lifted everyone's spirits.
My friend Julie Rogers, of Kinetic
Arts Center, came second with a
dynamic tissue act. Julie is the type of
performer that connects so well with
the audience that they feel like they
are performing vicariously through
her. As someone who has watched her
grow up, I felt immensely proud sitting
in the audience and listening to people
comment on how amazing she was.
She was followed by the Les Aeriels
girls, who performed a dramatic,
tango like piece on aerial lollypop.
Their performance was precise and
synchronized, and the trio moved
in flawless unison. Right before us
was a young lady from Circus Center.
She performed a slow and emotional
hammock act, which showed graceful
maturity beyond her years. The last act
by AcroSports was dark and angsty,
showing off the classic Bay Area style.
When it was our turn, the MC
announced us, so we grabbed hands
and walked on stage. The fear fell
away. The worry, the scramble; it had
to be put aside. Now was time for us to
perform.
We began our act, and I was
immediately able to feel what type
of audience this was. This was a
circus audience. They knew what
was hard, or dangerous, or new. The
scariest part was that it was an honest
audience. They were not going to clap
for something they weren’t impressed
by. For me, the most memorable
moment in our act was our final trick.
We performed a double double star;
a trick which is just as dangerous as it
looks. Even as we were wrapping, the
audience was shouting, because they
had already figured out what we were
going to do. We threw the trick. The
audience roared and the stage felt like
the safest place in the world.
The following days, I attended several
helpful workshops. From learning
about how to manage my social media
presence, to planning out rehearsals,
I learned so much that I could apply to
my practice. As an emerging artist, I
was really thankful for the opportunity
to consume so much useful
information. In addition to workshops,
there were also panels. The panel I
found most interesting was Directing
a Compelling Youth Show. It was
fascinating how different directors
had different ways of interacting with
and thinking of youth in performance.
A good example of this was that Jaron
Hollander from Kinetic Arts Center
and Dic Wheeler from Art Farm had
two completely different and equally
valid ways of interpreting the teenage
angst they had noticed emerging in
their troupe; Jaron made a show about
descent into total rebellion and Dic
made a show about joy. This panel was
representative of the diversity in youth
circus style. Some directors, such as
Jessica Hentoff, said she preferred a
more traditional, upbeat style while
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