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"There seems to be some sort of circus renaissance going on in Seattle," muses Evelyn Bittner.
Bittner is well placed for such musings. Doctor of veterinary medicine by day, she is "Acrophelia, acrobat, costumer, stilt walker, aardvark, giant worm and cataleptic" in Circus Contraption's "Grand American Traveling Dime Museum," which opens Thursday at the Magnuson Community Center Auditorium.
Think about it: Just as cultural observers were noting the demise of the circus as exemplified by the gargantuan Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey three-ring spectacles, smaller exponents of old-fashioned circus arts -- enhanced by new-fangled edgy aesthetics -- were emerging. Two years ago, a book about the phenomenon came out, "Freaks & Fire: The Underground Reinvention of the Circus." It contains a chapter about Circus Contrap- tion.
Circus Contraption debuted seven years ago as an entry in the Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival. Since then, the company has performed locally and toured, up and down the West Coast and as far east as Chicago and New York City. In terms of the Seattle circus ecology, Contraption falls between the classy and expensive Teatro ZinZanni and the raffish Columbia City Cabaret with its raunchy aerial diva, Tamara the Trapeze Lady.
The really big international exponent of new wave circus is the Cirque du Soleil, which regularly visits Seattle. Really small scale is The Cabiri, a local group that picks up modest gigs here and there. Melding circus arts with dance, theater and mime is the UMO Ensemble headquartered on Vashon Island.
Professionals and amateurs who want to develop circus skills can enroll at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center aerial dance and trapeze classes or the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts in Georgetown.
One thing that the "new circus" movement excludes is animal acts. "It's an ethical choice," says Drew Keriakedes (AKA "Schmootzi the Clod, sousaphonist, ukulelist, accordionist, banjo man, vocals, songwriter and tutu wearer.") "Not even snakes," Keriakedes continues. "Does anyone ask the snakes in a show if they enjoy what they are doing? Would they rather be out in the wild, doing whatever it is that snakes do out in the wild?"
Keriakedes is proud to say that his sousaphone is the very instrument that an ancestor played in a Lincoln, Neb., marching band.
As with any circus, Contraption performances rely on music to build excitement and create moods. Often the moods are a weird mix of cheery and sinister. "We admire the Tim Burton movies ("The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Batman" and such) with their Danny Elfman songs," Keriakedes says. "The effect is slightly unsettling." By day, Keriakedes is pretty much what he is by night in Contraption shows. He is a street busker, often performing for donations at the Pike Place Market or on University Way.
The Contraption music director is Dr. (of computer science) Kevin Hinshaw. By day he designs programs that help University of Washington biochemists to predict protein structures. He also teaches people how to play the clarinet and the piano. For the circus, he is "Chameleo, "clarinet and horn player, keyboardist, composer, Web site manager, treasurer and director of small packages."
As treasurer, Hinshaw solicits and accepts tax-deductible contributions (Contraption is a registered non-profit), but he notes that nearly all of the troupe's income is generated by ticket sales.
This summer, Contraption will be generating some ticket sale income in Manhattan at the Theater for a New City, where it will be performing during August and September.
"Dime Museum" is based on popular American entertainments of the late 19th century. The show includes what is referred to as "mature content." This warning (or come-on) alludes specifically to an old-time proto-porn genre known as "artistic tableaux vivants" -- brief ill-lit glimpses of bare-naked people in poses that allegedly recall the glories of ancient Greece and Rome (and latter-day bawdy houses).
One of the New York performances will be a "cabaret night," featuring guests artists and a unique bit of reality theater: the wedding of Keriakedes and his fiancee, Zoe. In keeping with Contraption's darkly festive aesthetic, Keriakedes notes, "We plan to buy a white wedding gown and dye it black."
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