How conventional

Hibernation is over!

Winter is apparently behind us and so it's time to start performing all the new material I've been working on all winter. Hahaha as if I'm that organised.

I have recently found myself on stage at a couple of circus conventions. These things scare the heck out of me so know idea how I've just done two in about a month.




Stumble upon a stage Number 1 - Birmingham bullring

This is a juggling convention in the place with the largest most ridiculous clock I have ever seen in my life, it is near so big that you need binoculars to actually read the time off the thing! Juggling conventions are basically large gatherings of folk who tend to be absolutely amazing jugglers. The gig came around through a friend who was asked to try and find more people after a few a few artists had pulled out. Having already established myself as a second choice artist I went for it.

I had never performed on stage in front of a crowd of jugglers before, it is blooming scary. You just get away with so much less filler. These people know the lines, they know what is easy. However they also know what is hard, so unlike juggle muggles these guys will clap the stuff that is actually what you find hard. This means that you can either do a technically brilliant routine or come up with something novel and silly, no prizes for guessing which I went for :)

I decided to play it safe and do my single poweriser act, knowing that it is something I came up with without YouTube I hoped it would entertain. I also strapped an 8 quid eBay mic to myself and decided to do it talky as usual, so on the highly likely event I cocked it up I could attempt to talk my way out of the awkward sympathy clap.

My performance started quite well I thought, got a few laughs in places and luckily my head threw some jokes out of the blue that got some good responses. Things were going quite well. However disaster is never far away, and is actually usually only a sentence away. Every now and then I'd do a line that just didn't get a reaction at all, the laughs would instantly stop, it is also at this point that my brain decides to clear itself of all possible words that could get me out of this mess. I am certainly getting better at these situations, I rarely get nervous going out on stage any more so my head has stopped screaming ARRRRRRRRRR at my while I perform with quivering hands, however the lack of response does tend to throw me back to empty headed bafoon.

On the whole given that the lack of preparation I was pretty happy.

 






Stumble upon a stage Number 2 -Sheffield circus gathering

And it was back to the scary world of comparing for me. Avid fans of this blog (probably just my mum then) will remember I had once compared a gig at Greentop Circus and I found it very scary indeedy. Well for some reason that fact decided to bypass my mouth as I said yes to another chance at the same scary ordeal.

And it was a roaring success gaining rave reviews like:

'our host is wearing a rather peculiar toy soldier outfit'

'if I have one criticism, you went on a bit'

And

'Hi Chris, I think I know you from Greentop.' (my name is James)

Yes ok so it wasn't quite a sensation in fact it was much like the first: passable bumbling. One thing was different however.... I really enjoyed it, no nerves, just went out and did it. Now this was either due to my impeccable preparation or the shot of rum I had before going on stage, jury's out...

I decided to take an even bigger risk and go out naked.... OK lets clarify, by that I mean with no juggling props to hide behind. Just me a mic and some vague ideas of what I would say. I have to say, I could get used to it. Knowing that there is nothing else to worry about, nothing but a microphone to drop. It has inspired me to try my hand at an open mic comedy club.

Just got to find one now....





WOW! Ignoring the bad spelling and grammar that post was amazing! If only there were more......

The first time I was a compere.
Careers Fair Juggling Gig Adventure

Health & safety gone mad!

It's what you've all been waiting for! Finally here is a video of our juggling duet performed at the Usk Winter Festival 2012. It's health and safety gone mad!

Life is a cabaret!

Hello So Circus readers! It's been such a long time since our last post....but this doesn't mean we haven't been busy! In fact we've been busier than ever, which is why we haven't had much time to sit down to a studious blog writing session. But luckily I've squeezed in a moment and here's one now for you!

First up: News Flash! In two days we will be performing our debut juggling double act at Usk Winter festival...See our write-up here!

We're practicing round-the-clock for our juggling duet and are hoping it's going to pay off. In our never-seen-before act you can expect to see an angelic health & safety officer battling with a devilish rogue juggler (who knows who will win?!)...which will all be rounded off nicely by a have-a-go-yourself workshop. We've had news that Santa and his reindeer will be watching, so we'd better be good! We'll leave him some mince pies and hope he'll give us a review with stars in it... 

Meanwhile I've been busy with Nofit State Circus practicing for a cabaret collective show, 'The Road'. I embarked on this project with a handful of other professional and amateur circus performers, who didn't really know what to expect. Over around a month and a half we would be working with Brazilian clown director Angela de Castro to create a performance, showcasing the group's collection of diverse talents. During the first session of the show creation process we all had to show our skills. A skill could be anything from doing a trapeze routine to badly playing a kazoo. Some of the skills people pulled out of the bag (literally) were pretty wacky indeed. Little Arif (a street performer) had a bag of noises that he would unleash at various intervals throughout the session. Clare, a clown from Crickhowell, came complete with a wonderful array of crazy costumes. My favourite was a dress made from road maps from which Clare would advance towards members of the audience pointing, confused, at a map in her hands. It was a surreal, hilarious and slightly stressful day. I sang a song I'd written the week before (shakily), did a miniature street dance routine and finally some aerial hoop which I think went down ok...

The show creating process was like dancing along a little path that sometimes lead to barbed wire and keep out signs and other times to a scenic mountain view. De Castro kept us amused with her very direct directing and dispelled all our worries with her words of reassurance: 'If it looks sh**, we cut!

Although at times it was frustrating and nothing seemed to work after hours of rehearsal, (sometimes ending at midnight at the later stages) De Castro directed an amazing show which we were all very proud of. I worked with Clare on an angelic hoop vs singing angel choir number which ended in a pillow fight with the audience. In the words of De Castro, 'It was brrrrrrilliant!'

A year of circus memories...

Free-standing ladder progress..

James built me a birthday rig!

James' brother's wedding fire show

Circus Fest with Funk da Cirque

Planet Angel Valentines Day Ball

Clever camera angle

The Saturday Book

Giffords Circus with coffee

Practicing in London

With love from Socircus! xxx

We funk it up!

Hi Socircus readers! If you were wanting to see some footage of Funk da Cirque's debut at Circus Fest 2012, finally, here's the video link!

More soon to come from my new aerial training experiences in Cardiff and Bristol....watch this space!

If you liked this, you'll love...

Planet Angel performance
Funk da Cirque's debut
Olympic joggling

One door closes, another opens...

Hello there Giffords fans and circus lovers! You're possibly wondering what's happened since my last entry?

Confused? I was.

The last you heard I was ill and the show was still going on, but now, sadly, the show has stopped momentarily. It had got to a nasty point where I was taking 3 different cough syrups, wolfing down packs of Strepsils and inhaling Olbas-filled steam at every chance I got. My room had turned into a mini pharmacy, but unfortunately I wasn't getting any better. Time came for another big top pull-down and I just couldn't do it. Instead I lay hidden in a high-vis jacket in the Pizza Wagon trying to get some sleep. 

It even moved off with me still inside!

Everyone was pretty nice about me being ill and Toti Gifford even gave me a lift to the new site (Stadhampton) in his lorry, equipped with cabin bed for any invalids. The next day I managed to avoid heavy lifting during the big top construction. Instead I sat in the box office with a Lemsip willing customers not to come, lest I coughed on them. And many a coughing fit I did have and sometimes, indeed, on customers. Poor things. Luckily Rosie, the box office manager, had booked me a doctor's appointment in Wheatley (nearby civilsation!) and so off we went in her newly refurbished Beatle at the allotted time. Except we ended up driving in the wrong direction (I should have told her I was rubbish at map reading!) and by the time we had turned around we'd missed the appointment! Argh! Instead we ended up in Tesco, where Rosie bought Red Bull and scented candles and I bought fruit for the journey home. And as it was my day off the next day, I was going home to visit my parents. Relief! After an arduous train journey with many delays, I arrived in Wales and into the arms of my worried parents. It turns out I'd been working with a high temperature and severe bronchitis for 2 weeks. I spent my day off in bed, worrying about the next day when I would have to go back to work in the dusty surroundings again. However, the next day I wasn't better and nor the next. My breathing had got really bad and I went to the doctor as a precautionary measure. I never expected her to tell me to go to hospital!


I thought the doctor was joking, but she clearly wasn't. I didn't realise things had got so bad. I had to wait around for 5 hours in the Medical Assessment Unit and have X-rays, and horrible blood tests including an ABG (apparently one of the most painful blood tests available). Yey! Luckily I didn't have to stay in overnight- instead I was let off with a caution and a plethora of inhalers.


After this somewhat scary experience I really thought long and hard about going back to the circus. As much as I loved and took pride in the show and all the work I was doing, it was clear it was doing me no good. The strenuous work and damp, dusty conditions were not ideal for Sarah survival. I needed a house at this very moment in time. Everyone and sensible me agreed that I needed to get better at home, and so this is what I did. I sadly collected my things from my bunk (my dad panicked at the amount of medication and the general muddy condition of my living quarters) and said goodbye to the circus. Nellie the elephant sprang to mind.


So although my time with Giffords had come to an end, I had a great time and will treasure those crazy memories. I am now, luckily, pretty well recovered, but it's been rather strange flitting from a corporate London office job to a field with a professional travelling circus to a home in Wales with my parents. I'm starting to train with my aerial hoop again at Nofit State in Cardiff and have met some great people! Next stop, another big top? Maybe not in the rain and mud this time...

Sunning(un)well and other pretty locations...

Well the weather certainly didn't treat us at all nicely at our last venues. Rain, mud and cold winds made the show a challenge to say the least! And Sunningwell wasn't at all true to its name; it was neither sunny, nor was anybody very well. There was a very nasty cough virus going round and it finally decided to come round to me. A six-show weekend coughing all over the poor audience wasn't at all amusing and of course there was then the pull down and build which completely finished me off. By the time our day off came around, I was a bit of a wreck. On build day, after clumsily moping along, precariously carrying the seating boards unhelpfully to the wrong place for most of the day, I found myself doing the stocktake for the Giffords Circus shop and somehow managed to wack my head on the ceiling whilst counting the lollipops (don't even ask how) and that was it; I dissolved into a hysterical mess. Luckily the box office manager, Rosie, was trained in first aid and had me lie on the box office floor with my feet up against a chair and an ice pack on my head, while she served customers. It must have been really weird for the public, seeing a couple of green wellies sprouting up from the floor coupled with intermittent sobs from somewhere within the little boxy wagon. It was not a good day, but in hindsight it was probably quite funny.

Anyway, the show must go on, they roared, and it did, of course. Although my cough was getting worse and underneath the make-up, glitter and smiles I was feeling absolutely awful. Boo!

Not amused. Make-up doesn't make you feel better.

Possibly my most fake smile yet.

 I literally just did the shows and went to bed with a cup of lemsip as soon as they were over. It was no fun at all, and being cooped up in a tiny, dusty bunk being kept awake half the night with a horrible cough is something I wouldn't wish upon anyone.

At least these get-well flowers made my mudddy bunk slightly nicer.

Although I wasn't enjoying circus life so much, I couldn't help but appreciate the locations we were in. Broadway is the twee-est Cotswold town I've ever been to. Its high street consists mainly of tearooms. On move day out of Broadway we went to the poshest pub ever, where I had carrot and something (which was so posh the waiter didn't even know what it was) soup. We were in our standard move day get-up of high vis jackets, wellies and unkempt hair with yesterday's makeup still on. Don't think the posh pub appreciated that, or us running to the toilets in our socks, but we didn't really care what we looked like- at least we'd taken off our wellies at the door!

We've certainly had our fill of pretty tea rooms too. Here's an example of one we went to the other day in Tackley:

Tea and cake = happy circus people!

It was the prettiest place I've ever been to. There were tables and chairs right by a river and we drank tea out of patterned bone china cups and a proper silver tea service. And the cake was to die for! We had five slices between five of us which we passed around every couple of minutes until there were just crumbs left. And the amazing thing was it was all on the house because the woman who ran the tea room, Jane, was a great fan of the circus. She'd seen the show twice already and her tea room toilet was a little Giffords Circus shrine. Sometimes you do get a nice little perk when you're in a circus. Thanks Jane!

 

Probably the poshest tea I've ever had.

Anyway, enough tea; (you can never have enough tea!) sadly I'm still not well enough for circus (cough, cough) so let's hope I get better soon so I can continue this crazy experience!

More? You want more?! Try these for size...

Jubilant Newbury
A snippet of the show...
The adventure begins!