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Inspiring. Circus. Arts.

The online journal Inspiring. Circus. Arts. takes a look behind the scenes. We explore trends, challenges and creative processes in the circus arts, introducing young talents and leading experts from the international circus scene.

"People Watching" - Innovative Circus Arts from Montreal

The Canadian collective "People Watching" presents their debut work "Play Dead" at the Chamäleon Theater in Berlin. (c)Anna Fabrega
The Canadian collective "People Watching" presents their debut work "Play Dead" at the Chamäleon Theater in Berlin. (c)Anna Fabrega

It was only a few years ago and yet it already seems so far away. We are talking about 2020, the first year of the pandemic. It was a year that brought the entire circus world to a standstill from one moment to the next. It was a year of suffering, but at the same time it also became a year of creativity. Many artists suddenly found themselves without engagements, while at the same time government funding became more accessible than ever before. Many artists looked for an outlet for their creativity and used the time to create new things. One of those creations, perhaps the most successful, can now be seen in Berlin's Chamäleon Theater: the show "Play Dead" by the "People Watching" collective, founded in Montreal in 2020.


Sabine van Rensburg, Brin Schoellkopf, Jérémi Lévesque and Natasha Patterson were just performing with the 7 Fingers and Cirque Éloize when the world stood still. The four friends, who knew each other from their time together at the Montreal circus school, lived together in a loft apartment at the time. Feeling isolated, they began to experiment. Without knowing from the start that this would one day become a show, they gradually developed what would later become the physical vocabulary of "People Watching."


Experimenting at the first residency in Montreal (c)Brin Schoellkopf
Experimenting at the first residency in Montreal (c)Brin Schoellkopf

As the world slowly began to open up again, it became clear to them that they wanted to do more out of it. They managed to get funding from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec (CALQ) and gathered for a three-week residency. After that, they were all scattered working in other companies again. The following year, friends Ruben Ingwersen and Jarrod Takle, who I met in Berlin to talk about “Play Dead,” joined them. They all took four months off in a row to finish creating the show. This initial phase of “People Watching” is a good example of the fact that innovation is not necessarily targeted from the start and how important funding is, especially in this phase, to channel creativity into a successful project.


The beginnings during the pandemic had a lasting impact on the creation. What was developed right from the start was characterized by intimacy and a focus on details, with a lot of small group and duo work. "Intimacy became a natural theme," explains Jarrod, "it felt like the most important thing to say on stage." He describes the connection within the group as special. And the timing was also right for the six friends, who had always been interested in ensemble work and creation: "We were at that point in our lives, in our careers, where it made sense to make the transition to creating our own work."


Of the multitude of companies in contemporary circus, only those that find their own style stand out. The style of "People Watching" is very much inspired by cinema, says Jarrod, as well as by dance and physical theater companies, perhaps more than by circus. "Play Dead" is characterized by a great attention to detail, both in terms of the scenography and in precisely choreographed scenes. Nevertheless, Jarrod reveals, there are also moments of improvisation that are interpreted slightly differently, organically, in each performance.


Many duo scenes, many influences from contemporary dance (c)Cecilia Martin
Many duo scenes, many influences from contemporary dance (c)Cecilia Martin

"Organic" is one of Jarrod's favorite words in our conversation. He also uses it to describe the way the storyline of "Play Dead" unfolds. They wanted to break with the convention that a show has to follow a recipe of numbers and transitions. "We were interested in creating a moving tableau of images and moments, some short and some durational," Jarrod describes the approach.


"Organic" - that's how Jarrod also describes the creative process, which was collaborative, without any external direction. It helped that the ensemble members had known each other for a long time, were friends, shared a common vision and a similar style. On this basis, there was a lot of trial and error. "Sometimes one person had a strong idea or concept, then he would take the lead, step off the stage and take on the role of the outside eye for that scene", Jarrod remembers. He compares other phases, characterized by a lot of improvisation in the group, to a jam session in jazz music.


A key to successful co-creation, which Shana Carroll of the 7 Fingers once called "survival of the most passionate", also applies to "People Watching": "If someone has a strong vision of what a moment should be, then everyone else would step back and allow them to take up the space." With this attitude, the collective managed to avoid the danger of mediocre compromise, and you can see that in the result. And perhaps this also shows that most of the ensemble members brought creation experience from the 7 Fingers with them. This is also reflected in some of the stylistic elements of the show, such as the plate spinning in the middle of a frozen ensemble - the scene made me think of "Passager".


Plate spinning - an old discipline staged in a contemporary way (c)Anna Fabrega
Plate spinning - an old discipline staged in a contemporary way (c)Anna Fabrega

Even though there was no external director, the creation eventually reached a point where external know-how was necessary to create a show suitable for the stage. And again friends who already knew them from the Montreal circus community joined in. Emily Tucker, a former artist, was just taking her first steps as a set designer and created the homely atmosphere of the "Play Dead" set. Emile Lafortune began to attend rehearsals and develop ideas for the lighting design. These were people who the collective was sure would push the work in the desired direction.


The well-known companies in which the ensemble members had previously or simultaneously worked supported them with rehearsal space or in pro bono consulting sessions. The production-technical aspects of how to stage a show and tour it internationally were completely new to everyone. Jarrod therefore gives young artists who want to take the step to their own company a piece of advice: "Ask for help. The circus community is unique in this respect. We only got here because of all those who helped us."


After the four-month residency, "Play Dead" premiered in the summer of 2023 at the Montréal Complètement Cirque, the circus festival that turns the entire city into a stage. The show was an immediate hit with its innovative aesthetics and captivating intimacy. Word of mouth also reached the German agency Aurora Nova, which has successful companies such as CIRCA under contract. They watched the show, held discussions and finally put together an international tour starting in July 2024, which has now taken them to Berlin.


First teaser trailer from the premiere at the Montréal Complètement Cirque

I had the chance to watch the show at its Berlin premiere. In fact, "Play Dead" seems like an incredibly condensed compilation of interpersonal relationships and emotions. Following the show is like a workout for your own fantasy and imagination, you are catapulted from one scene to the next so quickly and unexpectedly, always with a pinch of surrealism and a sense of irony. The visual aesthetic is somewhere between Pina Bausch and Mary Poppins. The stage design, consisting of antique-looking pieces of furniture, repeatedly becomes a prop for the performance - whether in acrobatics in and on the closet or through counterweight techniques with the curtain. Moments of high concentration on small sub-plots alternate with ensemble scenes choreographed across the stage, such as a brilliant bar scramble charivari to the sounds of Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto. The latter shows the acrobatic skills of the actors most clearly, and there could have been a little more of that. In the middle of the second half, the movement vocabulary threatens to become a little exhausted, probably due to the extension of the show for the Chamäleon, but it gains in intensity again towards the end.


Extended cast for Berlin - handstand scene with Imogen Huzel and Jarrod Takle (c)Anna Fabrega
Extended cast for Berlin - handstand scene with Imogen Huzel and Jarrod Takle (c)Anna Fabrega

The Chamäleon is a special place for contemporary circus. Jarrod was here before in 2021 as an artist as part of the CIRCA performance series. The special requirements - a season with daily shows and an extended show duration to allow for the venue's mandatory break - brought with it some adjustments. In order to be prepared for the higher physical intensity and possible injuries, the cast was expanded to eight people, with Sereno Aguilar Izzo and Imogen Huzel joining. New costumes were specially designed, new music composed and recorded for the additional scenes. Three weeks in November and a few days on site in Berlin before the first previews started had to be enough for all the adjustments. The result seems so "organic" as if the show had always been performed like this.


"Play Dead" is going to be performed in Berlin until June 1st. Even after that, the tour schedule for the show is well filled. At the same time, "People Watching" is already working on a follow-up production in which they want to further develop the company's style. A first creative residency is planned for this year. Jarrod won't reveal any more about it, but it is clear that we will be hearing a lot more from this young company.

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