The Oberlin Review
<< Front page Arts May 5, 2006

OCircus! Tumbles, Juggles, Hoops and Dances into Our Hearts
Second Annual OCircus! Proves that it’s Cool to Be Different

Last week’s OCircus!, a performance which was the culmination of Elizabeth Johnson’s senior project and various circus ExCos, reflected the great range of talent present at Oberlin College. Diverse audiences watched with amazement as the cast juggled, tumbled, clowned, mimed, stilted, unicycled, did poi, contact danced, contact juggled, step danced and hula-hooped, more often than not with the greatest of ease.

The circus was set in Hales Gym, an unfortunate venue. The bad acoustics, lack of seating and unsuitable floor in the gym made it a less-than-ideal performance space, but it was, for various reasons, one of the only places available.

However, OCircus! did a very good job of making the place “circus-y.” Before the show and during intermission, there was face painting, cotton candy and even a clown or two warming up the crowd. The 11-piece band was also decked out in scattered clown wigs and makeup, conducted by the green glowstick-wielding junior Tom Carroll.

The varied music was one of the most fascinating things about OCircus!, as it had all been written by composition majors. In a previous interview, Johnson talked about the difficulty of such an enterprise, because if the stage action all conformed to the music, then there would be “much less room for improvisation.”

The show began at a slow pace, with a good 15 minutes devoted to the set up of the plot — a school of children dressed all in green was joined by a girl in pink overalls (junior Amy Oelsner), who felt terribly out of place. She soon met an unusual bird, played by junior Elise Sipos, who intended to take her to the Ringmaster (Johnson) — a person who, the girl hoped, could make her “cool.” The message of the show was a simple one about being different and true coolness, easily palatable to the children in the audience but not too lame for most jaded college students.

As Oelsner traveled through the forest on her way to the circus, she encountered all sorts of strange creatures doing strange things — which was, of course, the circus itself.

The first half dragged a bit, with each act running a trifle long. The choreography of all the acts followed a general guideline — beginning simply, then gradually increasing in difficulty and amazement. This was probably the most effective way to draw an audience into the techniques, but it became slightly repetitive by the end.

There was a wide variety of talent among the performers, which was not surprising considering that OCircus! pulls from both technically-advanced clubs and beginning ExCos. Some of the tumbling and stilting acts were particularly labored, with the performers seemingly uncomfortable on stage.

Especially notable performances from the first half included jugglers junior Case Conover and sophomore Mark Wessels, who kept trying to out-do each other through a complicated series of smooth exchanges, and a confident solo contact juggling performance by junior Andrew Broaddus, who wore green pants tight enough to put David Bowie to shame.

There was a particularly impressive contact dance as well. Johnson, dressed in a preppy vest and collared shirt, waited at a bus stop until she was joined by David Brown, playing a half-naked satyr. “Awkward,” said one audience member. But there were only gasps when the two began to dance, each flipping the other over their head, standing on each others’ shoulders, then holding each other upside down as they did cartwheels.

Shortly following the intermission was the Step ExCo performance, a crowd-pleaser led by the excellent senior Kat Patrick. The troupe was well coordinated with impeccable timing, lacking most of the nervousness of the other ExCo groups.

There was also an amusing sequence in the second half by a unicyclist trio (Conover and Wessels again, joined by junior Mira Barakat), who acted out a skit of two men chasing the same woman.

For occasional intermezzos, three clowns — first-years Ariel Indendaun and Alex Kramer and sophomore Caitlin Rodriguez (who wore a magnificent confection of lace and green gauze) — made high pitched squeaks like Beaker the Muppet and did fun bits of physical comedy.

The finale was spectacular — a poi performance in the dark with glowsticks. The effect was a raver’s dream and earned exuberant cheers.

As a performance experience, OCircus! was an impressive emotional culmination of the efforts of director, cast and crew.
 
 

   

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