Let’s look forward to a May filled with gratitude for sunny (and rainy) days, and further opportunities to ease back into circus life!
READ
Feedback Loop
- Enjoy Lottie’s light-hearted review of H.A. Rey’s See the Circus, a 1989 children’s book with delightful surprises hidden within its pages. Take a peek inside its flaps — and perhaps down memory lane — by reading the review at this link.
WATCH
May 1
- Students at the Circadium School of Contemporary Circus will showcase their Class 2 graduation thesis presentations at 8 p.m. EDT. This group of circus artists will be graduating in June. This show will give you a first glimpse into the creative work they are bringing to the world of circus. Watch on Facebook or YouTube.
May 16
- Urban Evolution in Alexandria will present an online showcase performed by their aerial silks students. Watch for free when the video link goes live at 6 p.m. EDT on their social media platforms. Visit their website to see their upcoming class offerings for kids and adults.
May 29
- The Zoom Circus Show that Goes Wrong is a cinematic, musical, cirque-tastic celebration of all the inevitable follies of Internet circus productions. Featuring a wide range of talented circus performers filming acts to an original soundtrack, this show will have you laughing and awe-inspired at just how spectacular our virtual mishaps can be. This is a pre-recorded show with a live emcee, starting at 8 p.m. EDT. Get tickets at this link.
Anytime
- Acrobatic Conundrum presents their virtual show taking circus beyond the tent in Between Dreams. This production is a cross between a show and a movie, collecting the Covid-stifled thoughts and emotions of 12 circus artists in a feature-length performance. The show premiered on April 17, but will be viewable through mid-May. Get tickets at this link.
BUY
- The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus weekly online variety show may be over, but you can relive the wonderful memories they created with Cirkus in Quarantine, clown and visual artist Rich Potter’s extraordinary collection of 46 watercolor paintings depicting the performers in each week’s virtual production. Pre-order the book at this link.
ATTEND
May 11
- American Circus Educators presents Discussing Mental Health, an online talk at 12 p.m. EDT facilitated by Vanessa Furlong, a professional circus and physical theatre artist, and Anne Boock Miller, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist and the founder of Suspend, a circus arts studio in Louisville, KY. This talk is free for ACE/AYCO members and pay-what-you-can (suggested $5-20) for non-members. Sign up at this link.
June 4-6
- Club Fest 2 is bringing you another virtual festival jam-packed with workshops, shows, panels and head-to-head club juggling battles. All are welcome to join this event, organized by Club Motion Juggling, which has cultivated a truly worldwide community of club jugglers. RSVP at the Facebook event page, where you will see an updated schedule and show line-up soon.
ENROLL — KIDS’ SUMMER PROGRAMS
June 21-25
- The Maryland Ensemble Theatre in Frederick is hosting The Greatest Showman, a camp for youth ages 10-15, this summer. Skills taught include physical comedy, juggling, flow arts, dance and more. Find out more details about this and other theatrical programs and enroll at this link.
LEARN
May 8
- Fearless Fire founder Thomas Santiago will be running three fire-eating workshops, from beginner to advanced, in Baltimore. These workshops will be run according to the latest CDC guidelines and Covid-19 statistics in the area. Get more information and register at the Facebook event page.
ORGANIZE
- Be the first to know the latest updates about the American Circus Alliance, which recently launched as the first national service and advocacy organization devoted to the circus industry. Sign up for their mailing list and join their #BeAnArtsHero campaign, which is lobbying elected officials to pass much-needed legislation that recognizes the massive economic contributions of artists to our country’s financial productivity and well-being. Visit this link for more information.
SUBMIT
Why do you love circus?
- This is the question we’re answering in our upcoming video compilation to celebrate World Circus Day and the First of May, when many traditional circuses used to start their touring seasons. Use your phone to film a 30-second video telling us why you love circus so we can include it in the compilation, which will appear on our Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. All the tools for submission are in this Google form.