Youth Circus holds Auditions for Circus in Wonderland

Oddfellows Playhouse and ARTFARM announce auditions for the 2013-14 cast of Circophony, a touring youth circus company co-sponsored by the two Middletown-based theater groups. Young people ages twelve to eighteen are invited to audition to join the cast of this year’s show, Circus in Wonderland.

Auditions will be held Tuesday, September 10, 6 – 8 pm at Oddfellows Playhouse at 128 Washington Street in Middletown.
 
Circophony is a select youth circus company committed to providing first class training to aspiring circus artists while creating exciting new performances which will tour to schools, clubs, fairs, corporate events and festivals. Young people selected for the Company will receive a rigorous combination of circus training, physical conditioning and rehearsal/production experience. Members are expected to arrive punctually, attend all rehearsals and performances, work hard, be strong team players, and train independently outside of rehearsals.
 
Circophony is open to young people ages twelve to eighteen. Prior circus experience is not required. If you do not have circus experience, a background in dance, gymnastics, theater, cheerleading, parkour, hooping, magic or serious physical activity is helpful. The show is directed by ARTFARM’s Executive Director Dic Wheeler, who has been performing, directing and teaching circus in the United States and Europe for thirty years. Dic is the founder of the Children’s Circus of Middletown and ARTFARM’s Circus for a Fragile Planet, and is a charter member of the American Youth Circus Organization. Lead Trainer is circus performer and teacher Allison McDermott, an acrobat, aerialist, and graduate of the Professional Track Program at the New England Center for Circus Arts in Vermont.
 
Rehearsals will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6 – 9 pm at Oddfellows starting Tuesday, September 17.  Attendance at rehearsals is compulsory – if you cannot commit to the rehearsal schedule you should not apply to join Circophony.

The opening of this year’s show will be January 17 & 18 at Oddfellows Playhouse. There will be rehearsals every evening January 13 – 16. Circophony’s Circus in Wonderland will be an original, main stage circus production loosely based on the characters and scenes from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, incorporating juggling, acrobatics, balancing, clowning, physical comedy and other skills developed by the company members.

The show will be available for touring throughout the school year, and Circophony members will be expected to be available for touring performances between January and May. Performers and their parents will be given adequate notice about show times and dates. We may also travel to regional youth circus festivals during the year.

Tuition for Circophony, which includes over thirty rehearsals plus the performances and tour, is $250. Some financial assistance is available.

To register for the audition, or if you have questions, email info@art-farm.org or call (860)346-4390

Food On A Stick, 4-Ring Circus, and a Fragile Planet

ARTFARM's Circus For A Fragile Planet is billed as the "Keynote Performance" for the 43rd Annual New England Environmental Education Alliance Annual Conference to be held in late September at the Incarnation Center in Ivoryton CT. Environmental Educators from all over New England and the Northeast and even a few from Canada will be attending. The conference theme is: Arena of Issues and Solutions in a Changing World and has Four Rings of Focus:
• Cultural Diversity
• Environmental Literacy
• Professional Development and Leadership
• Model Programs that Work
Sue Quincy, the conference organizer, invites any and all interested parties to attend and seek registration information at the NEEEA conference website.

Dic Wheeler, the Director of Art-Farm, says that this is an exciting show for the Circus. Wheeler says, "I particularly enjoy performing for predominantly adult audiences as I can go a little deeper with the science. The most challenging are the audiences that include [a wide age range of] 2 and 3 year olds, teenagers and adults -- who do we target? The circus act appeals to everyone, but the science has to be presented at a certain level so that it doesn't make the littlest ones tune out or seem patronizing to the adults."

The Circus has done performances at several colleges over the past 18 months, including Wesleyan, Central CT, and SUNY Cobbleskill, which is how the NEEEA Conference organizers became aware of the Circus. Wheeler expects the NEEEA conference will be a very positive experience because the audience will appreciate the fun approach to environmental education, agree with the message, and probabaly have some useful feedback to offer, with a sharp eye on the content of the Circus.

Ms. Quincy has related that this is a very fun and effective conference full of camraderie and community in which educators exchange ideas and information and infuse each other's viewpoints by sharing success stories from their states and participating in interactive and hands-on sessions. At this conference, educators obtain materials and resources that they take back to their areas where they can directly apply and turn into solutions.

Because the economy is a big challenge these days and budgets are strapped, many of the educators who count on attending this conference every year are using their own personal time and funds to be there. Some of those attendees will turn the conference into a family vacation of sorts, combining the travel into both work and fun. With that in consideration, the conference is a family friendly event with events and outings incorporated. In keeping with the fun and showcasing the Circus for a Fragile Planet as the keynote performance, the food offerings this year will be "food on a stick" items. Yum!

A new feature of the conference this year is the Richard Haley Memorial Quilt Auction. Richard Haley was a true environmental leader in the state and a unique individual. The quilt auction will benefit environmental educators who wish to attend a conference or training seminar. The quilts are all hand made locally - more information can be found at the web site of the CT Outdoor & Environmental Education Association

Eye on the Air, July 17

Eye on the Air, WESU, 881.FM




Guests

Ruthann "Rae" Johnson, candidate for mayor of Middletown in the Realistic Balance Party and Dic Wheeler from ArtFarm and Shakespeare in the Grove.

Eye on the Air Today

Eye on the Air, a radio show to complement this blog. Guests today are Merrick Alpert, Democratic candidate for Senate running against Chris Dodd, and Dic Wheeler, from ArtFarm to talk about the upcoming Sonnet Slam to benefit the yearly Shakespeare in the Grove.

Eye on the Air, 1-2 PM, WESU, 88.1 FM, (wesu.org).