STREB Announces Sofa Circus Virtual Production
Company:
STREB
The España-STREB Trapeze Academy announces airdate for Quarantine Cabaret,
a curated virtual circus production presented by Sofa Circus
The España-STREB Trapeze Academy brings together aerial and circus artists for a free virtual circus production to be broadcast on Thursday, September 17, 7:30 pm by Sofa Circus at www.sofacircus.com. A post-show Q&A with the artists will follow via Zoom.
The STREB Lab for Action Mechanics (SLAM) is home to the boundary-breaking STREB Extreme Action Company, under the direction of MacArthur Genius Award winning visionary Elizabeth Streb, but it also plays an important role in the artistic community as an incubator for a diverse community of emerging and established artists working at the intersection of circus arts and dance. Typically, an array of artists are able to rent subsidized space and perform at SLAM’s unique warehouse facility which boasts overhead rigging, 30’ ceilings and column free space replete with mats, nets and an audience capacity of 150. Since closing due to COVID-19, SLAM has worked to keep the community together and supported through free remote classes, and new collaborations.
When Sofa Circus founder Jeremy Cohen reached out to collaborate on a circus broadcast, España-STREB Trapeze Director Bobby Hedglin-Taylor quickly began reaching out to former and current renters of rehearsal space, STREB company members, teaching faculty, and other potential artists to curate a special production to help support this community of artists who no longer had a performance outlet.
On Thursday, September 17, at 7:30 pm, Hedglin-Taylor will serve as Ringmaster and Host of The España-STREB Academy’s Quarantine Cabaret, a virtual circus production featuring a selection of ten artists and presented by Sofa Circus. Artists will include Chris Delgado (German wheel), Luciany Germán (lyra), Jean-Tae Francis (diabolo), Dialectrick - Ayal Prouser, Mary Schindler Eitan Prouser (juggling/dance/music), Susanna Morehouse (aerial/hair hanging); Rae of Mars (using bespoke equipment); Polly Solomon (bubble act); Ivory Fox (hand balancing); and Dan Saab (hammock). These artists have recorded their unique “quarantine” performances at their homes over the summer. The broadcast is free to view, with “tip” donations encouraged to help support this community of artists during this difficult time. A post-show Q&A with a selection of the artist/performers moderated by Hedglin-Taylor will follow the broadcast via Zoom.
“We are proud to share the work of these ten emerging artists who have intersected with SLAM over the years in different ways - as renters, educators, students and performers,” says Hedglin-Taylor. “They have all created a unique act in their homes and which you can enjoy from the comfort of your couch.”
About SLAM and The España-STREB Trapeze Academy
In January 2003, STREB moved into a then vacant former loading facility for the Old Dutch Mustard Company. While preserving both the space’s unobstructed dimensions (24’ high ceilings and 50’ x 100’ footprint) and physical character (exposed cinder block walls and steel I-Beams and a street-level loading gate), STREB transformed 51 North 1st Street into the STREB LAB FOR ACTION MECHANICS (SLAM), a multipurpose space which accommodates the company’s school, 150-seat performance space, rehearsal facilities, trapeze rig and administrative offices. Since opening, SLAM has become a gathering spot for exchange of creative ideas across cultures of kids, dancers, gymnasts, circus specialists and pedestrians. SLAM is a place to experiment, a place that examines the difference between public and private, a place that is all public, all the time. The España-STREB Trapeze Academy opened in August of 2004 in collaboration with Noe and Ivan España, sons of a circus legacy, and fifth generation heirs to an incredible array of España circus talent and history. The Españas were featured performers with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus who now helm their own action entertainment company, IN-Entertainment. The España’s collaboration with STREB began in 1998 when they joined forces with Elizabeth Streb to create new work that explored their mutual fascination with the possibilities of human flight. Since then, this relationship has taken technical experimentation and innovation to a new level, including a custom-designed trapeze rig for SLAM. Since closing the doors to SLAM in March due to the pandemic, STREB and the España-STREB Trapeze Academy has been offering free adult classes online via STREB Remote www.streb.org/strebremote.
About Sofa Circus
Sofa Circus was founded by Jeremy Cohen, a Shriner Circus clown and co-host of the podcast "Behind the Red Nose". During the COVID-19 pandemic, he recognized that circus performers could no longer do what they love and share their talents with a live audience. Sofa Circus aims to showcase an amazing cross-section of top circus talent and give them a venue to perform for the world during a time when most are unable to appear at paid events. Sofa Circus productions encourage “tips” to help support these artists during this difficult time. www.sofacircus.com
SOFA CIRCUS presents “The España-STREB Academy’s Quarantine Cabaret”
Thursday, September 17, 2020, 7:30 pm with post-show Q&A via Zoom
FREE, with “tip” donations encouraged
Livestream: www.sofacircus.com; Q&A registration: http://bit.ly/estasofacircus
Share Your Audience Review. Your Words Are Valuable to Dance.
Are you going to see this show, or have you seen it? Share "your" review here on The Dance Enthusiast. Your words are valuable. They help artists, educate audiences, and support the dance field in general. There is no need to be a professional critic. Just click through to our Audience Review Section and you will have the option to write free-form, or answer our helpful Enthusiast Review Questionnaire, or if you feel creative, even write a haiku review. So join the conversation.
