Circus of Horrors



A Circus Folk Unite! Production

October 2006, 6.30pm, Library Lawn Main Tent

Halloween Hijinks
The Circus of Horrors told the story of a little girl who gets lost in a twisted circus nightmare as juggling creatures, dancing fortune tellers, human puppets, and other assorted freakshow acts entertain you -- and chill you to the bone.

Skills included: stilting, contortion, knife-swallowing, poi, hoop, clowning, glass-eating, sweater monstering, mental floss, bellydancing, contact juggling, and handbalancing. The fireshow afterward included poi, single staff, doublestaff, swords, fire-spitting, and fire-eating.

Development Process
Circus Folk Unite hit the ground running in September 2006. One year old, the first meeting of the year had 55 attendees, almost too many people to handle. Infused with new interest, preparations for creating a Halloween show were begun at once – time, after all, was short! Sundays became the designated day for brainstorming and act creation. From the initial flood of ideas -- jump-roping zombies, staff-twirling skeletons, sideshow acts and sweater monsters -- groups began forming around specific acts. Over the last few weeks of September and through October, these acts were choreographed and developed. Costumes were found, piece by piece. Music was chosen. Skills were practiced over and over. In addition to the Sunday meeting times, individual acts began meeting to choreograph and rehearse during the week. A full fire-manipulation crew, brought together by the WildFire festival in September, joined the list of acts. The act order was shuffled and re-shuffled, solo acts added and group acts honed as the night of Hampshire Halloween neared. A certain precocious 10-year old was added to the cast, and the narrative characters of Girl and Ringmaster created to tie together the show.

For the first time, Circus Folk Unite was to perform in a tent. Collaboration with the Committee on Community Development (COCA), which organizes and funds the Hampshire Halloween festivities, resulted in an agreement to provide sound and lights in the Main Tent on the Library Lawn the night of Friday, October 27th. The tent arrived on Thursday, as agreed… but without tent flaps! The Freebox Freaks met for a night dress rehearsal in the freezing dark without lights, sound, or shelter. After a quick review of entrances and exits, there was a show run-through. An impromptu scene was added to make time for a costume change, and props were quickly tested out. Cold but excited, the troupe went to bed, planning last-minute preparations for the next day, Hampshire Halloween. After a midday search for cardboard to cover the risers which composed the stage in order to protect performer’s feet from splinters and other last-minute preparations, the Freebox Freaks reconvened at the finally-flapped tent Friday afternoon, costumed and ready. The final rehearsal began despite the fact that the light and sound crew were late. The troupe continued the rehearsal as the crew set up lights and amplifiers around the stage. The rehearsal had scarcely ended as early audience members arrived. The show was so well-attended that the tent was overfull and late-comers were unable to see! In the end, despite final rehearsal difficulties, the costumed audience was chilled and enthralled by the daunting skills and haunting ethos of the performance. After the tent performance, the audience was led to an outdoor fire-show by the RCC.