Slow Thinking Session 6: Creating Circus in Extraordinary Times

SLOW THINKING

Upswing’s Slow Thinking is a series of collective, online conversations that respond to the needs of the circus sector. We are inviting circus artists, practitioners and programmers to join and discuss topics that we, as a sector, feel preoccupied with at this time.

Session 6: Creating circus in extraordinary times

Wednesday 4th November 2020, 11:30am GMT

Since our last Slow Thinking session in July, the sector has been finding ways to create, to present work, and to engage audiences both online and in person.

In Session 6, we’ll discuss creation in these extraordinary times, with some food for thought provided by circus artists and organisations in the form of newly created work. These creative insights will serve as a springboard for collective discussion during the session. We’ll explore how we continue to adapt our creative practice; whether we create new work or reinvent past pieces; and, ultimately, discuss what it is that we are learning creatively.

Whilst we acknowledge that health and safety is paramount at this time, we also recognise that everyone is taking a different approach to interpreting guidelines and managing risk within their creative teams. So, whilst we will touch upon protocols, the aim for this session to is to provide inspiration and to share the ways in which we’re all working creatively in extraordinary times.

Who’s it for?

• Individuals working in the circus sector – freelance artists, educators, producers, directors and technicians, and those who work within circus organisations;
• Those who programme circus as part of wider public performance programmes – either online or live

Click here For more information and for and recordings of previous sessions.

Join to hear from:

Jerone Marsh-Reid and Susan Kempster, Catch Me (pictured second from right)

Jerone and Susan, Upswing’s Catch Me cast, together with Upswing's Artistic Director Vicki Amedume, will talk about the experience of recreating Catch Me into a socially distanced version both for live outdoor performance and for film.

Catch Me is an intimate and surprising take on age, race and gender. A duet – at a distance – between an older women and younger man, two bodies discover unexpected connections whilst never quite reaching each other. Part installation and part performance, Catch Me asks how we see each other and who we value.

Sadiq Ali, The Chosen Haram (pictured left)

We’ll be joined by Sadiq Ali via pre-recorded interview and questions taken live from the rehearsal room. Sadiq, a mixed heritage circus artist from the UK, will talk about his new show, The Chosen Haram and its adaptation from an R&D circus theatre show to a short film.

The Chosen Haram tells the story of two queer men and their chance meeting through a dating app. It portrays the highs and lows of their relationship and the barriers that they face. Performed on two Chinese Poles the story is mixed with gravity defying tricks and choreography to make even stoic hearts melt.

Lina Johansson, Silvia Fratelli and Freya Stoka, Mimbre, In the Park and To Untouch (pictured second from left)

Lina Johansson and Silvia Fratelli, Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors of Mimbre, will join together with Freya Stokka, circus artist, to discuss the challenges of their new performances In The Park – a recorded film; and To Untouch – a new live performance.

To Untouch was created specifically for Greenwich+Docklands Festival this September and explores new and different ways of keeping physical connections and complicity between each other, when the impulse of direct physical touch has to be restrained. Similarly the site-specific In the Park reinterprets how bodies relate to each other from a distance.

Massimiliano Rossetti, Lost in Translation Circus, Interlude Circus (pictured right)

Massimiliano Rossetti, Company Director and Performer of Lost in Translation Circus, will join to discuss the challenges of realising and presenting Interlude Festival - a partnership with Norwich Theatre which saw a six-week programme of live performances and participatory activities delivered in a circus tent in Norwich. Massi will also talk Lost in Translation's approach to making new work during this time by forming creative 'bubbles'.

Important Information:

This online event will take place on Zoom and will include screen-sharing for audio/visual content.

Access: Upswing ensures access provision across all of our online programmes - please provide details of your requirements in the sign up form.

Upswing is evaluating this session as part of the wider Slow Thinking programme and we’d like you to help by completing the demographic information on the booking form. The questions are not mandatory and you can opt out of any of them.