We’ve got your circus picks for October. So whether you’re hosting a Halloween party at home with your cat, fending off existential dread with candy corn, or checking your voter registration (one of these things is especially important!), you will not lack circus inspiration!
READ
- Read part three of The Covid Chronicles, proudly published on The District Ringer, your Patreon-sponsored circus-only news source. In this story, we visit aerial studio Monarca in Flight to learn how husbands Acoatzin Torres and B. Keith Ryder steered their business through the pandemic, despite Torres being out of the country just as the shutdown began.
- Celebrate ‘Juggler of Our Lady’ author and illustrator R.O. Blechman’s 90th birthday by reading this tribute and life story by Jan M. Ziolkowski, curator of the ‘Juggling the Middle Ages’ exhibit at Dumbarton Oaks, at this link.
WATCH
TONIGHT (10/2)
- Search for Sumatra, a circus collective based in Vermont, is streaming their show Manxome Foes, based on the familiar tale of performers looking for an audience in a world where audiences are hard to find, at 9:30 p.m. EDT. Fill out this Google form to donate and get the show link. This show is a fundraisier for POC youth to attend Circus Smirkus camp.
MONDAY (10/5)
- The Bindlestiff Open Stage Variety Show: Quarantine Edition starts at 8 p.m. EDT. Behold the marvelous talents of a worldly cast of performers, presented weekly for your entertainment (and generous tips). Watch on Facebook or YouTube. You can donate during the show at the links provided, or support their fantastic feats of circus anytime via the donation page on their website.
SATURDAY (10/10)
- Circus Harmony will perform their virtual show The Balancing Act: Walking the Pandemic Tightrope at 8 p.m. EDT. This show features Circus Harmony’s talented roster of performers sharing their circus acts (from home) for your entertainment. Tickets are free at this link, but donations are encouraged.
ANYTIME
- Happenstance Theater is streaming a filmed version of their 2019 production Cabaret Macabre, a darkly comedic series of hilariously devastating vignettes based on the stories and illustrations of Edward Gorey. Visit their website to rent the video, which you can stream for a full week!
ATTEND
October 17-18
- The Graveyard Show by Quark Circus invites you to a ‘bootstrapped, backyard, socially distant circus show about grief, death and healing.’ This production will present four live shows in Alexandria on October 17th and 18th. You can also watch the show online (edited and released just before Halloween) on Oct. 30th. Tickets for the in-person and online editions are available at this link.
- PARK UP DC presents ‘Kaleidoscope,’ a drive-in entertainment experienced produced by Dreamscape Festival Performers & Crew in the RFK stadium parking lot. This show includes dancers, aerialists, fire spinners, contortionists, drag queens and pole artists, celebrating life, love and pride. The show runs from 9-11 p.m. and you can purchase a ticket for your car at this link.
SUPPORT
- The Nouveau Sud Circus Project, based in North Carolina, is currently in the production phase for its fifth original creation, La Bestia: A Circus Journey. You can follow their progress on Instagram and support their work by buying a super-cool ‘Urban Circus’ t-shirt or hoodie from their merch page.