Featured Projects & Shows
This page showcases a variety of projects of all sizes, venue types, and budgets. From passion projects performed in the studio to high-budget holiday shows performed in theaters, these are projects that I particularly loved because of their multidisciplinary and ensemble nature.
“Helix” (2023) by Circus 617 & CCIAC
Directed by Sophia Herscu, and produced by Caroline Wright and Rachel Barringer (collectively known as Duo Shadow), this 6-person cast of Boston-based circus artists is an abstract reflection on relationships and memories. Born out of Duo Shadow’s “Artist First” residency with the CCIAC, the full-length show was supported by Circus 617 and CCIAC, and opened the CCIAC’s 2023 month-long “Circus in the Park” series under their beautiful big-top tent in Troy, NY. The show was truly an ensemble show blending movement arts of all kinds.
The show begins with a pensive and wistful rope solo, shone in a soft blue light. Friends and loved ones appear tucked into the corner of the stage, with the aerialist longingly gesturing to his past relationships. After, the group suddenly expands through the stage, thrusting the show into an upbeat group German wheel act, filled with dance, tumbling, and even all six artists mounted on the wheel at once. The show continues with features such as a duo aerial braids act between two friends, a romantic date symbolized by a synchronized straps piece, a comical monologue, and a trio hoop finale mixed with Cyr wheels and dance.
Perhaps the most exciting part in creating this show was taking stage and rigging constraints and using them as creative starting points for act structure and choreography. With three aerial points each only three feet apart, the synchronized straps act required staggered pulling between the two aerialists, creating a musical canon of flights and descents. The trio hoop act even involved the aerialists stepping on each other’s shoulders in an accordion-shaped movement! This was a wonderfully creative show that we hope to perform again soon in Boston.
“American Dream: One Clown’s Love Affair with Capitalism” (2022-2023) by C3 & Artivism Dance
This was another ensemble show I was thrilled to be a part of. Born out of the lifelong friendship between the owners of Commonwealth Circus Center (C3) in Boston and Artivism Dance in New Orleans, “American Dream” is a satirical dance-circus collaboration exploring one clown’s experience entering the job market for the first time. What we thought to be a meritocracy is far from it, where the average Joe is left exhausted and whose only respite is to be further drained by consumerism’s “meditative” and “calming” products.
For me, this show is a fantastic marathon of dancing and flying on stage. With only six cast members to create this 50-minute story-driven spectacle, there is very little offstage time. A true work of physical theater, the dancing blends hip-hop with contemporary, and the circus blends gymnastics with acting. This show left the audience doubled over in laughter at some moments and contemplatively uncomfortable at others, a show that really makes you reflect on our country’s economic system.
“American Dream” had runs in Boston in 2022 and 2023 and a run at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival’s satellite fringe Cannonball in September 2023. It will tentatively premiere in New Orleans in 2024.
“Clara’s Trip” (2022) by Caroline Calouche & Co.
A twist on the classic Nutcracker, “Clara’s Trip” was produced by Caroline Calouche & Co., a company that blends dance with circus arts. With a cast of about thirteen professional dancers and aerialists and about fifteen students from the Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center, this extravagant show has everything you love about the traditional Nutcracker plus the excitement of acrobatics and various styles of dance.
My role was Beau, the equivalent of the Nutcracker prince in the traditional Nutcracker. This role included Cyr wheel, duo straps on silks, and lots of dancing and partnering throughout. This show was my first performance with Caroline’s company, and introduced me to the blending of dance and circus that defines her works.
“Dark’s Carnival” (2021) by Circus of the Moon
A pandemic-era film project thought up by Circus of the Moon in Santa Cruz, CA, the hour-long film is based on the novel and film “Something Wicked This Way Comes”. It is the compilation of several artists’ video projects filmed all over the US.
My role was that of Mr. Dark, the ringmaster of the carnival whose acts are seen throughout the film. Opening the film, my 10-minute portion tells the story of how Mr. Dark goes from a wandering vagabond to becoming possessed by a witch, to ultimately creating Mr. Dark’s Carnival. The full film closes with another 10-minute long feature of the backstory of one of Mr. Dark’s sideshow freaks.
Check out my feature here.
Cover photo courtesy of Ryan Smith Visuals