Spooky and thrilling circus productions abound this weekend, but your best bet is an exclusive opportunity to shape the future of circus — click here. Fortunately, there’s plenty more where that came from.
READ
- This week, The District Ringer brings you a little less than a thousand words from Dani Pierce and Shamal Halmat, two incredible circus photographers whose images appear on our website. Look out for this article this evening to learn who inspired their work, what got them into circus photography, and what’s next for them on the horizon. This content is free, but you can pay for it if you want to 🙂
TRICK OR TREAT
TONIGHT (10/30)
- The Graveyard Show by Quark Circus invites you to an online edition of their circus show about grief, death and healing. This production will air with a live emcee and prerecorded acts at 8 p.m. The show addresses themes of grief, death and healing, but is appropriate for all ages.Tickets are available at this link.
- The Witching Hour by Park Up DC will host two drive-in shows in the RFK parking lot featuring live aerial, fire spinning and drag performances projected on a 60-inch HD LED screen. The first show is for all ages on October 30th at 7 p.m. The second show is an ‘after-dark’ edition and features burlesque acts in the line-up on October 31st at 11 p.m. (performance is R rated). Visit this link for tickets.
- Plague Tales is an online streaming creation from Florida-based troupe Phantasmagoria. This show takes viewers on a dark journey of haunted stories told through dance, fire arts, aerial, stage combat, puppetry and much more. Recommended for ages 8+. Find more information at this link. Available to stream today through Monday.
- Coney Island USA presents Puppets Come Home: Spooky Sights, a puppet slam to bewilder and bedevil your senses. Featuring Alex & Olmsted, BoxCutter Collective, Cookie Tongue and more! Proceeds will benefit the performers as well as Urban Neighborhood Services Inc., a Coney Island-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering local individuals and families. Get tickets here.
- This is your last chance to catch Cabaret Macabre, Happenstance Theater’s hilariously dark production taking viewers into the realms of Edward Gorey through inventive, ghastly and funny vignettes. Visit their website for the Vimeo rental link.
TOMORROW (10/31)
- The Boston Circus Guild will present a screening of their 2018 show Cirque of the Dead: Choose Your Own Dead-venture. Hosted by Tim Ellis, this line-up of ghoulish entertainers includes acrobatics, aerial arts, magical creatures and spooky never-before-seen music video content. Proceeds from the show support the Boston Circus Guild Performer Relief Fun. The virtual doors open at 7:30 p.m. for pre-show, 8 p.m. for the official screening. More info.
WATCH
TONIGHT (10/30)
- Battle Night kicks off at 8:30 p.m. EDT with eight competitors flexing three-club juggling sequences in a head-to-head format judged in part by you. Also enjoy the Mexican grand finale held at FIMEX this Sunday (11/1). Visit the Facebook page for the Zoom links, or view on the Unicirclo Laguna YouTube channel.
TOMORROW (10/31)
- Search for Sumatra, a circus collective based in Vermont, is hosting an encore presentation of their show Manxome Foes at 7 p.m. This show is a fundraiser for POC youth to attend Circus Smirkus camp. Watch the show trailer at this link and RSVP at the Facebook event page.
MONDAY (11/2)
- The Bindlestiff Open Stage Variety Show: Quarantine Edition starts at 8 p.m. EST. 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.
FRIDAY (11/6)
- Shadows: A Digital Event is an evening of circus performances live-streamed from Bloom Movement Artistry in Charlotte, N.C., serving as a tribute to the shadow side of ourselves, the part often tucked away and hidden from the world. The show will run from 8-10 p.m. and include deep, dark and intimate reflections on the state of the world. Visit this link for tickets.
ANYTIME
- Jack Denger. Category is: legendary juggling.
PERFORM
TODAY-11/3
- Busk the Ballot is inviting street performers to sign up for shifts of ‘boredom-busting busking’ to entertain voters lining up at polling places across the country. Visit their website to learn more and to bring some joy to the determined souls exercising their civic duty.
ATTEND
NOVEMBER 7
- One-wheelers, sign up now for the Maryland Fall Unicycle Ride, hosted by the DC Unicycle Meetup group. This scenic group ride will take place in Columbia, Md., with route lengths determined by rider interest and ability. Join the group and RSVP at this link — if you need to borrow a unicycle, it’s likely that someone can lend you one. Closer to the date, the organizers will look at Covid numbers and the weather forecast to determine the ride’s fate.
NOVEMBER 7-8
- The So Cal Flow Fest invites flow artists, jugglers, and circus people to check out their weekend of online workshops and performances. This year’s theme is Visualize, and there are two ways to take advantage of this great event. Morning and afternoon workshops (10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. PST) are available for a $20 entry fee, which covers the entire weekend. Workshops and performances from 4-7 p.m. PST are FREE for all participants. Register at this link.