Monday, January 23, 2017
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Fish and Roux have officially joined the cast of Flow Show 9
The news is in! The second round of cuts to the Flow Show happened, and Roux and I are now officially a part of the Flow Show SF 9! The Flow Show will be held April 14th-16th, 2017 at Dance Mission Theater in San Francisco CA.
We join other luminaries of our art such as Brian Thompson, Jake Yoshioka, Noel Yee, Danielle Good, Cassie McKenny, Brooke McKenzie Simper, SolRiso, Delila Sayso, Irie Gilbert, Cary Jerome, Wryly Fable, Dylan Bradley, Anni Kupper, Sara Noelle, Amy Wieliczka, Devin Tucker, Erol Efendioglu, Lane Lillquist, Russell McGeowan, Kyle Johnson, Cassaundra Smyth, Paul Savage, Leilani Ruffhouse, Jacob Turner, and Marlen Hazel
We join other luminaries of our art such as Brian Thompson, Jake Yoshioka, Noel Yee, Danielle Good, Cassie McKenny, Brooke McKenzie Simper, SolRiso, Delila Sayso, Irie Gilbert, Cary Jerome, Wryly Fable, Dylan Bradley, Anni Kupper, Sara Noelle, Amy Wieliczka, Devin Tucker, Erol Efendioglu, Lane Lillquist, Russell McGeowan, Kyle Johnson, Cassaundra Smyth, Paul Savage, Leilani Ruffhouse, Jacob Turner, and Marlen Hazel
Thursday, January 5, 2017
The New Year
December was a busy month! While busy is exciting and carries coin, I am now glad for a spot of what counts for rest. My January is all about quiet training and preparation for the steady times.
My first challenging job of December was performing as Santa Claus for the first time. I spent two weeks diligently researching Santa performance, as well as practicing the walk, talk, and that jolly laugh. Some costume malfunctions with the fat suit were handled with gutted pillows from Target. Surprise atmospheric effects, soap suds jetted into the air to look like snow, ended up drenching me, but overall it was a lot of fun. I'm really proud to have succeeded so wildly in this role. Children are always the most fun to work with, both for the challenges they present for improvisation and for the unalloyed happiness. If you're curious, the number one gift request was for a bicycle. Only one child asked for guns, twelve of them specifically.
My next job had me travelling to Texas, as a clown. I was incredibly happy to find the birthday boy is fond of both my favorite color and my favorite animal. I made him a purple balloon octopus larger than he was. It was grueling flying in Saturday morning, performing Saturday afternoon, and then flying back to California Sunday morning. I have already learned that TSA does not appreciate people flying in a clown outfits, so I did not repeat that mistake. This was also my first outing with my new purple leather clown luggage.
My third job of the month was one I had been looking forward to quite a bit. A large private party in a ballroom with several hundred guests. A small outfit of circus misfits, five of us, held down entertaining the crowd. I was delighted to come out in my white tuxedo and perform for such a friendly audience. I was also happy for the spacious dance floor, where I could interact with guests in between working the room.
My next job saw me performing as a living statue for a private party. Little did I know that I would be a living statue serving food! I suppose there is no escaping the service industry. Being a statue is interesting because it works against my desire to emotionally connect with the audience through movement, but little ticks and resets do help to show them you're there to perform. It's sort of meditative, you focus very intently on holding a dramatic pose and become increasingly aware of so many parts of your body.
I took a quick break to visit family in Houston and New Orleans. I dream of someday performing again in New Orleans. If you haven't been, I'll gladly talk your ears off about my beloved home. If you have been, you already know. I was glad to briefly connect with some circus family in the South; I even made a play video with one of those clowns down there. Thanks for coming out, Jandro.
Final gig of the year was on New Year's Eve. Roux Brûlée and I traveled to Fresno to perform for a private party. The crowd skewed older, so it took a little while to get them warmed up with circus tricks. By the end of the night, we had them all on the dance floor with us. One of my favorite moments was when a senior gentlemen requested I dance with his wife, as he had an old hip injury. I had a lot of fun dancing to Chuck Berry with her, and she likely showed me up. My other favorite moment was a bit of performance Roux and I did, where I danced with her on stilts as she twirled me around like a puppet. It was a happy way to bring in the New Year.
So here's to the New Year. I'm booked to help teach Boy Scouts juggling with the amazing Kyle Johnson in February. Roux and I are prepping our Flow Show act for April. I've received confirmation that in April I'll be performing and teaching at Manipulation 2017, down in Idyllwild. I've got applications out. I've got jobs to pick through. It's going to be another good year of growth for this Fish.
My first challenging job of December was performing as Santa Claus for the first time. I spent two weeks diligently researching Santa performance, as well as practicing the walk, talk, and that jolly laugh. Some costume malfunctions with the fat suit were handled with gutted pillows from Target. Surprise atmospheric effects, soap suds jetted into the air to look like snow, ended up drenching me, but overall it was a lot of fun. I'm really proud to have succeeded so wildly in this role. Children are always the most fun to work with, both for the challenges they present for improvisation and for the unalloyed happiness. If you're curious, the number one gift request was for a bicycle. Only one child asked for guns, twelve of them specifically.
My next job had me travelling to Texas, as a clown. I was incredibly happy to find the birthday boy is fond of both my favorite color and my favorite animal. I made him a purple balloon octopus larger than he was. It was grueling flying in Saturday morning, performing Saturday afternoon, and then flying back to California Sunday morning. I have already learned that TSA does not appreciate people flying in a clown outfits, so I did not repeat that mistake. This was also my first outing with my new purple leather clown luggage.
My third job of the month was one I had been looking forward to quite a bit. A large private party in a ballroom with several hundred guests. A small outfit of circus misfits, five of us, held down entertaining the crowd. I was delighted to come out in my white tuxedo and perform for such a friendly audience. I was also happy for the spacious dance floor, where I could interact with guests in between working the room.
My next job saw me performing as a living statue for a private party. Little did I know that I would be a living statue serving food! I suppose there is no escaping the service industry. Being a statue is interesting because it works against my desire to emotionally connect with the audience through movement, but little ticks and resets do help to show them you're there to perform. It's sort of meditative, you focus very intently on holding a dramatic pose and become increasingly aware of so many parts of your body.
I took a quick break to visit family in Houston and New Orleans. I dream of someday performing again in New Orleans. If you haven't been, I'll gladly talk your ears off about my beloved home. If you have been, you already know. I was glad to briefly connect with some circus family in the South; I even made a play video with one of those clowns down there. Thanks for coming out, Jandro.
Final gig of the year was on New Year's Eve. Roux Brûlée and I traveled to Fresno to perform for a private party. The crowd skewed older, so it took a little while to get them warmed up with circus tricks. By the end of the night, we had them all on the dance floor with us. One of my favorite moments was when a senior gentlemen requested I dance with his wife, as he had an old hip injury. I had a lot of fun dancing to Chuck Berry with her, and she likely showed me up. My other favorite moment was a bit of performance Roux and I did, where I danced with her on stilts as she twirled me around like a puppet. It was a happy way to bring in the New Year.
So here's to the New Year. I'm booked to help teach Boy Scouts juggling with the amazing Kyle Johnson in February. Roux and I are prepping our Flow Show act for April. I've received confirmation that in April I'll be performing and teaching at Manipulation 2017, down in Idyllwild. I've got applications out. I've got jobs to pick through. It's going to be another good year of growth for this Fish.
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