Mental Health: Stage Managing Myself to Sanity on a Cruise Ship
Pammy writes about how she makes space for mental health breaks and ways to prioritize your mental health while working
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Opinion
Embracing Individuality through the Mosaic of Life
You know, you can’t go anywhere in the personal development or mindfulness space these days without being promised that there is some new life hack that is going to change your life, and nine times out of ten, these miracle tips are touted as being backed by science. It’s ubiquitous and, as far as I’m concerned, bordering on well disingenuous. There are no shortcuts to personal growth. There’s a reason why mindfulness is referred to as a practice.
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Life of a Wardrobe Assistant: Oh the Glamour!
Oh, the Glamour! When non-industry people find out what I do, there are a few standard answers that recur regularly.
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Every Child Should Take an Acting Class: 10 Reasons
Like sports, being involved in acting in elementary school does not mean that a child will go on to make
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Interview with Wan-Jung Wei: OISTAT’s Youngest Executive Director
Wan-Jung Wei is the youngest Executive Director of OISTAT: International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians, since its inception
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Email Etiquette: Let’s Refresh The Basics
As a stage manager who relocated overseas last year for a startup, I was surprised at the many different ways
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The Artist Toolbox: Society Needs These Skills
The Artist Toolkit has a number of items in it that are crucial for society. Read Patrick Jones’ opinion article.
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AI for Artists: Creatives Sound Off!
From generating music and visual art to writing and design, artificial intelligence (AI) has opened up a new world of
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No pAIn or no gAIn?
New technologies have been displacing humans in the workplace since the industrial revolution. Artisans have seen their crafts taken over
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Shana Kennedy’s Journey to Elevate Circus Arts In the United States with Circadium’s Accreditation
In this illuminating opinion piece, Shana Kennedy, the visionary founder of Circadium, delved into her personal narrative and the formidable
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Farewell 2023… Hello 2024! A Reflection of the Past Year
As 2023 comes to its final bow and the curtain falls, it’s time to reflect on the highs and lows,
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From Dreams to Stage: Industry Veteran Anna Robb on the Three Essential Ingredients of a Great Production
Veteran producer and TheatreArtLife co-founder Anna Robb has more than two decades under her belt of bringing artistic visions to
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Is Music The Language Of Connection?
Scientific studies have shown that many effects of music can be seen in the brain. Multiple observations have demonstrated some
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Art and Representation: Non-European Circus Groups at Cirkuliacija ’23
Reckoning with the events of world history and their lingering effects leads not only to creating stereotypes—it also impacts how
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Beyond Smiles and Splits: Giving 100%?
Circus artists repeat the same tricks over and over again to reach a level of excellence and performance quality that
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So Long 2022! – A Year Of Breaking Through Barriers for Circus
As 2022 comes to its final bow, it’s time to reflect on all that we have learned this year and
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Our Disabled Patrons Matter
We share this article written by Johnathan Lee Iverson, an acclaimed Performer, a New Yorker and Chairman of the Board
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Widening the Scope of Circus
I have made my career as a dancer, physical theatre performer, director, and teacher. In 2005, I joined Salpaus Circus
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Contemporary Circus 101: A Back-to-School Circus Book List
As an undergraduate theatre student, I wasn’t assigned readings about circus. I remember reading about physical theatre, live art, dance,
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A Manifesto For Action For The Future: Supporting Global Majority Artists Working In Circus, Cabaret And Live Performance
After a four-month period of exchange, the six creative companies partnered under Big Village–Digital have created a Manifesto for Action
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A Circus Performer and a Mother. That Is Who I Am.
My name is Ulziibuyan Mergen Kee. I’m a contortionist and a mom of 2 wonderful boys. I am writing this
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Math, Sexism, and Pole Dance
Trigger warning! Sexual assault, Harassment I still remember the first time I solved a math problem without someone showing me
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My Experience as an Autistic Pole Dancer
In an extroverted space, circus performers and students with differing needs may find themselves standing on the sidelines. Movement artist,
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Top 3 Circus Trends of 2021
Sometimes I think I have the best job in the world, especially when I count the number of circus shows
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Is Big ‘Cirque du Soleil’ Style Circus an Economic Indicator of Recovery for the Performing Arts?
Many dark months have passed on stages around the world. And suddenly a sign in circus– Cirque du Soleil announced
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Flying Trapeze Won’t Make Women Infertile: How Victorian-era Infertility Myths Are Still Plaguing Modern Day Athletes
The first time I was told that my career as a female flying trapeze catcher would make me infertile my
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Pathways to Circus Legitimacy: The Library
Like the rest of the world, American circus artists have spent the last eighteen months largely out of work, unemployed
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The Circus Arts – Engine Of A Fresh, New Beginning
This year’s World Circus Day marked over a year of life in a pandemic. Some circuses spent the holiday in
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What Does the Future of Circus Look Like for Young Transgender Circus Artists?
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the circus industry. With the shutdown of in-person entertainment and many circus studios, the future
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Can You Describe Circus in 5 Words?
It is difficult to sum up a whole art form in 500 words, let alone 5, but by streamlining our
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Statement from Circostrada in Response to the Open Letters of Jasmine Straga and Sosina Wogayehu
Once a year, as part of its programme of activities, Circostrada tends to organise a professional field trip outside Europe,
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Why Performers Should Be on Your Hiring Radar for Off-Stage Career Opportunities
In the wake of job losses and setbacks for the circus sector due to the coronavirus pandemic, Projet Lumière has
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Two Open Letters about the State of Ethiopian Circus
Two women connected through their life’s work with circus, Sosina Wogayehu and Jasmine Straga, have recently responded to Circostrada‘s report
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Letting Things Be at the Zero Point– Quarantined Circus
As a circus artist based in the Netherlands, these are some of the observations I’ve made during this self-quarantine. They’re
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On Racism and Representation
Like many others, Covid19 forced me to retreat into unemployed isolation at home. This period allowed me to reflect on
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Circus Risk Versus Coronavirus Risk—How Circus Prepared You For Hard Times
Risk is something circus people talk about constantly, but there is something private about it too. The risk is an
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An Open Letter from Erwan Tarlet on Circus as a Political Art Form
Just over three years ago, Erwan Tarlet left his work to embark on an artistic career. He is 26 years
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What Are Circus Audiences Ready For?
If I were to ask, “What is the purpose of art?”… What would we answer? Beauty? Catharsis? Social questioning? Expressing
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“Go Beyond the Stereotype”: A Thoughtful Discussion Regarding Gender, Binaries, and Contemporary Circus
“As a female base, I realized that by literally lifting people up, I could quickly change audience perception. I had
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TV Talent Shows: Raising the Profile of Circus or Killing Audience Development?
Shows like America’s Got Talent, The World’s Best and Showtime at the Apollo have become permanent fixtures of network television
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To Clap or Not to Clap
The age-old relationship between audience and performer “The action of clapping is actually a quite primitive one, initially being used
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Breaking the Walls at CIRCa and Beyond
The CIRCa festival is the mecca of contemporary circus. As it’s director, Marc Fouilland likes to call it “le rendez-vous
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2018–A Year of Progress: Circus Anniversaries, Festivals & Hot Topics
In many ways, 2018 has been a great year for circus. This is really saying something when you consider that
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Everywhere and Nowhere: the New Wave of Site-Specific Circus
Typically, talking about site-specific circus means talking about a large outdoor space that’s converted (with, say, scaffolding or cranes or
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Circus Saved My Life– Until It Ruined It
I grew up as a very artistic, athletic, and insecure child, and I always tell people that circus saved my
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The Role Queer Circus Plays
“Hey!” I hear from behind me. I turn around. A queer person is running down the stairs from the spoken-word
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Providing a Safe Environment–Response from a Circus Educator at ENC
Sarah Poole, a circus educator at ENC, asked us to publish this response letter about the climate of support at
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5 Tips for Self-Marketing as an Artist
I was sitting in the chapel-turned-classroom at Ecole de cirque de Quebec, listening to Julie Lavergne talk about the overview
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One Last Response to “Circus of Tomorrow?” Article
Dear Stav, and all other Interested Individuals, Thank you for your article and your comments. I have been working at
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This post is in defense of the female artists (including myself) who performed in Cirque de Demain this year, not
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Circus of Tomorrow?
Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris is one of the world’s most famous circus festivals, about to celebrate
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Oh, Grandma, What Big Eyes You Have!
–TRIGGER ALERT– Full disclosure: the victim of this story is the same age today as I am. Full disclosure: I
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Does the Bechdel Test Have a Place in Circus?
There is nothing more satisfying than walking out of theatre having been inspired by an amazing circus show. However, a
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What Makes Performing Arts Possible? Part Two
In part one to this story, I presented an outline of how performing arts education and production is supported differently
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What Makes Performing Arts Possible? Part One
Performing arts have been a powerful human ritual for millennia. The Washington Post recently published a beautiful, interactive online piece
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Circuba Festival 2017: En Buen Compania, Todo es Posible (In Good Company, All Things Are Possible)
It was the fifth night of the Circuba Festival 2017, and day six of spending upwards of eight hours in
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Can You Defy Death With A Little More Artistry, Please?
You are watching a circus performance. The artists, for whatever reason, have a noticeable number of technical errors. The overall
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Men In the Ring — the Rise of the Boy Bands of Circus
The Circus world is experiencing more and more activities and events that focus on gender and its influence in circus
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Crossing Boundaries–An Open Letter from Tilde Björfors
In her heartfelt introduction letter in the playbill to Cirkus Cirkör‘s show Limits, founder Tilde Björfors explains why the time
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New Circus Doors in the US
With the launch of Circus Talk News came the unfortunate announcement of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey closing up
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Circa’s Yaron Lifschitz Challenges the Government Funding Paradigm
Yaron Lifschitz, CEO of the Brisbane based circus company, Circa, challenges the traditional funding paradigm by demanding to open up
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