“Last year our show moved a lot of people to tears. We performed a few weeks ago in Boston and an audience member told us, ‘This was the happiest I have felt since 2019.’ The circus is magical.”
Responder: Douglas Stewart, Performer and Director
Name of Company: Cirque Us
Name of Show: RagTag: A Circus in Stitches
- Why should people see your show?
RagTag is a show unlike anything you have seen before! It is a blend of traditional and contemporary circus featuring high-flying aerialists, astounding acrobatics, loopy jugglers and musicians that pull at your heart strings. This show is upbeat and fun and will have you laughing until your stomach hurts, while also featuring heart-felt, show-stopping moments. If you enjoy death-defying stunts, live music, comedy, artistry, dance or just being entertained, this show is for you!
- What about festivals intrigues you? Any why the Atlanta Fringe?
We love playing at fringe festivals because of the community they create. Only fellow artists know and understand the amount of time and commitment that goes into creating and performing shows! While we love performing for any audience, there is something incredibly satisfying about performing for fellow artists who share our passion for performing.
- What inspired you to create this?
One of the motto’s behind the show is “moth to a flame” symbolizing how, as humans, we are always draw to things we can’t have. In this show, every character has a deeply rooted motive driving them through the show. The show demonstrates how we are all interconnected and stitched together in ways we don’t always realize.
- This year ain’t normal and there’s no sense pretending it is. How has Covid affected what you’re doing for this festival?
Luckily, we created this show prior to the pandemic so artistically not that much has changed. However, logistically planning and entire tour has been a nightmare. Each city/state we go to has different covid-19 policies and protocols and navigating them all has been quite the process.
The only thing we really changed was our clowning acts. We have gone back and forth about if we should bring audience volunteers onto the stage, or keep the audience and the performers separated. In early Covid-19 times, we had created versions of the show that didn’t involve audience participation. Now, we have decided it is safe to bring an audience member on stage as long as we are following mask protocol.
- There’s a mysterious stranger in the back row of your show, wearing a big ol’ N95 mask and a baseball cap and there’s something weirdly familiar about them, and then they come up afterwards to tell you they loved your show. In your WILDEST DREAMS, who is this mysterious stranger? (Bonus points if your mysterious stranger is an Atlanta celeb.)
In my DREAM world, it would be a producer or presenter or a venue owner who can help take our show to the next level. One of the reasons we try to perform at so many festivals is to try to make new connections that can help our company grow. We think we create some pretty cool art, and now we just need help sharing it with as many people as possible.
Also, we wouldn’t be mad if Taylor Swift like our show either.
- Fringes are the place to really push the boundaries so we gotta ask: are you inviting your family to this show are “Hey, maybe sit this one out you guys…”
RagTag is a family friendly show! But don’t worry, we PUSH the boundaries of what the human body is capable and how people view circus. Trust us, you have NOT seen circus like this before.
- We’ve asked this question every year for the past ten years or so but it hits different this year: Will your show change the world?
I think so. Last year our show moved a lot of people to tears. We performed a few weeks ago in Boston and an audience member told us, “This was the happiest I have felt since 2019” The circus is magical, and it is something you can’t explain until you experience it for yourself.
- Zoom meetings: dress up head to toe or Donald Duck it?
DONALD DUCK BABY!
- We’re making an excellent Fringey Feelings playlist. Describe your show in two or three songs we can add to keep the jams flowing.
Jamming – Juzzie Smith
Thank God I’m a Country Boy – John Denver
Sounds incredible, right? Gonna need to nab those tickets, right? Click here to reserve your seats today!
Recent Comments