In the multidisciplinary universe that is the performing arts, we tend to be siloed by genre. It is in contrast and subversion to this notion that the internationally acclaimed People Watching Collective (based in Montreal, CA) have burst onto the scene.

All highly accomplished artists in their own right – the six members of the collective (Jérémi Levesque, Jarrod Takle, Ruben Ingwersen, Brin Schoellkopf, Natasha Patterson, and Sabine Van Rensburg) have individual credits demonstrating their prowess as elite artists, ranging from Cirque du Soleil, Tony Nominated Water for Elephants on Broadway, Cirque Eloize, Jacob Jonas the Company, The 7 Fingers, and more. When combined, they join forces to create a collective that is greater than the sum of its parts.

All members of the collective, who hail from South Africa, USA, Australia, and Canada, are professionally trained circus artists, having perfected their technique at the most prestigious circus university in the world L’École Nationale de Cirque de Montréal. In tandem, they have developed their own unique signature style of dance, and acrobatics through the age-old tradition of thousands of hours in the dance studio together making choreography. What results is a true and bold merging of influences that creates a heightened experience for the audience in their new show, PLAYDEAD. These are artists at the absolute peak of their creativity, agility, artistry, and technique. The resulting benefit of their show, a non-verba movement piece that touches on dance, theatre, and circus, is that it can play in most any context and its profound impact is guaranteed to be felt internationally.

The singularity and vitality of their approach to a has landed them as major players at diverse festivals spanning circus, dance, and theatre – where they often serve as headliners. Upcoming bookings for PLAYDEAD include Hupstate Circus Festival (USA), Montreal Completement Cirque Festival (CA), Noorderzan Festival (NL) Fresca Festival (ES), Festival San Javier (ES), Dusseldorf Festival (DE), Sandnes Junst-og Kulturehouse (NO) and more. There is no doubt that this company, and their show PLAYDEAD, have wide ranging international appeal.

In regards to their approach to art making, collective member Brin Schoellkopf mused

“We are presenting comedy through absurdity. Everything becomes exaggerated. The body is used as the main tool to exaggerate these absurd interactions between the artists. Through its surrealistic blend of acrobatics, movement and physical theater, the piece moves with larger-than-life physicality while bathing in an intimate atmosphere. By giving place for seemingly unexceptional stories to unfold, we look closer and marvel at how beautiful, twisted and sometimes laughable reality can be.”

People Watching Collective and their international success offers a prime example of the prominence of multidisciplinary performing arts and their power to transcend genre to expose audiences through connection, subversion, and contemporary commentary. PLAYDEAD is in high demand, resonating with a new generation of theatre goers eager for a visceral, real, and outright profound experience.

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