Design In The Circus

There are certain aspects of a circus to which I pay close attention.  Theme, quality of acts, pacing, energy, and of course, humor.  That said, as an artist who works in a highly visual form - physical theatre - I pay a great amount of attention to what a circus looks like.

A rich visual landscape has always been a primary interest of mine.  Physical theatre demands it, even with simple means and small budgets.  Without the benefit of language, a production's story, characters, emotions, and humor must be conveyed visually.  And a potent design is vital to the production's ability to connect with the audience.

I consider the design elements as important as the performances and the material - and vital that these elements all co-exist and complement each other.  I think of the circus in exactly the same way.

Maruti Evans' design for Parallel Exit's ROOM 17B - photo by Jim Moore

Once again, I'm counting my blessings, as I've got what I consider to be the best design team in New York City: set and lighting designer Maruti Evans, and costume designer Oana Botez.  Maruti has worked with Parallel Exit over the past few years, most notably on the Drama Desk-nominated ROOM 17B, for which he built us an ingenious and absurd office of floor-to-ceiling file drawers.

Oana is a colleague of Maruti's who has collaborated with him on a number of projects.  Their combined design for a 2013 production of Master and Margarita, for example, is breathtaking.  And I can't wait for you to see their work on Parallel Exit's new show EVERYBODY GETS CAKE! opening this month.

As we begin throwing concepts around for our season at the circus, Maruti and Oana are asking the kinds of questions I hoped they would: what's the essence of the story we're aiming to tell, who are these characters and how do they exist in the world we're creating, and how do we realize the show in visual terms?

Oana and I at the dress rehearsal of The Big Apple Circus' Metapmorphosis - photo by Paul Gutheil

I think the circus is going to be a great playground for these two artists - a place where they can push ideas to a high level, and have some fun along the way.  The circus is a flight of fancy - a place to dream and wonder - and I expect their contributions will lift us above the clouds.

I can't wait to see what they come up with.