Adventure Blog
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#17. Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 – the long awaited finish
When we left Acrosanti, we did it divided – for the first time the troupe split up between the two vehicles, and Zlotnika & Jezebel headed to Flagstaff to visit a friend, while Tilly, James, Jubilee and Jack stayed in Acrosanti to explore more and continue visiting with Flamchen friends.
On their way to Flagstaff, Zlotnika & Jezebel stopped in Sedona to find some crystals for everyone in the troupe (something about hippy magic and vortexes) and get some ice cream, and after Zlotnika held a one-minute hand stand in the candy & ice-cream shop, he was rewarded with a candied apple. The views of the surrounding red mountains were breathtaking. It was a beautiful, and relaxing day.
Back in Acrosanti, the rest of the troupe was swimming & helping Flamchen disassemble their magnificent Scaffolding structure – not at the same time.
Flagstaff, as it turns out, is a really beautiful city. Lovely restaurants, buildings, parks, trees, and the weather in July is gorgeous. The troupe reunited within a treasure trove of a costume shop, where we proceeded to try on various wigs, hats, dresses, & other delightful costumes for several hours.
Our couchsurfing host, Danimal, was quite the party animal and charismatic character – complete with a sunglasses collection and truly impressive harmonica skills. We were lucky enough to see him perform with his blues band while in town, and are determined to return to Flagstaff and share a stage with them.
Our last day in town, Tilly, James & Jezebel went out to street perform and were quite well received by the locals until the rain came and chased us all inside. It seems Flagstaff isn’t typically host to many living-statues or street-jugglers and we were happy to bring a little extra magic there, if only for a couple of hours.
From Flagstaff, we headed straight to Las Vegas, land of sparkles! First thing upon arriving our hosts had us dress up in an Elvis costume (we took turns) and pose next to a paper “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign, they were a well-spirited bunch who clearly house quite a few travelers at any given time. That night, the troupe went out to explore the strip and admire the blinky things. I wish there was more of an adventure to speak of, but really, the more I think about it, the more that sums it up pretty perfectly. Lots, and lots, and lots, and lots of blinky things. It was fun.
The extreme contrast between sleeping in a swamp on a bayou near Natchitoches only 8 days earlier surrounded by snake & gator warning signs and tens of thousands of cicadas, and spending a night in fancy clothes on the Vegas strip, eating bananas foster at the Rainforest Cafe (where they have fake snakes & gators and fake insects in an air-conditioned Disneyland-looking environment) was truly surreal.
More to come! Please stay posted! We love you!
#16. Thursday July 28th, 2011
Wednesday morning. I’m feeling particularly motivated and so I’m writing this entry in a text file, not knowing for sure when we will have internet again, but excited to tell stories.
After leaving Dallas we headed to Santa Fe (instead of Albuquerque) to train with and meet some of the fine flying folks at the Wise Fool Aerial Studio. Wise Fool is famous for producing some of the country’s greatest aerial innovators and performance artists. We rolled into Santa Fe after a 10 hour drive exhausted and disoriented, in the outskirts of a place too dark to be a city by our reckoning. We got a little lost without GPS reception, and eventually found our way down a dirt road to our courchsurfing address.
The house was empty, and the troupe – after about an hour and a half of deliberating about what we should do, decided to set up camp in their parking/driveway area and head out in the morning. While James and Zlotnika were hunting for a gas station to refill water-bottles and Jezebel was asleep in the car (curled up next to a very large stuffed tiger she found at a truck stop, and seems to be in love with), our hosts arrived.
The pair of artists who joyously invited us into their space, had a home filled with large sculptures and multimedia artworks (specializing in wooden portraits and animals “painted” with thousands of colorful bottle-caps; metal collages of armadillos, giant fish, Jimmi Hendrix, Obama, and anything else you’d like to see. We were fed delicious food, given a vintage circus book, and let to explore this labyrinthine home out in the mountainous Santa Fe desert. Three very affectionate dogs lived there. The view outside was a cowboy’s dream of the wild wild west, and open plains. Another large group of couchsurfers who had been staying there were leaving the night we arrived, and we exchanged hugs & stories. This place was an oasis, a couchsurfer hotel with enough empty rooms & air-mattresses to house a whole army of wandering souls.
The next morning our three aerialists woke up early to go to open gym at Wise Fool and have some fly time. It was brief but very refreshing. Wise fool was full of murals and friendly aerialists; the temperature was delightfully cool compared to every other place we’ve had to train since tour started. Even with sleep deprivation and altitude adjustment, it felt lovely.
We hit the road again right after our “fly-break” to go to Acrosanti – a desert commune within the futuristic neo-tribal architectural designs of Paolo Solery. Arcosanti, which began construction in the 1960s, was the inspiration for Star Wars’ Tatooine and contained an ecologically friendly community of potters and DIY enthusiasts. The project is still in preliminary phases, but the goal is to house an entire city within a single towering building, full of multi-purpose rooms and micro-climates, which can thrive off-the-grid and eliminate the need for any shipping. The buildings themselves are hauntingly beautiful. The wind patterns in the area make it something of a weather anomaly. Rain and lightening storms surround Acrosanti, but never reach the city itself; the troupe witnessed several lightening storms light the borders of Acrosanti like a glowing cocoon, walls of distant rain.
We arrived just in time to see our friends from Tucson, Aurelia and Randall, perform in the Flamchen pyrotechnic theatre show, Electropolis. The spectacle was a combination of flamethrowers, flares, art-rock, elaborate costumes, fire-spinning, stilt-walking, acrobatics, and electricity, which culminated in three peak energy performances: metallic poi spinning on top of a teslacoil such that the performer was spinning lightening instead of fire on a giant tower; Aurelia’s aerial chain performance after she was abducted by stilt-walking robots; and a very African inspired sun dance by a performer in a mask and collar adorned with 8+ flaming wicks. Randall was the lead singer for the band accompanying the visual performance; Ensphere, and they too were a sight to see. This was a Big. Scale. Production. Very fun indeed.
We camped out in the desert alongside other attendants, including (but not limited to) bats, beetles, a tarantula, and two brown recluse spiders found near our tent. Yum! Early in the morning, when heat woke us, we stumbled to the Acrosanti Cafe, a zen-like oasis to visit with the performers & Acrosanti residents, and made multiple trips to a large, cold swimming pool with an unreal view.
This is a long entry, so I’m going to make it a two-part-er! If you ever get the opportunity to visit Acrosanti, do it. The next chapter is coming soon!
#15. Thursday July 21st, 2011
11 days later, here we go! We (again) have had spotty internet connections, so I hope you are all following our Twitter account (vespertineshow) for more frequent updates.
Leaving Austin nearly brought tears, we were so smitten with the folks we met there. One of them, a contortionist pole-dancer by the name of Brynn Route, almost ran away with us! Home commitments prevented this excursion, but we still plan to adopt her one day. Or kidnap. Whichever.
From Austin we headed straight to New Orleans (making a brief and entertaining stop-off in Baton Rouge for pizza and splashing around in a water fountain). The humidity was intensely lovely. It felt like being in a greenhouse the entire time we were in Louisiana, and the greenery and life in that place was dazzling. Of course, the insects were also a force to be reckoned with. I count 18 visible fire-ant and mosquito bites on my feet alone as I type this. Biting ants! Oh the horror…
A fellow performer generously invited us to stay in her beautiful home while she and her family were away on vacation. Who lets 6 clowns house-sit?!? It was so comforting to have a space we could all call home. Their cats were, as our hostess described them, “aggressively affectionate” – we did not know their names, and so by the end of 5 nights, both of the cats had several new names: Napoleon, Peanut, Chairman Meyow, Catticus-Rex, Rumplestilskin, Fildel Catro, Sgt. Whiskers & Professor Fluffykins.
Our first show was in a beautiful blackbox theatre. Sound like an oxymoron? The performance space was delightfully simple, but the entrance and surrounding building was filled with handmade puppets of all types and sizes, and other eerie and lovely artwork. It’s called The Mudlark, check it out if you can. Our audience was half Mudlark regulars, half neighborhood families from the surrounding area we lured inside, so, a very diverse bunch of rascals.
Our second show was in the teeniest, tiniest space we have ever performed in – the Neutral Grounds Coffeehouse. The place was packed with a family reuinion, so we had a full and unsuspecting audience. Somehow we managed to fit most of our (non-fire, non-aerial) acts into their stage area without squishing each-other. Booyeah!
Lets make another list! New Orlins…
- The afternoon of July 14th there was a rainstorm of the variety we do not get on the West Coast. Cups were filled with rainwater, thunder and lightening dazzled us, and, like a bunch of hippies, we pranced around naked in the rain; it felt like a shower. Warm.
- We spent much of Saturday and Sunday street performing in the French Quarter in the warm rain, with some success. Jezebel was told she was “The best living statue I’ve seen in New Orleans.” which prompts some serious Bay Area pride. Local performers were extremely friendly and supportive.
- Jubilee & Tilly went graveyard exploring, and boy does NOLA sport some impressive graves.
- James demonstrated some sweet swing-dance moves at Mimi’s where we found a really good band, and spent a night cavorting with some local foxy ladies.
- It was discovered that bars don’t close until 5am in NOLA; the troupe quickly became rather nocturnal. At night, the climate was actually quite nice – warm, but not hot, great for dancing, socializing, and strolling from one bar to the next. Tilly Rex masterfully befriended at least four bartenders over the course of our stay, who were our late-night tour guides.
- We went out wearing matching Vespertine Circus shirts a lot, and this made it easy to start conversations and make friends. Impromptu circus stunts earned free-drinks, here and there.
The night after we left NOLA, we camped in a swamp at a site called Bayu-something-or-other… There were warnings about snakes and alligators posted, and the sound of cicadas was overwhelming. We had the campgrounds to ourselves and quickly set up a hammock, slackline, aerial rig, tents, tiki-torch, a sound-system, and made a fire on which to roast s’mores. Twas truly a luxurious sort of celebration, playing in the wild, and hoping to spot an aligator or two.
Jubilee & Jezebel did aerial silks in the pitch darkness and were joined by bats, fireflies and beautiful moths. I kid you not, these flying creatures nearly landed (or in one case, did land) on our midair acrobats. The pair experimented with light by wearing a headlamp and casting shadows over the fabric, dancing into the night.
In the morning (about 40 bugbites later) we packed up and hit the road – not an aligator to be seen.
Now we’re in Dallas, this is our second night in town**, and we’re staying with a sweet couple Tilly found on Couchsurfing who are very pro-theatre and literature. Bonus points: They also have adorable pets!
#14. Sunday July 10th, 2011
Pardon the sparse posting, the only internet available for the past little while was the kind you can only get with a smartphone, so Twitter has taken over the adventure blog. Check us out @VespertineShow and I’ll see if I can catch you up to speed a bit…
- Thing 1) It’s hot.
- Thing 2) it’s really really hot.
3) Phoenix was a blast, we performed during a dust & lighting storm that made national news – also there was a brief blackout, and we still had a good audience. This is called winning at tour.- 4) In Phoenix, we stayed in an ancient and lovely art-filled home of a musical mermaid and her Safeway Boy (the dreamiest boy alive) – their story is so precious it will melt your brain. She has a heart-shaped Safeway logo tattooed on the back of her neck, tiny doll-utensils in the kitchen, and Edward Gorey prints in her bathroom.
5) Tucson is a treasure-trove of creativity, we performed in the same room where we slept – a simply psychedelic dreamscape of an aerialist’s loft. Aurelia (it’s flying dreamweaver) simply blew us away, and her next-door neighbors (Ensphere) rock.
6) After Tucson, we camped in the desert. It was gorgeous, and WINDY. Jezebel woke up naked in her sleeping bag next to a very cuddly 5 inch orange centipede. She likes to think of him like this, instead: Click me.- 7) We made it to Austin, but not before stopping in a few small Texan towns for great BBQ, ice cream, and swimming in a beautiful, warm river full of fishies.
8 ) Desert wildlife is exotic to us. There are gazelles, roadrunners, giant cactuses and succulents dotting the landscape; it’s like being on a new planet. Very little is the same.- 9) It’s still really, really hot, even at 3am. Are we on Tatooine? Lots of ice cream.
10) In Austin we are staying in the spacious & eclectic 3-story Burner-haven known as the Pink Palace. The hospitality is even better than southern stereotypes would suggest. The front walkway has an ever-turning disco-ball hanging in it, and contemporary pastel artwork is juxtaposed with antique moulding and carved wooden railings. Jannis Joplin lived here.- 11) Our first show in Austin was fun and exhausting. The other performers we shared a stage with were truly inspiring, and we’re looking forward to another round at Spiderhouse tomorrow night.
- 12) Our hostess Lil’Bit is also the producer of both of our Austin shows, and she is such a funny, quirky, thoughtful girl, she feels like an old friend right away. When we arrived, she insisted we all do a celebratory rum shot together, and then brought half the troupe out to a drag party until 2am. Oh yes.
- Last thing) We’re still getting along, even after 8 days on the road in the extreme heat, and 7 shows together. This troupe loves each other, tangibly. Our kinship is beautiful.
#13. Monday, July 4th, 2011
We’re about to drive to L.A. for the night, so this one will be short. Both of today’s shows were oddles of fun, even back-to-back in the blistering heat (sunbuurrrn time!) At the first show, Zlotnika finally got to perform a slack-rope piece, because we were outside near well-distanced & sturdy trees. We were very well fed (so, so much cake!!!), and made new friends.
Aaannndd Members of Circus Vargas came and watched one of our shows! They happened to be in town at the same time. They comped us tickets to their show, so the next time they’re near where we are, we can go and see them. Awesome.
#12. Sunday, July 3rd, 2011
It has begun!! Yesterday we drove down to Santa Cruz for the first show of our tour, with both our minivan (The Wiggle Wagon) and accompanying car (Misty) packed full of circus toys. Traffic was venomous and the heat was overwhelming, so we had a water-gun fight between the two cars’ open windows. Jezebel successfully got water right into Dr. Jack Kastner’s ear while he was driving, it was fantastic.
Our show at Zami in Santa Cruz was a lot of fun, with an audience of dear friends and a surprise ending – we burnt Tilly’s Christmas Tree (yes, it’s 6 months old)! After the show, we went to grab a celebratory bite to eat and met more people there. Jubilee & Tilly ended up autographing two lovely fangirls’ bussoms during our dinner.
In the morning (after pancakes) we headed down to San Luis Obispo. Our first show in SLO – put on by the aerialists of Suspended Motion SLO, was fantastic. We had unexpected press (a great picture and blurb in the newspaper!) that granted us a surprise full-house at the show, and we were honored to receive a standing ovation. We’re all in love with Suspended Motion, they are unbearably sweet folks.
Our “host family” tonight is making us so comfortable we might never leave. Tomorrow, we’ll be at The SLO Rotary Club’s Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration, and a block party afterward. It’s a big day – up at 8am, and we may not begin the (4.5 hour+) drive to LA until 8pm. Time for bed! …After hot-tubbing. Oooh yeah.
Here is a picture of us making the Jenna Marbles Face:
With Love,
The Vespertine Circus
#11. Thursday, June 30th, 2011
Holy wow. So much has happened we’ve barely been online to keep up with it!
James & Tilly had two performances together – one at a trade show, and another at a library opening, and Zlotnika performed at the Berlin Laght Street Festival. That’s right, Zlotnika performed in Berlin.
Jezebel & Zlotnika have been traveling Europe with family, exploring, training and getting inspired in Dublin, Paris, and Berlin – most noteworthily at the Berlin Motion Juggling Festival. Pretty crazy considering the day after tomorrow, tour begins and the pair returned from Germany just two days ago.
Wait.. the day after tomorrow? After all this planning for tour it seemed like it would never come, and here we are. This July, we will be performing 14 times & teaching two workshops, not including any street performing, which we suspect we will also do quite a bit of. Our new ringmaster – Jack Kastner (who joined us for our Bon Voyage show) is definitely getting a crash course in the circus lifestyle. He’s adjusting well (see below).
Here goes nothing! Ready or not, here we come!
#10. Monday, June 6th, 2011
My my my, time has gotten away from us! It’s been an exciting two weeks here at the circus as we gear up for tour and share a few last bay-area performances on the way. On Friday May 27th, James MacConn, Zlotnika and Jezebel Wilder were invited to perform at the Fanime Con 2011 Opening Ceremonies. The crowd was fantastic, and colorful! Never have we been to an event where our costumes didn’t separate us from the audience one bit – the place was truly a sight to behold.
James did a Mario-themed variation on his cigar box juggling act to further our efforts to “blend with the locals”. Needless to say, I think it was a hit.
Just a week later on Friday June 3rd we put on a show at the Vagabond Ballroom to say Farewell to friends, fans, and unsuspecting new folks before heading out into the great big world. The whole day leading up to the performance was chaotic: we started our day-of run-through three hours late, lost our burlesque act at the last minute, had a puppeteer who had been in the hospital and was unable to attend, and a brand-new never-done-this-before lighting technician. And during the show, Zlotnika paper-cut his eyeball. I know, right? How do you do that!?
HOWEVER it was, hands down, our. Best. Show. Yet. The house was packed and we were honored to receive a standing ovation for what feels like the most dynamic show we’ve ever put on. I can only imagine that things will only get better.
#9. Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Remember when I said I hoped there would be pictures of the “flying zebra” inspired costumes Jezebel and Zlotnika wore to Furrball? Well, here they are, courtesy of Andy Playarazzi. Thanks Andy!
#8. Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
Here I am again, glowing from a weekend full of exciting performances, and keeping our weekdays full of training, booking shows, and teaching aerial acrobatics lessons. Let me catch you up to speed!
On Friday, five of us goofballs (James Maconn, Tilly Rex, Zlotnika, Jezebel Wilder and Jubilee Mia) headed to Mills College for Mouthing Off‘s annual dance party – Fetish Ball. The courtyard was lovely, the crowd was beautiful (lots of painted moustaches and masks), and Jubilee Mia was the rockstar of the night, wowing everyone profoundly with his contortion and grace. And! We unexpectedly met our tiniest fan…
A set list had been left atop a large potted plant near the “wings” of the outdoor stage, and at the end of our performance when we went to retrive it, we found this little fella, munching away.
That snail has to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. He’d eaten more that his-size (by width, not weight) in paper by the time we found him. I guess the plant he was on didn’t taste so great.
Saturday James Maconn headed to San Francisco to meet with the Vespertine Orchestra for SF Refresh, where he had a lovely time juggling in the wind and charming denizens of the big city alongside some of our favorite musicians.
Meanwhile Zlotnika and Jezebel prepared for FurrBall 2011, a whopping two hours north of our base-of-operations in Oakland, CA. The pair trekked (dressed, appropriately, as flying zebras – pictures are coming soon, we hope) up to a northeastern part of the Sacramento County for an annual North Bay Burning Man Camp fundraiser, full of fire dance & sculpture, blacklights, dubstep, and art from the playa. Truly, enough EL-Wire and furr to make any Burner homesick.
Truly an unforgettable weekend! OH! And I almost forgot to mention, we were on the radio recently, too! Take a listen here:
http://journalism.berkeley.edu/projects/radio/ngr/nicole-circus-tk/#more-3911
#7. Thursday April 7th, 2011
The week is getting away from me! Spring is here in all it’s glory and scarce are moments of leisure spent inside behind a computer screen, but I digress! There are stories to tell & memories to share. On with the blog!
On Friday Tilly Rex, Zlotnika and Jezebel attended UC Berkeley’s AIDS Danceathon (which was quite a spectacle indeed, and entirely Dr. Seuss themed! Much to our delight) where we set up our aerial rig, brought out juggling clubs & balls, balloons for twisting, and a butterfly net. Much fun and nonsense was enjoyed by all. The heat of the space was overwhelming from the vast quantity of dancing bodies, and Zlotnika’s opening aerial act was received with deafening enthusiasm.
Saturday night Zlotnika and Jezebel (a tireless twosome) trekked out to Modesto for Enochs High School Prom! How very romantic, going back to prom with your new spouse! The pair performed an extensive quantity of acrobatics in a beautiful space decorated elaborately in the school’s “Cirque” prom theme. There was even a striped tent made from draperies and balloons! Highlight of the night: Zlotnika catching a police officer smiling and filming Jezebel’s flight with his cell-phone. When even the police look like they’re having fun, one feels very safe and merry indeed.
And what’s this? Where are all these brand new pictures on our website coming from, you ask? Just this week our lovely friend, Terri Brindisi gave us a generous quantity of images from our recent pre-Candyland photo-shoot. I must say, I am quite pleased with the results. We will be shooting with her more in the future. Be sure to take a look at her website: www.tbrindisi.com
…What? I’ve neglected to write about CANDYLAND? Oh my. You really should have been there. It was unreal. We still have more left over candy than we know what to do with. Catch us tomorrow afternoon between 3pm and 5pm at Lakeside Park in Oakland, where we will be practicing aerial acrobatics near Fairyland and we will be sure to give you some lollipops.
Until next time! Keep on truckin’.
#6. Saturday, March 19th, 2011
Last night we had our VIP Show for Kickstarter Backers who donated $50 or more (and their guests), and what a night it was! Zlotnika & Tilly prepared some tasty treats for our audience, and there was the usual smattering of balloon-animals and Dr. Jack Kåstner’s delectable concoctions. To our surprise, this was the first performance we’ve had in our home-base (The Vagabond Ballroom) since James MacConn joined our main cast, and we started using our new costumes.
I’m pleased to say that I think we blew them away. This show was a preview of what we’d like to bring on the road with us on the Absolutely Anything 2011 tour (though we’re still adding more, tweaking things, and won’t stop practicing & practicing), and the show ran exactly an hour, plus intermission, sans band, burlesque or guest acts.
- Sleepy & happy clowns after the show.
The action isn’t stopping or slowing down either – this April we’re going to UC Berkeley, Mill’s College, FurBall, and Enoch’s High School Prom! What fun! Now if only it would stop raining long enough for us to plan some park shows… Soon, soon.
Happy giant full moon everyone!
#5. Monday, February 14th, 2011
What an incredible weekend we’ve had! We’re still recovering over here, Monday is the day of rest, and rest is good.
On Friday, the Vespertine Circus did a lot of firsts – our first performance for a school, our first full-cast stage show outside of Oakland, our first day with two full stage shows in it, as well as the furthest north we’ve ever performed (Santa Rosa). We’re getting a real taste of what being on tour will be like.
Thursday night the troupe had a slumber party at our home-base in Oakland, and all six of us rehearsed (& played) into the night. I am genuinely surprised pillow fights did not ensue. On Friday we had a fantastic pancake breakfast (courtesy of Tilly Rex and James MacConn), got dressed, dolled up and headed out.
Our first performance was at a middle school in Sunnyvale for their 600 honor students! Wow. We set up our new free-standing-aerial rig (THANK YOU KICKSTARTER BACKERS) in a mere 8 minutes, and are completely in love with it. The show was a lot of fun, and afterward we spent some time with students for pictures, Q & A, and signing autographs. It was surreal. We loved it.
We trekked back to Oakland for a lunch break, and then set out again (makeup refreshed), this time for Santa Rosa. There, we performed in the beautiful Arlene Francis Center.
The two shows were complimentary opposites. The first was tightly regimented and rehearsed to recorded music for a very large and young audience, in bright gymnasium lights and in a giant space. The second was very improvisational, to (mostly) live music, for a small and (mostly) older audience, in a dark and lovely brick building with a stage too small for us to use (we ran around the floor instead). Both of them were so different, and each went beautifully. I can’t choose a favorite. The same show done twice in one day could hardly have looked more dissimilar, and each time the audience reacted really well. We are proud.
There is video of Jezebel’s aerial act from the second show, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXz3PpA79NA
We can’t wait to travel even further from home!
With Love,
The Vespertine Circus
#4. Friday, January 28th, 2011 – take two.
WE DID IT!!
THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH!! Together, we’ve raised $3,100 – with 7 days to spare! Happy dance!
We’re beaming, giddy, this is a dream come true – we’re *definitely* going on tour this July, and it’s because of you. It’s time to start building our mobile-stage, and calling venues along our tour route. New Orleans, here we come!!
In 7 days when the Kickstarter campaign is complete, we will be contacting individuals to gather and distribute information needed to fulfill your prizes (mailing addresses for stickers, for example). Hooray!
Traveling and building the materials we need for our road-show is going to take a big bite out of all of our resources, so if you know of places along our journey where we can stay, have ideas of where we should perform, or other useful information that could be helpful, please let us know! And of course, there is still a week left in our fund-raising campaign to toss in any last-minute additional contributions to help lighten the load of putting this show together. Kickstater doesn’t put a ceiling on how much a project can raise, only how much time you have to do it in, because they’re awesome. Like you. You’re awesome. Thank you for making this possible.
…Happy dance!
Sincerest gratitude from us all,
The Vespertine Circus
#3. Friday, January 28th, 2011.
Good morning!
Our Kickstarter Campaign is one week from completion, and I have some absolutely miraculous news! We have only got $210 left to raise in the following week to make our tour a reality! It’s happening!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! The community supporting this project is astonishing, and we are truly feeling the love. This July is going to be amazing!
The cities we have penciled in to visit at this point are:
Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Barbara, CA
Los Angeles , CA
Phoenix, AZ
Austin, TX
Houston, TX
Baton Rouge, LA
New Orleans, LA
Headed home:
Alexandria, LA
Shreveport, LA
Dallas, TX
Fort Worth, TX
Wichita Falls, TX
Denver, CO
Salt Lake City, UT
Reno, NV
Sacramento, CA
So if any of you fine folks know of (or can offer) crash space in any of those cities, or could recommend fantastic venues we oughtta perform in (with high ceilings) let us know! We have a lot of work to do.
And speaking of Adventures, last night Zlotnika and Jezebel performed with Thee Hobo Gobbelins at The Cheshire Rock Opera, Checker Stripes: A Looking Glass Ball, in an old bordello which is more than a century old! The space had been converted over the last century to incorporate several of the surrounding buildings, making balconies, winding passageways, half-stories, secret tunnels, and round ships-windows, decorated with so many mirrors it was impossible to tell a hallway or half-height door from a mirror. The result? An incredibly convoluted labyrinth full of Alice in Wonderland characters, music, tea and sweets.
Zlotnika made a rather charmingly creepy Cheshire Cat in the production, and Jezebel an especially insane White Rabbit.
What an incredible night indeed! Things are going very well at the Circus, we are full of hope and anticipation for the coming summer.
#2. Sunday, January 23rd, 2011.
Hello again fantastic friends!
In just a few short days a great deal has happened. The Vespertine Circus performed at the esteemed Edwardian World’s Fair, and had a blast doing it. We can’t recommend that event highly enough!
Our Kickstarter campaign has reached 72% with just shy of two weeks left to meet our goal. Fingers are crossed and we are all most thoroughly excited and hopeful. To help it along, Zlotnika and Jezebel (aka Alex and Bunny) will be offering some discounted small-group aerial classes in exchange for Kickstarter donations over the next two weeks. The schedule (and prices) of these cheap and fun classes is here on facebook: click.
Jubilee Mia is back after a month in Mexico, and we are delighted to be working with him again. And of course, we hope to see you soon. Our upcoming show in Santa Rosa is sure to be a delight – see our “upcoming shows” page for more details!
XOXOXOXO
#1. Thursday, January 20th, 2011.
Good afternoon, most esteemed patrons and friends!
As we prepare to go on our first tour and take a hiatus from performing in our beautiful Oakland home, it seems appropriate to keep all those curious updated with what exactly the circus has been up to. Here, we can write all about the crazy adventures we have getting ready to roll, and on the road.
There is a rumor (it started here), that the Vespertine Circus will be traveling to and from New Orleans through the entire month of July, bringing our joeys, kinkers and goofs across most of the United States in the process.
Here is a rough estimate of where we’ll end up:
We are looking into acquiring/building:
- a collapsible backdrop/makeshift stage;
- quite possibly a generator, lights, and further sound equipment;
- power adapters for vehicle cigarette holders;
- matching juggling clubs;
- red fur, oddly-shaped, costume hats;
- reflective dishes and many many small candles;
- mason jars;
- a bus (veg oil is a plus);
- and a GIANT HAT.
If you know anything about awesome venues along our path where we should perform, or sweet places to camp or couchsurf along the way, please do write and let us know! And remember, we still have 15 days left on our fundraiser to make this stuff actually possible. We’re not there yet! Click here to put a dollar in our hat!
bunny (at) vagabondballroom.com