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In November
Dark comes soon.
We turn on the lights
In the afternoon.
2010 is coming to a close, and so is another year of news and letters. For the Aerial Angels' final promenade into poetry (our theme for 2010 in case you haven't been paying attention), there's November. I found this gem of a verse on a teaching website. I think it's so the little ones won't sit in the dark for too long.
The Aerial Angels spent fall molding young minds (you're welcome, America), and are returning to time-honored traditions close to home for the holiday season. Put on your Santa hat, grab your noise-maker, and celebrate a spectacular 2010 and a promising 2011 with your favorite Angels!
Kalamazoo New Year's Fest
Planning on another New Year's Eve watching specials with too many commercials, eating stale holiday cookies, and reading emo journal entries that date back to the seventh grade? Then let's you and I both shake up 2011 and join the Aerial Angels at the Kalamazoo New Year's Fest! New Year's Fest is a family-friendly event in downtown Kalamazoo featuring music and performing arts, magic, comedy, exhibitions, fireworks, and great food. The party starts at 5:30 and wraps up with fireworks at midnight.
To purchase a button for New Year's Fest, visit any Harding's Stores and Marketplaces or the Kalamazoo Public Library after December 15th.
Not going to be anywhere near Kalamazoo, Michigan at the start of 2011? At least bake a fresh batch of Snickerdoodles, buddy.
Aerial Angels Presents 'Yo Ho Holiday Pirates!'
A Kalamazoo holiday season isn't complete for the little ones without a visit from an Aerial Angel. She may not carry a sack full of presents (the bulk makes the aerial act awkward), but she does deliver grace, skill, and a lot of laughs for the whole family. Catch the Aerial Angels' Yo Ho Holiday Pirates! at the Kalamazoo Public Library Central Library Rotunda on December 29th at 11am. Admission is free.
Children's Programming Librarian Bill Caskey says, "The Aerial Angels have become a holiday tradition at Kalamazoo Public Library over the last five years. This years Yo Ho Holiday Pirates! adventure promises to be more fun than ever when a dastardly crew invades Kalamazoo, ready to board the library and pillage the holidays!"
The Aerial Angels are honored to be a holiday season family tradition for our friends and neighbors, the community of Kalamazoo.
Bandtasia at Forest Hills Central HS
In October, the Aerial Angels performed at the Forest Hills Central High School Bandtasia extravaganza. This Grand Rapids community tradition began ten years ago and today draws crowds of over 1,000 at each performance. The team arrived early to train the Ranger Marching Band Visual Unit, who performed on aerial hoop.
Zay 'Spike' Weaver: What happened?
Student: I fell.
Spike: Really? Why?
Student: I let go.
Spike: And what have we learned?
Student: Don't let go.
Spike: Good. Now do it again.
The Aerial Angels were joined by guest escape-artist, Figo, who "killed in his pink tu tu," according to Spike. "His first time in America and he's on stage in his underwear. Typical Scotsman." After the performance, the Angels showed Figo an old-fashioned Halloween, complete with jack-o-lanterns (see above).
The Angels Go Back to College
What's the big thing to hit college campuses in 2011? Frisbee golf? That's so last year. Beer pong? Been done.
It's the Aerial Angels. The Angels met thousands of co-eds this fall at the National Assocation of Campus Activities Northeast and Mid-America Conferences in Hartford, CT and Grand Rapids, MI. Allison 'Isabella' Williams says, "I enjoyed meeting all the student representatives. As a theatre major myself, I didn't meet many people outside my department when I was in school, so I love hearing from people who are in other areas. In Hartford, we had great talks with future nurses, physical therapists, historians, and merchant marines! Fascinating!"
Do you know a campus that'd like a visit from the Aerial Angels? Contact Chelsea@angelsintheair.com for our college rates and availability.
Circus Freak Holiday Gifts
Can't afford a trapeze? Not sure what size leotard to buy? Look no further for a gift for the circus freak who has everything - new 'Circus Freak' t-shirts available from the Aerial Angels.
The tee is black with blue writing (see above), with a small Starfish Circus URL below the text. Girly cut is $17. Regular cut is $15. Sizes S, M, L.
Visit the Aerial Angels' shop to place your order. And hurry! All orders placed before December 25th receive free shipping.
Six Questions WIth...Micha Adams
Micha Adams is founder, 'ringmaster,' and 'Keeper of the Keys to Adult Recess' at the Detroit Flyhouse. This circus school offers training for children and adults in traditional circus arts including the aerial silks, trapeze, aerial hoop, partner acrobatics, fire performance and more.
1. What do you do?
I make magic. I assist in creating a supportive space, The Detroit Flyhouse, for kids and adults alike to use circus training as a way to grow as human beings, to learn how to take healthy risks and set intelligent boundaries. I am also the head of a circus troupe in Detroit. My 'To Do List' looks like this on any given day:
-Climb forty feet in the air to check rigging points.
-Darn crotch of unitard.
-Answer forty emails.
-Learn and play with new material for Flyhouse Circus School syllabus.
-Darn crotch of unitard.
-Design and prance around in ridiculously amazing fun costumes.
-Darn crotch of ridiculously amazing fun costume.
2. What was your most embarrassing performance moment?
Outside doing hip circles on an aerial hoop. I did about fifteen, then felt a breeze on some of my most private areas. My unitard had been wrapping around the bar over and over again and tore, of course, turning the unitard into 'aerial chaps.' Did I mention I wasn't wearing anything underneath? A friend was waiting for me on the ground with her undies in hand to save the day. My boyfriend, who was filming, never missed a beat: "Can't see it on film baby, got it!"
3. When you're on the road, what do you miss the most?
Alone time with my Chihuahuas, Sid, Delicious, and Nancy Spongecake. And my boyfriend. And my refrigerator, too!
4. How do you feel when you're up in the air?
Powerful, free and childlike.
5. What three words would your friends use to describe you?
I actually polled my friends (I didn't offer any bribes or anything): ambitious, loving, creative. Oh, and "foxy" came up. Who knew?
6. What item of clothing do you wear most often?
Unitard. Always in a unitard.
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Autumn leaves, autumn leaves, lie strewn around he here;
Autumn leaves, autumn leaves, how sad, how cold, how drear!
Here at the Aerial Angels, we think Charles Dickens was kind of a downer. For us, autumn leaves mean a trip to Florida for two Starfish Circuses...learning something new in Raleigh, North Carolina...a beautiful reminder about the place of the modern theater company with a story to tell.
So don't be drear.
The Angels are here!
Who can be sad when those ladies are near?
Sincerely,
The Aerial Angels
P.S. Sorry, Charles.
Starfish Circus in Florida
The students of Douglas Anderson High School started the year off right with two weeks of intense training and high-flying fun. Starfish Circus returned to Douglas Anderson this fall after a successful program in 2008. The student-performed shows played to sold out houses - over 1,200 people!
Ashley Turner, junior theater major, co-captained the partner acrobatics act. "I have walked away with new skills and a better, healthier me. Starfish was my first experience with circus. The most memorable part of each day was when all the acts came together to share one word that described how they felt following rehearsal. I remember words like empowered, strong, confident, amazed, and excited."
"I loved working with Ashley," says Starfish coach M.A. Harrison. "She and her partners brought in pictures of moves they wanted to learn and worked for hours breaking down the skills into pieces they could accomplish!"
Starfish Circus returns to Florida in November. The two-week program at Steinbrenner High School in Tampa is open to any students in the area. If you don't attend Steinbrenner and would like to be a part of the fun, email Chelsea@angelsintheair.com for more information.
Aerial Angels Featured in 'Start-Ups and Upstarts' Article
Monica Friedman, of TicketPrinting.com, begins: "The year is 2010 and the face of live theater has changed. Around the globe, money is tight, attention spans are short, and approaching-infinite hours of free entertainment are available 24 hours a day in the privacy of the viewer's home."
Friedman goes on to profile the artists who are politely telling the economy where it can shove its downloadable television. Among the artists insisting on personal connection despite the obstacles? Allison Williams, Artistic Director of the Aerial Angels.
"Audiences do still want to see stories and connect with humans and be a part of an experience they can't have with their TV. They just don't always know they want it and they're unwilling to pay more than their phone bill to find out."
Click here to read the entire article. And click here to read more about the mission of the Aerial Angels.
Aerial Workshops in North Carolina
Already trading the freedom of summer for the routine of fall? Break out! If you're in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, join Zay 'Spike' Weaver, senior company member of the Aerial Angels, for aerial silk and aerial yoga classes at Aradia Fitness in downtown. The classes are ongoing on Tuesday nights. Aerial Silks is a three-week course. Aerial Yoga is a weekly drop-in class. Want a little extra attention? Zay is also available for private lessons.
New Homepage Debuts
Visit angelsintheair.com to see our hotter, pinker, easier-to-use home page! We want to feature your photography, so we've added a "Photo of the Week". We want to see you at our shows, so we've made our upcoming appearances easier to find. We want you to be our Facebook friend, read our blog, and book us quickly and conveniently, so we've made those links easier to access.
In short, everything we do, we do it for you.
If you'd like your photograph of the Aerial Angels to be featured on the home page as "Photo of the Week," email Chelsea@angelsintheair.com with your name, the event, and a JPEG file.
Six Questions with...Chelsea Dygan
Chelsea Dygan has served as Business Manager for the Aerial Angels since 2008 when Artistic Director, Allison Williams, directed a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Rollins College, her alma mater. She received her B.A. in Theater Arts in 2010 and is currently teaching English and having adventures in Daegu, South Korea.
1. What do you do?
I do a little bit of everything. I assist with booking, write PR, and keep everybody in line. I also produce the bimonthly e-newsletter!
2. So are you interviewing yourself?
Yes. Yes, I am.
3. Who is your favorite hero/heroine in literature?
I like people who make me laugh, so I can't get enough of Amelia Bedelia.
4. What was your favorite toy as a child?
A stuffed monkey named Zippy. My cousin ate his ears off so he actually looks a bit creepy. Zippy couldn't fit in the bags to Korea so I miss him very much.
5. What was your most embarrassing performance moment?
In high school, I played Juliet for a crowd of middle school kids. It was time for my big monologue before drinking the poison, and I got a frog in my throat. I started coughing and couldn't get a word out. The middle school kids were laughing and hollering so I started crying, drank the poison, and conked out early. I think everybody was still able to follow along...
6. Do you have a motto to live by?
"A day without laughter is a day wasted." Charlie Chaplin said that. I think Amelia Bedelia would agree. |
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Shakespeare asked, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" Here at the Aerial Angels, we have trouble comparing most anything to a summer's day. What can compare to skinny-dipping in a Croatian national park? Turning fifty-three Floridians into circus stars? Finding your skin in the silks in London, Ontario?
Shakespeare warned, "Summer's lease hath all too short a date." So enjoy, friends! We will.
-The Aerial Angels
Angels in Europe
Ask Isabella, Mimi, and Anthony about their recent tour of Eastern Europe and you'll hear them talk about a van covered in AstroTurf (see above). You'll also hear about the cobblestone streets. The warm audiences. The talented colleagues. Camaraderie, connection, and early morning swims in the Adriatic sea.
Isabella says, "Here I was sitting on a restaurant patio in Kosovo, listening to our waiter tell us about hiding from snipers while separated from his family for six months, when he was fourteen, ten years ago. We did acro so that he could see some of the show, and he and the other waiters brought us free champagne and dessert. Kosovo is the youngest country in Europe and everyone there is so glad to be alive! There's a tremendous amount of positive energy."
For Anthony, the highlight of the tour was "jumping a fence, hiking through the woods, and illegally skinny dipping in KRKA national park in Shibenik, Croatia!" Sorry, ladies and gentlemen. Pictures not attached.
Starfish in Florida
It's 6am in Michigan. The big rental van is loaded with equipment and coaches. Next stop: sunny Florida. In just five days, the Ocala Civic Theater will be transformed into a kid circus...again!
Colleen "Mango" McIntee, Aerial Angel and experienced Starfish Circus coach, speaks of her experience. "It was so fun to see repeat campers take on leadership roles during the week, already passionate about the program. We were once again delighted with the Ocala Civic Theatre Staff, and their outstanding help throughout the week. Seeing everything come together for the shows was incredibly moving, and the kids (and the coaches...) loved the dance party finale!"
Six Questions with...Erin Clark
Erin Clark met the aerial silks last month. And just like that, they're skin.
The rendezvous occurred at Practice Loft studio in London, Ontario, where Erin also met the Aerial Angels. Working with Heather Hargraves of Practice Loft, the Angels offered a weekend of silk and acro-yoga workshops.
"My body just knows those silks somehow," says Erin. "It feels so possible. It helped that our three teachers were nothing but encouraging and willing to push me to strive for something just somewhat outside my reach. I can't get enough now, and every day I figure out something new I can do, and it's all over me now like a new skin - I want to show off to everybody all the time, this new and amazing thing I can do."
What you don't hear Erin saying is that she climbs out of a wheelchair and onto the silks. When I ask her about her condition, she replies matter-of-factly, "One of my favorite things about those workshops was no one asked because it didn't matter - what could I do? That mattered - I feel like that's a better representation of what it feels like to be me than a medical term no one understands anyway."
1. How do you feel when you're up in the air?
I have always found pleasure in moving my body and feeling its strength, agility, the nuances of it's motions. In the air, that pleasure is exquisitely enhanced. I feel a balancing out between my warring selves - passion and discipline. Sometimes sensual, other times hilariously awkward. I feel fear and weakness and frustration and pain. But mostly, I feel joy. Happiness courses through me like blood. I am lost in the play of it all.
2. What was your favorite toy as a child?
My favorite toy as a child were jungle gyms and the monkey bars. I also enjoyed climbing people. I was intoxicatingly happy to climb all over the Aerial Angels in a totally socially acceptable format.
3. What do you do?
When I am not in the silks I often immersed in my work as a therapist. The mysteries in our struggles to connect to each other and to ourselves compel me. I love people and I love life and both are achingly complex.
4. Do you have a hidden talent?
I think the silks are my hidden talent. Although not very well hidden since I gleefully plaster my practicing all over the internet.
5. What three words would your friends use to describe you?
I took a Facebook poll. There was a consensus on 'fearless,' several variations on the theme of 'unique' and a single but persistent vote for 'sexysilkilicious.'
6. When you're on the road what do you miss most?
I love to travel and I love my stuff. So it's unpredictable. One time I'll miss my pets, another time I'll miss a very particular book or picture I have on a wall or a shirt I didn't bring. Sometimes, I don't miss anything at all.
Upcoming Workshops in North Carolina
The Aerial Angels will be in and around Spike's town of Raleigh, North Carolina the week of August 23rd. If you're interested in learning to move like the Angels and you're close(ish) to the Asheville and Raleigh areas, email Chelsea@angelsintheair.com for details!
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| | Shows That Won't Be Touring the USA
Posted on 6/8/2010 by Isabella
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Todd Various says, "Have you seen the German fire show? It kicks ass." There's no good place in my schedule, so when I see them start up, I walk away in mid-conversation and start pushing to the front I'll sit on the ground, which Macedonians won't do, so I might as well get to the inner circle. It's easy to get through, because the crowd is moving backwards.
Rapidly.
Because Eddie Egal, head German, is backing them up WITH A FLAMETHROWER.
Now, if you're a busker fan, or hang out with hippies, you've probably seen a fire show in Canada or the USA. Usually, the crowd is safely back, fire permits have been issued, fuel is stored separately from the equipment, and the equipment is only lit up once a safe boundary is in place. Then some greasy dreadlocked guys spin poi, girls in leather bikinis wave some fire fans, they all pass the hat and go smoke up backstage.
The Germans have set up a mad scientist's lab with fireball tubes on a 14-foot high scaffolding proscenium, a fire cannon on the stage left side pointed mostly up but a little towards the audience, and Eddie Egal and two sidekicks in lab coats with clipboards moving through the whole steampunk setup. THERE ARE PROPANE TANKS EVERYWHERE. You know, the ones where in the states you can't smoke a cigarette within 15 feet? And while the female "scientist" is checking levels and setting fire to a watering can, and the male "scientist" is inspecting with a large magnifying glass and testing buttons that fire flames 25 feet up, Eddie is striding through tanks and pointing the FLAMETHROWER! IT'S A FLAMETHROWER! With a steam whistle! Mostly up but also sort of at the audience to get them to move back. Which they do. I sit in the front row while Eddie drops flaming pellets on the ground two feet in front of the audience to mark the line. Children poke at the pellets until Eddie waves the FLAMETHROWER! OH MY GOD IT'S A FLAMETHROWER! at them.
The show is a long buildup to one stunt. There's an open shower with water tubes that fire into the center, and flame cannons that blow fireballs through the center. They water down the female scientist, mask and glove her, and set her up in the shower. Fire, water, awesome trance music, she's overcome, strips out of the lab suit, and does a sexy dance in a thong bikini while water and fire rain over, around and through her. The fire cannons shoot. I think there's another flamethrower section. Then they pass the hat.
After the hat pass, Eddie says, "Wednesday night, anyone who wants can try the fire shower."
I say, "I'll bring my bathing suit." |
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| | Chai Make You Cool
Posted on 6/7/2010 by Isabella
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Here, it's Macedonian. It's very Macedonian. Which means, maybe we have a show and maybe we don't. Maybe it's on this pitch, maybe it's over there, maybe a giant stage with folkdancers moves into the plaza. Maybe we should run up hill to make it to a 2PM meeting, since it's 2:10, or maybe Pane will meet us eventually which gives us time to order iced coffee, listen to the band, and learn to say, "I'd like to order_____" in Macedonian.
Tonight, two shows, back to back, at Aerodrom and the plaza. Aerodrom is 20 minutes away. This year, I do not freak out. I don't even bring it to Natasha's attention until mid-afternoon. And sure enough, after meeting with Pane, we are shown to a delightful, shady courtyard in the Old Market, to do what will be our only show tonight. The courtyard is an exact microcosm of Skopje that side is the Macedonian bistro, with hanging pot plants and couples in ironwork chairs eating sopska salat. This side is Albanian, with a men-only crowd playing backgammon and cards over tiny glasses of tea.
We set up the rig, it's an important show tonight, Pane is partnering with an NGO (A charity? A folk group? We can't tell) to bring the festival to more of the local people. Some Albanian men finish their card game and drift over to us. They don't speak a ton of English, but one of them used to live in Germany, and helps us translates our hat line from German (which I have handy from last year) to Albanian. This excites me. I'm already caffeinated. And midway through, Gandhi, Hadji and the Guy Whose Name Starts With an N, tell me in three of the four languages, "[Albanian meaning chill the heck out]! Ne arbeit on Saturday! Chai!".
N is dispatched for boiling hot tea in shot-like glasses with miniature lemon wedges on the saucer. "Chai make you cool, good for hot." And over tea, I learn to thank the audience in Albanian, via German with an Austrian accent and Macedonian with an American accent. The men confer over phrasing and argue semantics among themselves. Unlike Macedonian, in which everyone sounds angry all the time, their eyes crinkle and the sounds of Albanian are softer in the back of their throats. I promise to practice, and we stash our gear bag in the backgammon restaurant, and head out to eat and change. |
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| | Older Than Keeping Time - Ahhh, Eastern Europe. Where time is fluid, indoor plumbing still in the pre-mastery stages, girls are girls (don't lift that suitcase) and toilet paper a rare and precious resource. Always check before you sit.
The trip, after only two hours crying
| 6/5/2010 | | | The Lusty Month of May - Here at the Aerial Angels, we like the finer things in life: librarian salads and nerf gun fights, standing ovations and Home Depot. (See below.) And poetry. We found this one, written by Sir Thomas Malory in 1485, about the month of May:
The mon
| 5/29/2010 | | | The Winds of March - The poet William Wordsworth once said, "Up from the sea, the wild north wind is blowing. Under the sky's gray arch; Smiling I watch the shaken elm boughs, knowing it is the wind of March."
The Aerial Angels can feel the wind blowing, too, Mr. Words
| 3/16/2010 | | | January is the Month That Cares - From the beaches of Belize to the stages of Fort McMurray, Canada, the Aerial Angels are embracing our mission: We are personally involved with our audience, and we entertain them regardless of their ability to pay. We can't wait to see you in 2010!
| 1/18/2010 | | | Happy New Year! - In 2009, Aerial Angels performed across the globe. But with the luxury of travel comes the difficulty of throwing a company holiday party! With Angels wintering in Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Winnipeg, Connecticut and onboard a Caribbean cruis
| 1/4/2010 | | | We're Blogging - We facebooked. We myspaced. We twittered.
We even sent a letter or two.
We wanted a way to stay connected with YOU, and we found it. Welcome to the Aerial Angels' blog.
We've gathered our posts from years back, and what a ride it's been. So read
| 12/23/2009 | | | Sweet November - Dear Friends of Aerial Angels,
As the fall Renaissance Festival season draws to a close, we are celebrating an incredible 2009! We developed Fallen at the University of Alaska, had our first audience for the indoor touring show Stand Up
| 11/13/2009 | | | September Mornings Still Can Make Me Feel That Way - Dear Friends of Aerial Angels,
After finishing up a whirlwind Canadian summer tour (read on to find out the naughty way we made $3000), the Angels will spend the fall in New England performing at King Richard's, Maryland, and the Pennsylvania Renais
| 09/14/2009 | | | August Rush - Dear Friends of Aerial Angels and Starfish Circus,
We have had an exhilarating summer! Our tour of central Europe was a success: learning to sputter out our hat line in the tongue of Alexander the Great, enjoying unique theatre (a castle was actuall
| 08/15/2009 | | | Summer Loving - We hope you are eating lots of watermelon and wearing lots of sunscreen! Summer is a busy season, as always, for the Aerial Angels. If you are joining our newsletter, welcome! If you've been with us this year, you'll notice this one looks a lot coole
| 06/20/2009 | | | Macedonia: The Language Bridge - Macedonian is more difficult than any language I have ever encountered, and I m including Czech and Japanese. For starters, it s written with the Cyrillic alphabet, like Russian, and there s just enough letters that look like the Roman alphabet to ma
| 06/02/2009 | | | Macedonia: The Language Bridge - Macedonian is more difficult than any language I have ever encountered, and I'm including Czech and Japanese. For starters, it's written with the Cyrillic alphabet, like Russian, and there's just enough letters that look like the Roman alphabet to ma
| 06/02/2009 | | | Night. Eastern Europe. Yes, the Toilet Paper is Still Communist. - We landed in Amsterdam this morning and Sofia this afternoon, where we meet Charlie, who is to drive us the four hours through Bulgaria to Macedonia. After claiming our two bundles of eight foot pipes, bundle of four foot pipes, hoop, and gear bags,
| 06/02/2009 | | | For the Busy Stand Up Eight Fan - Our 90-second promotional video by the talented Rachel Peters. For more, see rachelcpeters' channel on Youtube.
| 05/28/2009 | | | Stand Up Video - Our incredibly talented friend and colleague, Rachel Peters, visited our Dekalb premiere. She made us some promo videos! Check them out.
And read about her visit.
| 05/28/2009 | | | And Now There's An Audience... - How did the past month go so fast? Where did the time go? Here we are. Tonight there will be an audience. Tonight there will be reaction (hopefully) gasps (hopefully) and applause (would be nice). It was almost a year ago that Allison and Zay went on
| 05/21/2009 | | | Everybody Eats Fire Now! - In a moment of insanity, Lindsay the dramaturg bet the cast that when they got the tongue to tongue to tongue fire transfer for the Fire Party Act, SHE would learn how to eat fire.
So they did, and she did.
(Pssssst, she always knew they'd get it)
| 05/20/2009 | | | Not Every Day Goes According to Plan - Today was supposed to be a flying day. It wasn't.
Flying is the finale. The big deal. The big picture. The thing that's never been done. Never been staged. Never been worked on. The thing we should have started working with way back on Thursday. Did
| 05/18/2009 | | | We Are in the Building - Stand Up Eight has traveled to Dekalb where the show will be performed next week. We are in the theatre.
The next step in the adventure begins. The lights are being hung and focused. The magnitude of the trampoline and tramp wall is being dis
| 05/15/2009 | | | Stand Up Eight Is Ready For An Audience! - After years of dreaming, developing, begging, and rehearsing, Stand Up Eight is ready for an audience. We would love to see you, our loyal friends, in the house. If you know others in the Chicago area who'd enjoy the show, pass this email along to th
| 05/14/2009 | | | Warming Up - Everyone warms up in their own way before a run. Except the stage manager who looks askance at being on camera....
| 05/13/2009 | | | Whip Boy and Whip Girl - Allison and Brett work on their whip routine.
| 05/12/2009 | | | All Hail Brett - So today's post was going to be about silks. But someone (Brett) thinks there are too many pictures of silks and someone (Brett) thinks there's not enough pictures of others (Brett).
So today, we offer you a tribute of other people in Stand Up Eight
| 05/11/2009 | | | Something Worth Watching - And another week begins at Stand Up Eight rehearsals. We have four days left in Grand Rapids and then the whole troupe moves to Dekalb. We work for a full week in the theatre the show will be in, which is awesome.
There are many pieces to this puzzl
| 05/10/2009 | | | More Tramp Wall - A unique view of Brett on the Tramp Wall.
| 05/08/2009 | | | And then the piano rolls in - Kim and Richard worked all day long on their acro routine for Act Two in Stand Up Eight.
It's going to take place around and ON a grand piano.
Very cool. Even without the piano and in the middle of the gym, the moves the two were practising looked
| 05/07/2009 | | | The Stuntman and The Comedian - So the comedian makes it look funny.....
And the stuntman makes it look painful....
Or is it always funny?
| 05/06/2009 | | | Richard and the Splinter -
| 05/06/2009 | | | Que Pasa? - What does this picture mean? What is happening? Why is everyone gathered around? Hmmm, if only there were a video to explain the situation! Stay tuned....
| 05/05/2009 | | | Fire! - Not everyone in Stand Up Eight has worked with fire before. There are some fire newbies.
In the show, everyone will have to extinguish a torch in their mouth.
And the finale of the act is a tongue, to tongue, to tongue transfer.
That's righ
| 05/05/2009 | | | Lyra..... AND skates? -
| 05/04/2009 | | | Brett and Richard Play with the Trampoline Wall -
| 05/03/2009 | | | Rehearsal Strap Video for Stand Up Eight Finale -
| 05/02/2009 | | | What do you mean it's only been THREE days??? - Three days can feel like ninety when you're working your butt off. But, ha, it's all paying off.
There would have been pictures of newbie fire eaters Brett, Misti and Sam swallowing fire for the first time (YAY) ..... if we hadn't spent so much tim
| 05/01/2009 | | | Tramp Wall, Tramp Wall, Tramp Wall! - Day Two.
It's amazing to see how in just one day those working on the tramp wall have improved.
After their time on the wall, Richard talked about the tramp wall becoming less of a work out and more fun.
We can't wait to see where they are in a we
| 04/30/2009 | | | And Stand Up Eight begins! - There's nothing like diving into the deep end of the pool! Today marks the first day of rehearsal for Stand Up Eight - and the first act we worked on was the Aerial Silks Party.
The aerial silks section of the show is going to be fun, fun, fun.
| 04/29/2009 | | | April Showers - NEWS:
Cirque du K, Kalamazoo College's circus club, debuted their second main stage performance on March 15th in the Dalton Theatre. MAERD (dream spelled backwards!) incorporated a cast of ten student performers and was a great success. Skill
| 04/23/2009 | | | Young Hearts Be Free Tonight - Happy Valentine's Day! We hope this finds you wading into 2009 with fun and excitement!
2008 saw the Angels travel farther than ever, with exceptionally notable events and festivals at home and abroad and incredible people along the way. We were tou
| 02/14/2009 | | | Midsummer in Florida! - To kick off 2009, Isabella and Todd Espeland of Commedia Zuppa are in Winter Park, Florida avoiding truly cold weather and directing twenty-four Rollins College theatre students in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. And, as can b
| 02/12/2009 | | | Aerial Angels on Dragon's Den Online Now! - Hey there all - our episode of Dragons' Den airs Monday night on CBC. However, we have access to a "sneak peek" and you can watch the episode online now! We are at the very end of the episode, and I recommend watching the opening credits so that you
| 10/06/2008 | | | Splish Splash in Maryland - This Sunday at the Maryland Renaissance Festival the Aerial Angels found themselves in awe of some other worthy performers. They gave an adorable, unexpected performance of splash-tacular proportions.
This performance was made possible because, at
| 09/30/2008 | | | Merry in Maryland - Greetings all!
It has been three weeks since Tincelle, Peanut, Sparkle and Mimi began our performances at the Maryland Renaissance festival. So far it has been a pretty exciting run. The show is different, it's more of an artistic nature than the
| 09/24/2008 | | | How to Survive the Eastside of NYC in a traffic jam in the driving rain - So imagine this: You've just had your FIRST DAY OFF in 43 days. In fact, you've just had 5 consecutive days off, and you've spent your treasured time with your blooming romance in NC. 5 blissful days of vaca and now you're en route to KRF where a bea
| 09/16/2008 | | | Halifax Champs! - We were so pleased to be runners-up for the Audience Choice Award at the Halifax Busker Festival! The largest (and one of the most prestigious) busker festival in North America, Halifax had a terrific line-up this year - we were honored to come secon
| 09/05/2008 | | | A Blue Team Summer - Hello Aerial Angels' fans! Flame here. You may remember me from such events as King Richard's Faire 2007, the Alaska 2008 extravanganza and the Spring 2008 Southeastern Tour de Force. Up until now, you have known me as the number 3 - the shadow, t
| 08/27/2008 | | | London - Every gig has a schedule. In Dublin, we headed down to the pitch around noon to warm up for a 1PM show, got some yogurt along the way, said hello to fellow performers at the festival, threw down three shows hour-on-hour-off, then took the minibus to
| 07/19/2008 | | | Singapore: Signs and Portents - Here's what makes Spike nervous:
Chopsticks
Food poisoning
Hepatitis
Here's what makes Isabella nervous:
Meals without napkins
The death penalty
Squat toilets
...let's go to Singapore!
Spike and I roamed London Heathrow preflight, changing the 2kg
| 07/09/2008 | | | Mimi the Brilliant! - Aerial Angels congratulates Company Member MA Harrison (Mimi) on graduating with high honors from Kalamazoo College. MA has been working really, really hard on her Senior Individual Project (big deal at K-College) and has a 90 page thesis paper writt
| 06/30/2008 | | | Postcard from Ireland - After the Street Performer World Championships in Dublin, Spike and I have fetched up in Camden, London, at the flat of Sparky Mark (Senor Chainsaw I realize these stage names mean nothing to most of you, but if you keep a picture in your head of a
| 06/21/2008 | | | No-One Can Smell You On TV - Dragon's Den Day. The Triple D. Aerial Angels Spike and Isabella are headed into Toronto to pitch our Big Show idea in front of a panel of Canadian multi-millionaire investors who will decide then and there whether to shower us with buckets of cash,
| 06/10/2008 | | | Overheard/Overseen at the Dundas Busker Festival - ...Star, Isabella, Spike and Rachel Peters (pavement artist and the graphic designer of our lovely new website) learning to say "Spike is a small grapefruit!" and "Star wants to know where is the library of my aunt!" in French, for the sake of having
| 06/08/2008 | | | How to Have a Good, no, Great, no, FANTASTIC Show! - As the head Aerial Angel, newer performers often ask me for advice on how to turn their shows from "ok" to "FANTASTIC!" I'd like to share some of those little tricks that work for myself and the other Senior Company Members, in hopes that they will h
| 06/07/2008 | | | New Site, New Show, New Summer - Exciting News from Aerial Angels!
The new website is up - check it out at www.angelsintheair.com!
* * *
Aerial Angels will be on the Canadian reality TV show Dragon's Den! The show features entrepreneurs
| 05/31/2008 | | | Chains don't love you back - Aerial fabric is hurty. Rope burns, wrapping up so tight you can't breath, sliding down too fast for your hands.
But hey, nothing says fun like a challenge. So I get a set of aerial chains. I've seen them around, tried Silea's in Germany, watched so
| 05/15/2008 | | | On the Road, On the Road, and On the Road Some More... - ~Also from Isabella and Spike
Six states, two countries, several flights and 24 hours of driving in four days - a snapshot of the Aerial Angels Southeastern Tour 2008.
Friday and Saturday found Spike, Isabella, Star, Flame and guest hamster Rikki t
| 05/07/2008 | | | Alaska Take Three! - So the first day of our Alaksa Adventure, take 3, was greatly influenced by the wind. 12 hours of travel and 4 time zones post birthday celebrations, we arrive in Anchorage, which is a lot like Michigan's weather, but with less sun. Exhausted, giddy,
| 02/28/2008 | | | Short Video of Starfish Circus - Click here!
Made by a local newspaper - this shows a bit of what we are doing!
"(Not so) high wire" my behind :)
| 01/16/2008 | | | I've Seen A Lot of Circuses... - All my conditioning has to get done in the hotel room, at this point in the process the kids are good enough to lead each other in abs and arms while I sort out the costume dispute, send the stage manager to call the welding guy and find out why we d
| 01/15/2008 | | | What I Did On My Day Off - Performing in St. Augustine
| 01/14/2008 | | | In Praise of Dance Belts...Day Four. - The boys have mostly all had to buy dance belts. It's like thong underwear crossed with an athletic supporter. They are always surprising to the first-time wearer ("Wait a minute, that thing goes where?").
They run down the hall, first upright, the
| 01/09/2008 | | | Day One - We work in two rehearsal periods, each two hours long, each with about 35 kids. They're in groups - first we see acrobats, poi spinners and clowns, the clowns departing to another space with Todd to learn rolling globe and rolla bolla and balancing o
| 01/05/2008 | | | Seventy Six Children - No, really. SEVENTY SIX children in the latest incarnation of Starfish Circus, down here at Douglas Anderson School for the Arts in Jacksonville. And we still turned away fifty more - sorry, guys.
We're down here in sunny-yet-freezing Florida, havin
| 01/03/2008 | | | First Show - We conditioned during the carols at the end of the show, and then joined everyone on stage for Silent Night. Quite moving when the piano dropped out and the soloists went off mic and everyone just sang, the audience to us and we to them, casual cloth
| 12/23/2007 | | | Easy/Hard - The scary part is not performing at 35 feet. Or flying around the room on the silks while the winch takes me to 45 feet and back down again, which is in fact incredible and easy and fun.
The scary part is climbing through and over the catwalk raili
| 12/16/2007 | | | Getting It - Bela Karolyi was famous for his little nicknames. Betty Okino was a "fat spider". Mary Lou Retton was a "fat dwarf". He carried Kerri Strug in his arms off the floor, he urged her to make the second vault that (we sort of overlook) didn't actually ma
| 12/10/2007 | | | Honoring Michael Carl O'Neil - We were saddened to hear that Canadian busker Michael Carl O'Neil passed away in October.
Luna, Spike and I met Michael at the St John's Busker Festival in New Brunswick this summer. He was a fantastic performer - an amazing human statue and a hilar
| 12/09/2007 | | | Better than alone at the drive-in - I go to the gym. It's the day after Thanksgiving, haven't gained anything yet, but it's never to early to anticipate...I'm meeting Miss Pussycat and there's an insane open gym filled with the children of Black Friday shoppers.
Instead, all is dark a
| 11/23/2007 | | | Cue James Bond Theme... - So after dropping in on a rope class, I go home to shower before flying out while Spike and Luna take a straps class. Rope class was great - I got a bunch of new moves and worked on fine-tuning bascule climb, dive, and a big rotating drop that's lik
| 11/14/2007 | | | Run for the Border... - So in contrast with last week's adventure...
I was xing into Canada. Had the ole passport open and ready. The guard didn't even look up at me.
"And where do you live?"
Spike: Michigan
"And what's your business in Cananda?"
Spike: Passing through
| 09/06/2007 | | | Fruit vs. Customs - SO... (Insert apology for lack of blogging here) ... I'm crossing the border into the US, having dropped off Luna at the airport, the rig at Rachel Peters, and my garbage into the proper duty-free provided receptacle.
Rewind to Orangeville: the gig
| 09/04/2007 | | | We love the Canadian Border! - Ahhh.clearly Max and Lady used up all the Angels' border-crossing karma. Luna, Spike and I made our way towards New Brunswick, crossing into Canada once at Detroit/Windsor, where we were stopped briefly for the usual "Hi, this is who we are, this is
| 07/27/2007 | | | Canada- A brief in notation form. - "It's like French Toast, foreign French Toast." -Max on his first encounter with tofu
Crossed the border seven times in five days and were not sent to customs once.
Total time crossing border, less than 30min.
Cannot avoid belligerent drunken Amer
| 07/09/2007 | | | CANADA, CASTLES, and ALLERGIES - Things we've learned so far:
-You must change your voice mail BEFORE you hit the border to Canada... it only took Luna four or five tries.
-One must bring a cargo net and duct tape to get a rolling globe on top of a car
-Everyone made fun of Flip'
| 03/12/2007 | | | Oh, Toronto Nothing Punny. - So Isabella and I have journeyed to our neighbor to the North to "audition" before Ag Fairs of Ontario. Once again we got stopped at the border, but it was a relatively painless visit. We're getting to know the border office officers, and they are st
| 02/17/2007 | | | Strange Dream - The adventures of Super Spike-
I had a very peculiar dream last night involving a New Years Eve gig in a big city and some has-been actress going to maybe or maybe not blow up a part of the city. I happened to be in the room where she was recording
| 02/13/2007 | | | Boot camp kicks my BOOTY - AHHHHHH is all I can really say about boot camp. It was hard, hurty, sweet, fun, and absolutely amazing. It was fun to have new people join us Angels at camp this time. I enjoyed watching them learn and try new things as we did the same. It was also
| 01/06/2007 | | | Oh God It's Day Four - Friday. Or as I like to think of it, the LONG day. We went until 6:30 today instead of 4:30 because we had the gym and tomorrow is a short day. So it was great, and by great I mean exhausting and painful. But still great!
We spent the morning stret
| 01/05/2007 | | | Training Camp Day Three - Today was a bit of a take-it-easy day - it's the middle day, we're all tired and full of stiff muscles! Focused on hoop/lyra this morning, with some free aerial time, then after lunch we tumbled and had more aerial and ground skills time, then ate fi
| 01/04/2007 | | | Training Camp Day Two - Well, they're all in bed tonight...9PM and the house was dark and silent except for little old me - so tired I was weeping in the shower. Fortunately, my dear one will be slathering me with Tiger Balm before bed.
Great aerial time this morning - eve
| 01/03/2007 | | | Training Camp Day One - So we gathered in the gym this morning for training camp. Well - everyone else gathered, I was still up a 32-foot extension ladder, finishing rigging. You'd be amazed how many aerialists are afraid of heights!
Spent the morning on silk in a begin
| 01/02/2007 | | | Ahh, the holiday - I love Christmas. Specifically, I love cooking. I hit the grocery store at midnight on the way back from Cleveland last night and picked up a few necessaries...and thought, OK, I'm going to make a mincemeat pie - have to make, very hard to find in
| 12/24/2006 | | | Autumn time - Know what I like about Thanksgiving weekend? It's my big stay-home holiday. After working every weekend since the beginning of February and spending the last 4 1/2 months more or less continuously on the road, I have spent seven straight days letti
| 11/30/2006 | | | Chiggers! - I have chiggers.
Many of you may be wondering, "what the heck is that?" and so, I, the wikipedia informed Spike, a victim of supreme discomfort and master of all matters relating to the current plague, shall educate you.
Chiggers are little red bug
| 11/17/2006 | | | Flip goes to London - Thursday, November 09, 2006
Over the past weekend I have had the wonderful opportunity to compete in London at the David Ward Cup competition. There were teams from all over the world that attended. London of course was everything I expected; beau
| 11/9/2006 |
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