Press & Reviews
The Sexy Risque Rocky Horror Circus in SF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oakland’s Grassroots Circus, Acts Both Modern and Retro
Nellie Bowles for the San Francisco Chronicle. September 3rd, 2013.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Vespertine Circus Rolls Into Town
By Loraine Gonzalez for Tube Magazine. July 31st, 2012
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vespertine Circus, An Evening of Delight
By Mr. M for SF Gothic. October 22, 2011
“The fact of the matter is that the Vespertine Circus was an immense delight, and my words can’t really endorse or recommend them nearly as well as they deserve. A charming set of performers and personae who put on a lovely show in a comfortable space and are a pure joy to watch. They make me want to run off and join the circus.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Circus Dream in a Digital Age
by Michael Shufro for The Oak Leaf. 3/1/11
“Do we all see the human imagination, the wellspring of our science and art, through the lens of a machine? The thought was unsettling. So when the most imaginative place I could think of arrived in town, I leapt over my laptop to investigate, and ran away—if only for one night—to join the circus.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A company of Circus Performers Thrives in West Oakland
Bunny trains with The Vespertine Circus, a West Oakland troupe of aerialists, jugglers and all-around performers.
This story takes us under the big top. Traveling troupes of trained animals, acrobats and clowns may have originated in Ancient Rome, but today in West Oakland, a group of twenty-somethings are not just reinventing the old art form–they’re living it.
To listen to Nicole Jones’ radio piece on The Vespertine Circus, visit OaklandNorth.net.
Originally aired on KALX Thursday, April 14th, 2011. Also aired on Oakland North radio, and featured (above) on SF Gate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scotts Valley Hosts 12th Annual At & Wine Festival
Kimberly White for The Santa Cruz Sentinel. 8/11/2011
“For the first time, members of the homegrown Vespertine Circus will entertain the crowds with a variety of acts, including clowning, juggling and aerial tricks on a free-standing rig.
The Oakland-based group was founded last year by Bunny Homes, a 2009 graduate of UC Santa Cruz who came up with the idea of creating her own circus while still a student. The group now includes three other UC Santa Cruz alumni, as well as 23-year-old Scotts Valley resident Travis Cone.
Travis’ interest in performing started with juggling while he was in high school, and he’s been performing with Vespertine since January. Two members of the group performed at the grand opening of the Scotts Valley library in June, he said, and they just returned last month from a performance in New Orleans.
Asked what he likes about circus life, Travis said it’s really a dream come true.
“It’s nice to know that if you persist in your dreams, they can come true if you work at it – just happen to fall into a circus at one point in your life,” he added.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SF Chronicle – Occupy Oakland
“Jordan Joel and Bunny Zlotnik of the Vespertine Circus perform at Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland on Saturday. The troupe had heard of the protestors’ return, and wanted to show support.” – Thomas Webb for The Chronicle. October 30th, 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Vespertine Circus’ Campaign to Buy a New Rig
Mariah Carle for the Oakland Local. 1/10/11
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Circus to Cocktails
Richard Whittaker for The Austin Chronicle. July 9th, 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Vespertine Circus Comes to Town.. In SLO!
Cal Coast News. July 3rd, 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phoenix New Times
Flier of the Week: The Vespertine Circus. July, 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Variety Show Explores On-Stage Erotica
By Justine DaCosta – for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. February 18th, 2010
Reviews:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“That was the best performance of Rocky Horror that I have ever seen. You are such a talented group of performers and artists. I can’t wait to see your next show. I am sure that you will come up with something totally amazing.”- Paul Tidd, Sept 2016, San Francisco, CA.
“Amazing show tonight! Y’all should be very proud of yourselves. And as one who knows the whole movie by heart, the musical references were so on-point!! Just made it so much cooler.” – Noa Elad, Sept 2016, San Francisco CA
“This was a lot of fun, and the performers were phenomenal!” – Karen Churchill, Sept 2016, San Francisco CA
“I had so much fun last night. You silly Transylvanians know how to put on a show. Every act was fantasy fantastic! Let’s do the Time Warp again!” – Liza Scully, Sept 2016, San Francisco, CA
“Hopefully these are short enough to be ok. That show was great and so much fun! There was a freakin’ motorcycle and “Rocky” is a great juggler! And OMG! Nikki is one of my favorite songs, so thanks for that. I missed digitally capturing a lot of awesomeness, but I DO recommend spending your time and money on enjoying this show if you can. This weekend ONLY!” – Constance Mathews, Sept 2016, San Francisco, CA
“What a wonderful evening of young, immensely and uniquely talented performers sharing their remarkable callings within the envelope of the deep and magical traditions of circus art – clowning, acrobatics, mime, comedy, musicality, and costume. Most awe-inspiring was the utter sincerity, humility, team-work, good cheer, and incredible lightness of being of these intensely dedicated artists. An evening of sheer joy, wonder, and a dream of a better world.” -Richard Kaplan, July 2012, Oakland, CA.
“I do not have nearly enough words to describe what I just experienced… A Masterfully constructed ensemble of Enormously excellent performers woven into the truest Tapestry of sensational talent, and tremendous feats of acrobatics, that has ever graced the city of Olympia.” – Ben, July 2012, Olympia, WA.
“The modern Vespertine Circus promises an evening that will leave you amazed. With provocative costumes, aerial artists, and intimate atmosphere, you feel like you are part of the action, not just a spectator.” – Amy Jeffries for Piedmont Patch
“I wanted to take a moment to thank you, and the entire Vespertine Circus once again, for the amazing work you did at our event yesterday! Your many talents added a very special element to the day, you were all so lovely to our guests, and so good at what you each do, I can’t really find the words to describe my gratitude. I hope we have the opportunity to work together again in the future! You all were AWESOME!” – Event Coordinator for Trulia
“What an incredible night. So other worldly, yet I was right there. All of you are AMAZING. Thank you so much for sharing the gift that is your art with us. The imagery of tonight will be haunting my dreams for some time to come. I can’t wait to see you again. Have a wonderful tour.” –Josh, June 2012. Oakland, CA.
“this was the coolest thing I’ve seen this month! thank you for an amazing night!” – Amber, July 2012, Olympia, WA.
“Brent and Paul picked a winner when they found you folks!! Thank you treating my Special Presentations with just the right amount of “Statue-ness”. You did a great job up on the Stage. As a way of “going out” as the President of CWEA, it was a blessing that you guys were there to make it special for all to enjoy. Please let your Troupe know that I was really blessed to have you guys perform at my Banquet. Between you and the Bayou Boys, we really had an event that will go down in the History Books as The Best Banquet EVER!!! …A true thank you from me for making our Banquet a special night. I hope to meet up with you guys again…. Good luck and Thanks.” –Jody Allen [former] President of CWEA
“Eli, I’ve wanted to tell you, that I *cried* during your Cyr performance at the outer space circus. I was deeply moved by the power of your act, you looked like the man in the divinci divine proportion illustration, and it swelled up all kinds of feelings of transformative human potential. and the trust the audience had for you in such a small place with that wheel was incredible. thank you for sharing your talent. :’)” –Sara, November 2011. Oakland, CA.
“THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU all you beautiful, lovely, talented oddities that I’m lucky to have met and seen!! Much love and luck to you all on your quest to bring laughs, smiles, gasps, and awe to this world! MUAH and bon voyage, see you in Sacramento!” –Katie, June 2012, Oakland, CA.
“Bunny & Eli, you two are AMAZING! I can’t begin to thank you enough for your fabulous show and beautiful spirits. xoxo” – Toni
“The Vespertine Circus is an absolute must see event! I recommend it for all. Seeing under the stars made it extra special to me” – Delondra, July 2012, Citrus Heights, CA.
“Today was the last Saturday I’ll have off for a very long time, as I’m going back to Cosmetology school on Tuesday. I had an absolutely lovely time at the afternoon show! You are all so talented, genuine, charming and entertaning, and I look forward to eventually seeing more shows, or possibly getting to play with y’all! Thank you for being a beautiful part of my last day of freedom! ♥” – Jessalyn, July 2012, Citrus Heights, CA.
“Tonight was absolutely fantastic! Easily the best circus I’ve been to. Your next show is the third Saturday of December, correct? I’ll definitely need to be there.” – Mike
“OMG… It is so fun!!!!!! Everyone GO. Run, don’t walk to any of the next three shows. Not to be missed.” – Hillary, July 2012, Citrus Heights, CA.
“Looooved the show 🙂 I’m officially inspired to run away to a circus someday.” – Katie, July 2012, Sacramento, CA.
“This was a great show! Funny with a great soundtrack ! My three year old was entranced the whole while!” -TBird, May 2013, San Francisco, CA.
“You two (Jezebel & Zlotnika, aerialists) were absolutly amazing! You both were great and I really appreicate everything! Chuck was sooooo happy!” – Event Organizer for Furrball
“Thank you so much for a wonderful show on the 4th!!! Zoe and Sam are still talking about you guys and have put your stickers up in their rooms. Thank you for being so great with a young audience!” – Erin, July 2011, San Luis Obispo, CA.
“Amazing! Fantastic! Wonderful! Mind blowing. Thank you for such breath taking entertainment.” -Teaghe
“We had such a fabulous time! Thank you all for making my daughter’s first circus an amazing memory!” – Friday E., July 2012, Seattle, WA.
“Bravo! Last night was magic. Caught the show at the Amsterdam and had a time to remember: we drank, we sang, we fell in love; we were gods for a few hours. Luck, Grace and Strength to you all. We will meet again. (Especially, Tilly, who left town with my heart in her bag of knick-knacks.)” – Marshall, July 2011, Dallas, TX.
“We had two aerialists from Vespertine Circus perform at our Cirque de Soleil prom. They were AMAZING! The kids even stopped dancing several times to watch them. I would highly recommend them! Very entertaining!” – Student Activities Director for Enochs High School
“The show was absolutely wonderful ♥ You all took my breath away so many times tonight.” – Tala
“The Vespertine Circus provided amazing entertainment at the CWEA Banquet on Friday and I owe you all a HUGE thank you!!! We had dozens of attendees commenting on your troupe and the way that you all lightened up the event. Everything that you did as a living statue on stage, and as long as you did it for, was very well received. There have never been so many smiles at this type of event and we owe it all to the Vespertine Circus. I’m quite confident that I’ll be hiring you again in the future. It was a lot of fun hanging out and you did an outstanding job!!!! We wish you much luck as you begin your journey taking the act on the road for other folks to enjoy. Absolutely amazing!!!!!! Thank you” – Brent CWEA
“I wanted to thank you for this Saturday at my daughters party. You guys were great and your face painting was amazing! No one at any kids party I’ve been to can come close to what you did. I know we were limited on room with 90 people but the guys made it work!” -Aimee
“Wonderful! Wonderful! Reminds me of the old time traveling circuses. The Vespertine Circus put on a great show with incredible aerials, contortion, fire spinning, clowning and juggling, and more. I was mesmerized the entire show! If they come your way, go see ’em!” – CoFounder of Circus Mecca
“We had so much fun and my kids are now practicing to join some day.” – Hope, July 2011, San Luis Obispo, CA.
“Thanks so much for this evening. Your show was nothing short of amazing, your cast all gorgeous, and your choice of music perfect.” – Austin, November 2011, Oakland, CA.
“I wanted to say thank you for performing at our school prom it was amazing! You people are very talented and you put on a fantastic show thank you again :)” – Laura
“A circus troupe from Oakland, CA wandered into the Amsterdam (Dallas, TX) on a random Thursday. Implausible, surreal, and SO DAMN COOL.” –Travis, July 2011, Dallas, TX.
“AMAZING show. I will definitely come again.” – Michael
“Great show tonight at Trunk Space. Thanks for braving the heat and monsoon to be here!” – Christy, July 2011, Phoenix, AZ.
“It was awesome! Thank you all.”– Julie
“thanks for coming and offering your beautiful talent to our ceremony!” – Club Exotica CoProducer, July 2011.
“Amazing show tonight! Love every minute of it!” – Linda, June 2012.
“Thank you for a superb show last night! You were all absolutely delightful!” – Vernon
“wow !! thats all i have to say…”– Paul, June 2012.