“Every clown you talk to is afraid to use the C word. It’s not easy to be a clown.” This was one of the many interesting things Stefan Haves, director and creator of Shambles at The Actors’ Gang in Culver City, told me last week. “Clown work is like improv without a net because they’ll love you or hate you in the first 30 seconds.”

Let’s face it, it’s not like horror movies haven’t created a cottage industry out of making clowns something to be feared. Nor did serial killer John Wayne Gacy who probably inspired many a horror film creator. But the best clowns (think David Shiner and Bill Irwin) have an innate ability to entertain and provoke in equal measures.

Haves knows his way around clowning. A random encounter with Shiner lead to his participation in Fool Moon, a show that featured Shiner and Irwin that was given a special Tony Award in 1999. Haves has also spent time working on several Cirque du Soleil shows.

With Shambles, a show that combines clowning with music and aerialists and drag queens and a car wash for the audience (you’ll have to see it to understand), Haves has created an ironically titled show that is full-on entertainment, but with a purpose. As we discussed in our Zoom conversation last week. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity.

It’s the holiday season. As we approach 2023 it seems like our world is in shambles quite a bit. Yet the tone of your show, sight unseen, seems to believe that there is still joy in the world. Is there a sense of irony in the title of this show and do you believe that there is still joy to be found in the world? 

That’s a really great question because I actually pivot every interview to that. I like to say that throughout history – I’m talking all history – after a plague comes a renaissance. I knew that when we were in the middle of this dour time in the pandemic, that we’re all becoming introverted, we’re all becoming insulated, we’re all becoming fearful. Lord knows the introvert in each and every one of us has taken root and is pretty darn happy in our house.

It’s going to be the artists that are going to emerge on the other side. It’s really the artist’s job to forge a new trail for everybody. I looked at it as the most amazing opportunity to assemble the world class introverts who have been not able to work for a long time. I have 17 performers in The Actors’ Gang. I have six band members and a band leader. I have six Cirque du Soleil-caliber variety performers all in the same night. I did the same kind of show ten years ago, but that was ten years ago. Life has changed.

So this one is a very gender-fluid and immersive show, which seems to be two directions that I’m learning from the newer generations. I’ve taken this opportunity to really learn and see what motivates people to get into the theater. 

If I look at what’s been going on even pre-pandemic, but certainly post-pandemic, it seems that pure joy is in rare supply in the performing arts. Has the pandemic and everything that’s gone on in the past two-three years made us so entirely serious that we’ve lost our sense of humor and our sense of joy?

I’m really glad you brought this up because I teach clown and clown is in the here and now experience. So when a guy walks on stage, it’s different than improv. In improv there’s the conceit of the who, what and where, things are supposedly happening off stage. But the clown inhales and exhales with the public and discovers things in the here and now. It brings people out of that mind place and into kind of body intelligence of like what’s going on? The child is alive in all of us, asleep in a lot of us, but alive. We give a funny nod to satire in this, but then we don’t really have a point-of-view. We just want to do like a DreamWorks movie. We want to wink to a cat whose name is Feline Musk taking over planets and then we’re never going to talk about it again.

In the clowns that I’ve always loved it’s the pathos as much as the comedic timing that has attracted me them. If pathos is the flip side of comedy is there a flip side to Shambles? 

We come out like gangbusters. Laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh. All of a sudden it turns around with a song called Walking in Memphis and showing that our actual lead is a lonely man. Then it ends with Hallelujah. So the flip-flop happens, but the flip-flop happens so utterly quick. What I like to say is the clown always has to be hipper than the room. You hate clowns when they’re not like that, when they’re trying to make you laugh. You hate them. That’s why teaching clown is so hard. First 30 seconds you love ’em or hate ’em. You don’t kind of like them. If you kind of like them, you hate ’em.

What makes you laugh? 

Well, laughter is a byproduct. So everybody’s like, oh clown you’re going to make me laugh. No. Buffoons make you laugh. A clown makes you happy and gives you connection. He’s not looking for a laugh. What makes you laugh? An obstacle and what is your prowess getting around that obstacle. It’s very math-oriented as opposed to I hope mommy and daddy like my skit. 

The reason I ask is we’re living in a culture of political correctness and cancel culture. A lot of people who are involved in comedy and the creative arts are concerned that it’s ultimately having a stifling influence on what can be said and how it can be said. Do you have any concerns about the path that we’re headed on and whether this will have a lingering impact and a stifling impact on the creative arts? 

First of all, I’m part of the problem. I’m a 63-year-old baby-boomer white male. My demographic has had a pretty good run for a few thousand years. I have to give over to the fact that for me to have that kind of power other people were marginalized. Although I love Don Rickles, I know Don Rickles wouldn’t work today. However, Don Rickles in his day was inclusive, but that was a generational change. Now do we cancel Don Rickles because he did certain things within the construct of where society was? I don’t know. It’s a tricky thing. People want to cancel Woody Allen and Woody Allen movies because of his personal behavior. Are they going to cancel Charlie Chaplin movies because of his personal behavior or is it just current comedians? So so there’s a real reckoning taking place and there’s a real conversation.

But the thing that I want to pivot from is the blame game that millennials are too fragile to understand. They’re not tough enough. I birthed these kids. So I have a responsibility to find out how we can all go forward and not complain about it; find common ground.

I even had someone say to me when I was teaching clown class “I saw a Robin Williams special. He was kind of creepy.” If you think about it it’s a white guy who’s playing Indian men, Mexicans, Blacks. He’s actually always making dick jokes. He’s doing everything. So I looked at this group of kids that I was with, and I’m like, “He is my idol. I saw him live and he was the most extraordinary being I’ve ever seen.” He fused clown and stand-up.

I said to these kids, “Who do you have today? Let me see and explain to me what it is.” They couldn’t tell me. So I think it’s a slow process of finding who the next person is going to hold the mantle and go across so everybody will be together. But I can’t be judgmental about it.

As you’re discussing Robin Williams I’m thinking he falls under the category, for me, of somebody who was an equal-opportunity offender, which is part of the tradition of comedy.

Absolutely. if you take away archetypes, commedia dell’arte is nothing. If I can’t do a stereotype, I’m dead. 

I saw Bill Irwin in Fool Moon. Then I saw his Tony Award-winning performance in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? It gets my mind thinking about the skill set that a clown has to have to be able to pull off both those shows. What do you think we can learn about clowns vis-á-vis someone like Bill Irwin mastering the clowning that he does in Samuel Beckett’s work, that he did in Fool Moon and then have ability to pull off Edward Albee’s dialogue?

We’re talking about a passionate man who loves performance, studies the greats and comedy. It’s very interesting because another thing about working with both Dave and Bill is David is all about flow. Bill is all about structure. David’s the kind of guy who’s like, let me get out there. When I’m in front of the audience it’s going to happen. Bill is give me the structure in which I can kill. That’s an interesting way to look at at different actors. Are you flow-based or are you structure-based? Those guys were the perfect combination for one another. Bill would discipline David and David would take Bill into the histrionic crazy.

What joy does putting together a show like Shambles give you and how do you think that radiates from you through your ensemble and into the audience?

This is the Bermuda Triangle of depression. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s is the time where people feel more isolated, more marginalized. More a microscope on our dysfunctional families. I had a trauma as a kid. My father died around this time when I was nine years old. 40 years ago when I did that first Cardigan Christmas show, I’m like, Oh, these are the people I want to spend the holidays with and we want to invite the rest of our family into the theater.

To actually create a utopian holiday, a theoretic community, for these three weeks, I think that’s a way more healthy place for me to be. All of us in this place, 35 people, we’re the best of us for the hours we’re there. We’re all the best of us and we’re providing and gifting the best of us to other people here in Los Angeles.

Shambles runs at The Actors’ Gang through December 31st.

Photo: Gina Belafonte in Shambles (Photo courtesy The Actors’ Gang)

The post Director Stefan Haves Tackles the “C” Word appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

BREAKING NEWS: Disney’s musical Frozen has closed on Broadway.

American Ballet Theatre has canceled their 2020 Season at the Metropolitan Opera. The shows included are ABT Then and Now, the New York premiere of Of Love and Rage, as well as productions of La Bayadère, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Jane Eyre and Swan Lake.

Antaeus Theatre Company has canceled all remaining performances of Measure for Measure and their Classic Sundays reading of The Roaring Girl. 

Bob Baker Marionette Theatre has announced postponement of all scheduled performances and events. No tentative re-opening date has been provided.

Boston Court Pasadena has postponed all performances through May 27th.

Their production of Assassins been rescheduled for September 10th – October 18th

The Broad Stage has announced the suspension of all remaining performances in their 2019-2020 season.

Mnozil Brass on March 26th.

Hiromi: Solo on March 28th

Red Hen Press: New Traditions on March 29th

National Geographic Live: Hidden Wild: Secrets of the Everglades on April 9th and 10th

Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap on April 11th.

Dance for All on April 13th

USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance April 17th – April 19th

Beethoven, Bagels & Banter on April 19th

Angel’s Bone (co-presented with LA Opera Off Grand) May 1st – May 3rd

Diana Damrau & Nicolas Testé on May 16th

Lynn Harrell, cellist on May 17th

*Broadway in Hollywood has announced the cancellation of SpongeBob Musical at The Dolby Theatre.

The Illusionists, scheduled to play April 14th – April 19th at the Dolby Theatre has been rescheduled for January 12th – January 17th.

The tour of Mean Girls, scheduled to play the Dolby Theatre April 28th – June 7th, 2020 will be rescheduled.

The tour of My Fair Lady, scheduled to play the Dolby Theatre June 12th – July 5th will be rescheduled.

The tour of The Band’s Visit, scheduled to play at the Dolby Theatre July 7th – July 26th, has been suspended.

*The Cher Show is postponing its tour until 2021. Not official announcement yet, but this may impact the Spring 2021 booking at the Dolby Theatre.

*All Broadway Shows in New York have been suspended through September 6th.

Hangmen, which had gone into previews, will not re-open. A revival of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf will not re-open.

Beetlejuice, which was set to close at the Winter Garden on June 6th, is now officially closed. Though a 2021 tour is planned, there are still discussions of moving the show to another theatre.

*Disney’s musical Frozen has officially closed. It is the first long-running show to close as a result of the pandemic. The official closing day is March 11th, the last day of performances before Broadway suspended all performances. The show had 26 previews and 825 performances.

CAP UCLA has announced the suspension of the remainder of the 2019-2020 season.

Center Theatre Group has announced that all remaining shows in the 2019-2020 season have been postponed. This includes 1776 scheduled at the Ahmanson Theatre, King James at the Mark Taper Forum and Sakina’s Restaurant at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

They join the previously announced postponements of Once on This Island, The Antipodes and the annual Block party.

As it relates to Once on This Island, CTG is working on rescheduling the show. Producers have canceled this show’s tour, but the possibility of a reduced tour post-Coronavirus is being explored.

Cirque du Soleil has announced the cancellation of all performances of Volta scheduled at the Orange County Fair and Events Center in Costa Mesa.

Colburn School has canceled all performances and events through April 12.

East West Players has announced a postponement of the entire run of Assassins. They have also announced postponement of the 54th Anniversary Visionary Awards Gala.

The Echo Theater Company is canceling performances of Poor Clare, scheduled to open March 14, through the end of March. Performances resume April 3. 

*The Ford Theatres summer 2020 season has been canceled.

The Fountain Theatre has suspended the world premiere of Human Interest Story. The April 25 Los Angeles premiere of If I Forget has been postponed to later date yet to be determined. 

Geffen Playhouse has announced the following:

Bernhardt/Hamlet, scheduled to begin previews on April 7th, has been canceled.

Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center has announced the cancellation of the Pina Bausch’s Palermo Palermo as Tantztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch canceled their tour.

Malpaso Dance Company has canceled its spring tour of the United States. Therefore the engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre on May 15th – May 17th has been canceled.

Goodspeed Musicals has postponed their April production of South Pacific. Their fall production of Candide has been canceled.

*The Hollywood Bowl 2020 season has been canceled.

The Industry’s Sweet Land has canceled all remaining performances. They will be offering a filmed version being streamed starting March 23rd.

Laguna Playhouse has made the following announcements:

Hershey Felder’s Monsieur Chopin, originally scheduled for April, has been moved to October of this year.

Rocky Mountain High, a Tribute to John Denver has been rescheduled to January 7th – January 10th of 2021.

They are trying to reschedule Ann sometime in the coming year.

The world premiere of To Sir, With Love, has been canceled.

The La Jolla Playhouse has announced that all performances by or at La Jolla Music Society, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Opera and San Diego Symphony will be canceled and/or postponed through the end of March 2020

La Mirada Theatre has announced postponement of all shows through May 10th.

The following shows have been rescheduled:

The Sound of Music will play May 15th to June 7th.

Mamma Mia will play June 12th to July 5th.

They will be rescheduling the following shows:

Bossa Nova Wave (originally scheduled for April 3)

Classic Albums Live – Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (originally scheduled for April 4)

Circus Science Spectacular (originally scheduled for April 5)

The Center of the Universe (originally scheduled for April 9)

The Brubeck Brothers (originally scheduled for May 12)

La Mirada Symphony (originally scheduled for May 17)

Dance, Dance, Dance! (originally scheduled for May 22)

Sol de Mexico (originally scheduled for June 27)

*LA Opera has canceled the final performance of Roberto Devereux scheduled for March 14th.

Angel’s Bone, scheduled to be performed May 1st – May 3rd, has been canceled as The Broad Stage canceled their remaining events for the 2019-2020 season.

Pelléas and Mélisande, scheduled for May 2nd – May 23rd, has been canceled.

Rodelinda, scheduled for May 8th, has been canceled.

*The Marriage of Figaro, scheduled for May 6th – May 28th, has been canceled.

*Saturday Mornings at the Opera, scheduled for June 6th, has been canceled.

*Great Opera Choruses, scheduled for June 7th at The Soraya, has been canceled.

Lincoln Center in New York has announced that the musical Flying Over Sunset has been moved to the fall as has the opera Intimate Apparel. Both were previously scheduled to open this spring.

Long Beach Opera has postponed until next season its production of The Lighthouse.

*Their planned productions of Billy the Kid (scheduled for May 3rd – May 10th) and Frida (scheduled for June 20th – June 28th) have been canceled.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra has announced postponement of this weekend’s concert, Border Crossings, scheduled for March 12th at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica and on March 13th at The Huntington.

They have also announced cancellation of the Ravel, Strauss + Contreras concerts on March 28th and 29th.

Beethoven + Mendelssohn scheduled for April 30th and May 1st has been canceled.

Sheku plus Eroica scheduled at multiple venues for May 15th – May 18th, has been canceled.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center is postponing its production of Hair that was scheduled to open on March 27th.

Los Angeles Master Chorale has announced the following cancellations:

The Fauré Requiem performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall on March 28th and 29th have been canceled.

The performance of Lagrime di San Pietro at the Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University on March 19th has been canceled.

Come Away to the Skies: A Celebration of Alice Parker, scheduled for May 17th, has been canceled.

Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced the cancellation of all performances for the rest of the season at Walt Disney Concert Hall. (All concerts through June 6th.)

Manhattan Theatre Club has postponed their planned revival of How I Learned to Drive until next season.

MCC Theatre in New York has announced the All The Natalie Portmans played its final performance yesterday. Hollywood Dreams, which was to have begun previews next week, will be rescheduled.

They also announced that their Miscast 20 gala has been rescheduled from April 6th to June 15th

The Metropolitan Opera has canceled all performances for the rest of this season. This includes all scheduled Live in HD presentations

The McKittrick Hotel in New York, home to Sleep No More, The Woman in Black and Speakeasy Magick, has suspended all performances through April 12th.

Musco Center for the Arts has canceled all performances through early May.

The Music Center has announced that all venues (The Ahmanson Theatre, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mark Taper Forum and Walt Disney Concert Hall) will be closed until further notice. This impacts the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, Center Theatre Group, the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center.

A Noise Within has announced the following cancellations:

The remaining performances of The Winter’s Tale, Alice in Wonderland, and all other public events have been canceled through the end of April.

Alice in Wonderland will now open their 2020-2021 season August 22nd – September 13th.

Sweeney Todd, has been rescheduled for September 27th – November 15th.

The Odyssey Theatre is canceling performances of The Serpent through March 29 with performances resuming April 3.

The Old Globe has announced that their productions of Little Women and Faceless will be postponed.

The Open Fist, currently in residence at the Atwater Village Theatre, has suspended all performances of Rorschach Fest.

The Outer Critics Circle Awards, scheduled for May 21st, have been postponed.

The Pacific Symphony has announced the following in relation to their schedule:

Pink Martini on March 13th and 14th has been postponed. They have been rescheduled for June 17th and 18th.

Nowruz on March 28th has been postponed.

The Texas Tenors on April 3rd and 4th has been cancelled.

Verdi’s Otello on April 23rd, 25th and 28th has been cancelled.

Windborne’s the Music of the Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards 1969, originally scheduled for May 1sts and 2nd, has been rescheduled to June 19th and 20th.

Yang Plays Rachmaninoff, scheduled for May 7th – May 9th has been canceled.

Beethoven’s Razumovsky Quartet, scheduled for May 10th has been canceled.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame with live accompaniment by organist Dennis James, scheduled for May 10th, has been canceled.

Pacific Symphony Youth Ensemble concerts scheduled for May 9th, 11th and 12th has all been canceled.

*The Pantages Theatre has announced suspension of performances of Hamilton through September 6th.

The Pasadena Playhouse has announced that all performances through May 31st.

Ann, scheduled for May 27th – July 28th has been postponed.

Their production of Annie Get Your Gun, scheduled for July 28th – August 23rd has been canceled.

*The Pasadena Pops has canceled their 2020 summer season and will reschedule the following concerts for their 2021 summer season:

Sway with Me: Latin Rhythm and Swing scheduled for June 19
Road to Motown scheduled for July 10
Fleetwood Mac: A Tribute scheduled for July 24
Michael Feinstein Sings Sinatra’s Songbook scheduled for August 14
100 Years of Broadway scheduled for August 28 

The Pasadena Symphony has rescheduled their March 21st Mozart & McGegan concert to May 23rd.

The Public Theatre in New York (and the adjoining Joe’s Pub) has canceled all performances through April 12th.

*Chicago’s Ravinia Festival has canceled their 2020 season.

Roundabout Theatre in New York announced that their productions of Birthday Candles with Debra Messing and Caroline, Or Change will open in the fall. Both shows were on the cusp of starting previews when Broadway theatres shut down.

San Francisco Opera has canceled their summer season scheduled to run June 7th to July 3rd.

*The Segerstrom Center has announced the following postponements, rescheduling and cancellations:

Orange County Millennial Choirs and Orchestras on April 1st has been rescheduled to June 2nd

Shen Yun from April 3rd – April 12th has been postponed

Ailey II on April 11th has been postponed

Chicago from April 14th – April 19th has been canceled

Sibelius Piano Trio on April 17th has been canceled

Clayton Brothers Quintet on April 18th has been canceled

Earth Day Celebration on April 18th has been canceled

Distinguished Speakers Series: President George W. Bush on April 20th has been postponed

Tuesday Night Dance Lessons on April 21st and 28th has been canceled

Laura Benanti from April 23rd – April 25th has been postponed

Best of Dance on April 25th has been canceled

Beckman Arts and Science Family Festival on May 2nd has been postponed.

Paper Planet on May 2nd and 3rd has been canceled.

Celtic Woman on May 2nd has been canceled.

*Les Misérables, scheduled for May 5th – May 17th and rescheduled for October 6th – October 18th has been canceled.

Emerson String Quartet on May 7th has been postponed.

Silent Disco on May 8th has been postponed.

Rock, Paper, Scissors: CUMBIA! on May 15th has been postponed.

Swing Under the Stars on May 29th has been canceled.

*Mean Girls, scheduled for June 16th – June 28th, has been postponed. The venue is hoping to reschedule.

*The Band’s Visit, originally scheduled for August 12th – August 23rd has been rescheduled for April 13th – April 25th, 2021.

*The Lion King, originally scheduled for September 2nd – September 27th, has been canceled.

*Ain’t Too Proud to Beg – The Life and Times of The Temptations, scheduled for November 17th – 29th has been rescheduled for September 14th – 26th, 2021.

*The Donna Summer Musical, originally scheduled for January 12th – 17th, has been cancelled due to a rescheduling of the show’s tour.

*The Cher Show, originally scheduled for April 13th – April 25th has been canceled due to a rescheduling of the show’s tour.

Shakespeare in the Park in New York has canceled this summer’s season.

Soka Performing Arts Center has announced the postponement of the remainder of its 2019-2020 season.

The Soraya has announced the following cancellations and postponements:

The Jerusalem Quartet on April 5th has been canceled.

The Count Basie Orchestra on April 9th has been postponed.

Amir El Saffar on April 16th has been canceled.

Bollywood Boulevard on April 19th has been canceled.

Randy Newman’s Faust on May 9th has been canceled.

Violins of Hope, which was postponed, will have an opening night concert by the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony on January 14th.

South Coast Rep has announced the cancellation of all performances of Outside Mullingar beginning March 13th. (They are “working to make the performance available online. More details will be announced in the coming days.”)

*San Francisco’s Stern Grove Festival has canceled their 2020 season.

Tonality has postponed their A Call to Restore concert that was set to take place on March 15th. Another date will be announced shortly.

The Tony Awards, scheduled for June 7th, have been postponed.

The Verdi Chorus has canceled their Opera Gets Real performances scheduled for April 18th and 19th.

*The Wallis has announced the cancellation of all performances through June 30th.

If you have an event that has been postponed or canceled and would like it included in this list, please send the details to contact@Culturalattache.co

Photo “Comedy/Tragedy on Keys” by Craig L. Byrd

The post Coronavirus Cancellations & Postponements – Updated 5/14/20 appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Blue Man Group was formed in 1987. From their humble beginnings in New York, this show, which features three performers with blue masks with no dialogue, has become a worldwide phenomenon.

Speechless is a 90-minute show without an intermission. Blue Man Group utilizes music and array of stage effects to entertain audiences. If there is one thing they are known for it is their paint drums.

Perhaps Speechless should come with a cautionary note about the possible exposure to paint and other products during the performance. (Balcony members need not be concerned.)

Cirque du Soleil purchased Blue Man Group a couple years ago. That probably factors significantly into this new tour.

For tickets to Speechless, go here.

Photo of Blue Man Group courtesy of the Hollywood Pantages  Theatre

The post Blue Man Group: Speechless appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Amaluna had its premiere seven years ago, so when I spoke to Paulus by phone about the show, she had the advantage of perspective, but retained the same passion she seems to have had when she was first approached doing the show.

“This was one of those no-brainer situations,” she says. “I had been a super fan of Cirque du Soleil watching their shows and marveling at them. I got an e-mail asking, ‘would you ever be interested?’ When I heard the follow-up that Guy Laliberté [co-founder of Cirque] thought it should be an homage to women, that kind of sold me immediately.”

As a director keenly interested in storytelling, Paulus thought about what framework would be best for a show that turns out to be 70% women and 30% men and, like all Cirque shows, does not rely on language. So she turned to Shakespeare and Mozart as anchors for her story.

“It was almost like creating a story ballet,” Paulus says of her approach to Amaluna. “I was interested in putting these archetypes on stage that were given an internal sense of the world. What I took from The Tempest was the island where there’s a figure who has magical powers. I made it a woman – Prospera, and she has a daughter, which was also interesting to me. And a coming of age when Miranda meets Ferdinand and goes through the rite of passage. It’s really a mash-up of The Tempest, The Magic Flute, in particular the trials that go on in The Magic Flute. The young couple goes through tests of their love and, back to The Tempest, the men arrive due to a shipwreck.”

What she had to figure out was how to weave the kid of acts Cirque is best-known for within the narrative she had written.

“A Cirque show is not a tent show without incredible acrobatics, so that’s a real base-line thing,” she says of her process. “It’s how you lay up the acrobats. You understand that they are characters with a thru-line. To give you an example, we have a sequence where Miranda is lifted up all the way to the center of the tent and the young lover is trying to catch her. He does the Chinese pole act and it’s a metaphor of reaching up the pole and then at the end of the act he levitates after her. It’s not like the acrobatic act is going to tell the story the way choreography does in a musical, but there are ways to set the act and it is adding to the characters you’re learning to love.”

When she was first asked to “join the circus,” the idea of a female-centric show probably seemed radical. After all, it was 2012. Today it feels completely topical. And Paulus thinks that’s as it should be.

“The idea of an all-woman show was kind of exciting and interesting instead of how necessary,” she says. ” I feel we’re necessary now. The topicality of all-women, in this moment, has expanded. It’s representation. I’ve always felt the theatre and the arts is where we confront the world. That there were top women across the world we could feature, of course, we needed to do that. The stats show us things are getting better, but not always. We have more women in Congress and women of color, but we have more work to do. It’s great to have these moments when things change, like the first time Cirque du Soleil does this. You do have to recognize it and bang the gong so people notice it and then we can move on.”

Paulus, who has two daughters, is passionate about the lesson they learned from the show and the point Amaluna can make to other girls.

“I feel that no one should tell you what you limits are. Cirque is an art form about pushing your limits. That’s what you really learn. It’s extreme performance. That beauty of seeing people at the top of their game because they worked hard and they have passion and they will not accept the limits of what they can achieve. It’s not just a fun show, it has a deep power.”

There was a time when people used to dream of running away and joining the circus. Laliberté even said of Cirque du Soleil that “inside every adult there’s still child that lingers. We’re giving people the opportunity to dream like children.” Did that sensibility find its way into Paulus?

“I don’t think of my experience as dreaming like a child,” she says after pondering the question for a moment. “It’s more like a welcome to a complex world of how it all happens. You go to Montreal and you are invited into the creation room. You put research and pictures and trees and goddesses and everything on the wall. I sat and cut budgets. There’s always the nitty gritty work you have to do. But the idea of letting your mind go anywhere…that’s the dreaming. And the rigor of how you translate that, that was the dream realized.”

For tickets go here.

Featured photo by Markus Moellenberg/(c) 2016 Cirque du Soleil

The post Director Diane Paulus Conjures Up a Female-Centric Cirque appeared first on Cultural Attaché.