One of the best things about summer in New England is Circus Smirkus: Vermont’s award-winning youth circus (performers range from age 11 – 18). This year the theme of the Summer Tour was Bon Appetit – a celebration of food! Naturally, FoodPlay jumped at the chance to chat with artistic director Troy Wunderle.
The Circus’ 2015 Tour traveled throughout New England and NY, giving a total of 66 performances, and food was used as basis for all the costumes and characters. The clowns were line cooks; the “head clown” was a tiny chef; performers juggled fruits and veggies; and a gloriously messy cream pie fight took place.
Troy explained that “The show was inspired by our relationship to food…this theme allowed us to celebrate many cultures with costumes and music.”
When the creative team first met last fall to start working on the scripts, they found the topic of food to be so exciting they wrote a show that was completely unique – amazing for a circus in it’s 28th year of production! While there was no heavy storyline or message, the aesthetic and mood of how fun and joyful food can be was captured throughout the performance.
Circus Smirkus is structured, like FoodPlay, to support kids’ engagement in the performance. Kids are encouraged to sit on the ground around the show ring, and there is lots of audience participation. During intermission clowns tossed an oval of pizza dough back and forth with kids in the audience, playing a game vaguely like Frisbee.
Ultimately, said Troy, “Circus Smirkus is full of heart, energy and passion. We do what we do to inspire young and old who step into the tent.”
Is your young performer interested in joining the circus? Send an email to tour@smirkus.org to request an audition packet for the 2016 season.
Leave a Reply