Bindlestiff Family Cirkus is pleased to announce three winners for the 14th Annual Bindlestiff First of May Award – a development grant for full-length circus and variety arts productions based in New York City. This Award is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the Howard Gilman Foundation.
For 30 years, Bindlestiff Family Variety Arts, Inc. has been enriching New York City’s variety arts culture by producing and presenting unparalleled circus, sideshow and variety arts performances. Inaugurated in 2012, Bindlestiff’s First of May Award offers NYC-based circus and variety artists support for the development of an original, full-length production. Previous recipient productions include Clown Baggage, created by Matt Wilson; Unmasked, created and directed by Lady Aye and Mistress B; Solomon the Perplexer, created and written by Tanya Solomon and directed by Corn Mo; Wacky of Wallabazoo, created by Justin Weber; Dandy Darkly’s Trigger Happy; TruDee’s “Dances for Lovers” by Deborah Lohse; Kyle Driggs’ ENSO; Angelo Iodice’s Bronx cowboy memoir, Paris the Hip Hop Juggler’s juggling comedy show, Christopher Scheer’s [n]Gender, Loki Circus Theater‘s COLORED GRRLS; Brianna Kalish with {IN}TANGIBLE a circus play; Stav Meishar’s Barbette at the Circus: Performing Gender; Maia Ramnath’s The Conference of the Birds; Becca Bernard with The Fainting Room and Jeff Seal and Chris Manley with “Jeff and Buttons”. For a full list of First of May winners, see http://bindlestiff.org/
Submissions for the First of May Award were evaluated by a panel of judges from diverse roles in the circus and variety arts community, including Actor, Artist, and Educator Lex Alston; Artist, Activist, and First of May 2022 Awardee Juanita Cardenas; Theater Designer and Producer David Gallo; Bindlestiff Board Member and Talent Booker Michael Bongar; Variety Artist, Producer, and Bindlestiff staffer Ekaterina Sknarina; Circus Educator and Producer Cynthia Aviance; Musician, Performance Artist and Variety Arts Producer Sxip Shirey; and Bindlestiff co-founder Keith Nelson.Submissions were ranked based on artistic merit, originality, and variety arts relevance. Other criteria taken into consideration include the quality of the proposal itself, the project’s impact (social, community, etc.), and its stage of development (with preference given to projects not previously presented).
Awardees for the cash grants, totaling $3,500.00 for 2025 include:
– Kinetic Cabaret / The Brides with “The Finale: A Weimarvelous Awakening from the American Dream”, inspired by Germany sandwiched between two world wars. Unlike the Broadway and subsequent Hollywood treatments, The Finale will explore a world in which decadence refers to the dying freedom being parodied, with artists expressing what the state deems perverse.
– Danie Kohn with “People in Public”, which explores how humans find brief yet magical moments of connection in an urban landscape created with circus skills and apparatus. This whimsical all ages show is built as a series of interconnected vignettes, with a large ensemble cast.
– 3am Theatre with “First Light” a monthly, curated collaboration on an entirely new, evening-length show. On Monday morning of the performance week, artists gather to present their nascent, fledgling ideas; on Friday evening those same ideas come to life, embodied by the virtuosic ability of the performers and the enchanting light, sound, and set design which is 3AM’s signature.
About Bindlestiff Family Cirkus:
The New York Times said the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus Cabaret is, “old-fashioned variety entertainment of the sort Ed Sullivan so astutely scooped up, but with twists,” while TIME OUT NY exclaimed that, “this troupe of circus artists will remind your family what the circus is really about.” Since 1995, Bindlestiff has brought the Circus and Variety Arts to every type of stage and audience imaginable. Its productions range from family shows to musical parodies to burlesque Cirkus spectacles. Bindlestiff also has an eye on the future, keeping the variety arts alive via circus arts educational programs and emerging artist support. Bindlestiff’s performances around the world have captivated thousands at festivals, clubs, colleges and venues including Lincoln Center’s Avery Fischer Hall (NYC), Glastonbury Festival (UK), Super Giant Carnival (Thailand) Golden Festival (China) Bonnaroo (TN), and all throughout the 5 Boroughs of New York City with its free Bindlestiff Flatbed Follies extravaganzas.
Bindlestiff Family Variety Arts, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. For more information, please visit www.bindlestiff.org or find us @bindlestiffcirkus on Facebook and Instagram
Main Image: Courtesy of Bindlestiff Family Cirkus