The Circa carnival is coming to town with whimsical tales of creatures of land and sea, who tumble, fly, leap and spin their way through the many wondrous worlds of the animal kingdom.
'Carnival Of The Animals' whisks audiences away on a thrilling circus escapade inspired by Camille Saint-Saëns' delightful salute to feathers, fur and fins. Circa’s acrobats bring this classical music suite to life for a whole new generation of circus, music and animal lovers.
© Darren Thomas, PhotoCo.Specialising in hula-hoops and aerials, Jessica Connell joined the Circa family in 2011 where she was part of an 8-month season of 'Wunderkammer' in Berlin. She then performed a three-month Australian regional tour of the Helpmann Award-winning show 'CIRCA'. Jessica says one of her highlights was world premiering 'S' at the Brisbane Festival in 2012, which was her first new creation with the company. Jessica's a busy-bee, so we didn't have time for 21 questions, only 5:
Can you tell us about your performance background? Where did you start out?
I started in a youth circus based in Albury Wodonga called the Flying Fruit Fly circus. I joined as a 14-year-old with a little bit of gymnastics, martial arts and dance training. After joining the circus I fell in love with the performance side of circus. As I kid I had the privilege of performing in lots of different shows in lots of different places, from the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games to a musical in Melbourne.
Did you have to learn any new skills for 'Carnival Of The Animals'?
We always try and put new and different skills and acts in each of our shows. In 'Carnival Of The Animals' we have some fun acts like skipping and hoop diving, a new skill for some and revisited skills for others. We also have an element of music in this show, which is very new to me as a circus performer.
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Where is the most amazing or interesting place you have performed 'Carnival Of The Animals'?
Last year we performed 'Carnival Of The Animals' in Santiago in Chili! As part of this project we also did a small outdoor performance combining scenes from 'Carnival Of The Animals' and other scenes from 2 of our other touring shows and put them together into a 20-minute performance which we took to small remote towns around the area. With just a few props a sound desk and some jigsaw mats we put on a show for hundreds of people who squeezed into town squares or parks. The audience was one of the most appreciative and kind audiences I’d ever performed for. After each show people would come up to us in masses to say thank you or get a picture. It was a very different experience but so rewarding performing to people who often do not get to see shows or circus.
What do you love most about performing in this show?
I love the challenge of timing and precision 'Carnival Of The Animals' demands as it collaborates a lot with projection and musical elements. This is also one of my first shows with Circa that was intended for a younger audience which is another wonderful and challenging element I love about this show.
© Justin Nicholas, Atmosphere PhotographyWhat is your favourite act to perform in this show?
It is very hard to choose one act in 'Carnival Of The Animals' as they are often quite short and they transition into one another seamlessly. However I do love the skipping scene as it’s always a bit of fun and performed with the whole cast. I also love being a chicken... but to see what that means you will just have to come and see the show!
'Carnival Of The Animals' performs Redland Performing Arts Centre 2 July.
