#americancircusalliance

[barryschwartznotbarryschwartz]

Part Two: Performances. CIRCUS BELLA (https://www.circusbella.org), the fabulous San Francisco-based troupe, recently completed a three-week stay over the holidays right in the middle of downtown San Francisco (East Cut). In a tent! Clowns, acrobats, juggling, aerialists, live music, the whole deal. These are performance photos - behind-the-scenes images were in the previous post.

A self-assignment, I documented the entire process starting weeks before opening night, from raising the tent, through rehearsals and multiple performances, opening to closing night, plus extensive behind-the-scenes documentation. They let me backstage, a privilege I did not take for granted - that's a private space for any performer. Even though I knew some of the people already and had been around performances before, I was struck - flabbergasted, even - by every single person's intense camaraderie and collaboration while building the tent - a monumental process - and after that, developing and perfecting the show. Everyone pitched in, including performers who helped raise the tent and swept up between shows. Circus culture is an amazingly supportive one, a lesson for us all - me, anyway.

1 - Dwoira Galilea 2 - Ori Quesada 3 - Jefferson Freire and Abigail Munn 4 - Clowns: Jamie Coventry, Calvin Kai Ku, Natasha Kaluza 5 - Natasha Kaluza flying and the Band 6 - Julie Marshall and Kirk Marsh 7 - Toni Cannon 8 - Veronica Blair 9 - Abigail Munn and the Clowns: Kalvin Kai Ku, Jamie Coventry, and Natasha Kaluza 10 - Company closing the show.

[barryschwartznotbarryschwartz]

Part One: Behind The Scenes CIRCUS BELLA (https://www.circusbella.org), the fabulous San Francisco-based troupe, recently completed a three-week stay over the holidays right in the middle of downtown San Francisco (East Cut). In a tent! Clowns, acrobats, juggling, aerialists, live music, the whole deal. These are behind-the-scenes photos; performance pics to come in the next post.

A self-assignment, I documented the entire process starting weeks before opening night, from raising the tent, through rehearsals and multiple performances, opening to closing night, plus extensive behind-the-scenes documentation. They let me backstage, a privilege I did not take for granted - that's a private space for any performer. Even though I knew some of the people already and had been around performances before, I was struck - flabbergasted, even - by every single person's intense camaraderie and collaboration while building the tent - a monumental process - and after that, developing and perfecting the show. Everyone pitched in, including performers who helped raise the tent and swept up between shows. Circus culture is an amazingly supportive one, a lesson for us all - me, anyway.

1 - Charis and Kirk working on the sign. 2 - Lifting the main tent support into place. 3 - Kirk and Julie juggling hats. 4 - Abigail backstage, Director, Ringmaster, Performer. 5 - Company meeting. 6 - Jamie, dog, and trailers. 7 - Veronica and Dwoira backstage peaking out at the performers. 8 - Natasha, Calvin, Jamie: clowns preparing to go on. 9 - Jack and Carlo - roustabouts and more - backstage. 10 - Toni, Carlo, and Ori "pulling" (literally) for Veronica.