In a twist to circuses, the Acrobatic Conundrum – The Circus of Second Chances, coming to the San Juan Community Theatre Aug. 21, carries a baking theme, with lemons to be specific. This contemporary Seattle-based circus company will delight all ages.
“It’s always fun when you have a kid with a great laugh that can get the whole room going. A lot of people laugh, cry, gasp, and even boo and hiss at the villainous scenes. Hopefully, they can feel the excitement along with us,” Founder and Director Terry Crane said. “We love to connect with audiences. All of us come alive when we have an audience respond. We lean into that joke a little more.”
As a teen, Crane first became interested in the circus after attending a show. He became fascinated with rope acrobatics, leading him to attend circus school in Montreal, Canada.
The website explains that “Crane surrendered to restless urges that led him to walk calmly away with the circus at the tender age of 20.” He has impressively performed on four continents, in theaters, under the big top, and on the street.” As a director, Terry is on a relentless quest to tell true fiction, contradict human isolation, and portray paradox.”
Crane grew up in the Northwest and has visited the San Juans as a tourist. “It is enjoyable to off this little dose of fun and give back to the community,” Crane said. This will be the first time the show has come to Friday Harbor, but they have performed on Lopez on several occasions over the years. The troupe consists of his good friends, artists Melissa Knowles, Emma Curtiss,and Maia LeDoux.
Knowles is “professionally tiny,” the website stated, “and can often be found hiding in your locker or being thrown high into the air by pretty much anyone.” She has toured across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia and has spent the last three years performing and collaborating with Acrobatic Conundrum. Before discovering the circus, she received degrees in Art and Psychology from the University of Tennessee. In 2010, she completed the Professional Training Program at the New England Center for Circus Arts in Brattleboro, VT. She spends most of her time in Seattle performing, teaching circus, and making art at Equinox Studios. Her favorite thing about teaching and performing in the circus is how it empowers people to do things they always thought impossible, but had never tried.
Curtis, according to the website, has been channeling her weirdness into art for nearly a decade. Her love of collaborative performance is always taking her somewhere new to play and create with others. When she isn’t up in the air or on her cyr wheel, she teaches at the School for Acrobatics and New Circus Arts in South Seattle.
Marketing Director LeDoux fell into the circus by accident and spent a dozen years working at the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts as the Design and Marketing Manager. “She doesn’t have any circus skills but is a virtuosic virtual juggler balancing a graphic design career, parenting, and making art,” the website stated.
“We have known each other for years and have a trusting relationship,” Crane said, adding as an example that “Melissa stands on me, I hold her up in the air while throwing knives and whisks.”
To maintain the skills and fitness such feats take, the troupe practices six days a week at the Circus School in Seattle, balancing on ropes, climbing. “It all takes a lot of work to stay sharp,” Crane explained.
This show in particular is a mix of personal storytelling wiht circus acts. According to Crane, “It juxtaposes humor with super feats of athletics.”
Tickets are $25 for adults or $15 for students reserved. To learn more or buy tickets visit https:www.sjctheatre.org/.
They will also perform at the Orcas Center Friday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. and the Lopez Center, Saturday, Aug. 24 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visitwww.acrobaticconundrum.com/current-shows.
