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Adelaide Fringe 2007 8-31 March
www.adelaidefringe.com.au

Adelaide International Buskers Festival - March 15, 16, 17, 18
A fully curated event bringing together street performance, pavement artists and roving entertainment. The public can lodge their vote after each performance for the People's Choice Award. Featuring - PopEyed, Mario - Queen of the Circus, Hot Nuts & PopCorn, Shirlee Sunflower, Nick Nickolas, Judith Lanigan and many more.

Die Roten Punkte 8-18 March www.myspace.com/dierotenpunkte
All the way from Berlin! Otto & Astrid brother and sister – in the greatest rock’n roll band in the world!
The Garden Shed - The Garden of Unearthly Delights
Rundle Park, East Terrace Adelaide
2-4, 6-18, Mar at 10.15pm A$20.00 C$18.00

Flying Trapeze Australia 8-31 March
Classes - (bookings essential) Classes are 1.5 hours long with a maximum of 7 people per session. $45pp.
Performances- Evenings - Thursday thru Sunday
Open Swing Sessions -Have a swing after 7:30pm. $15.pp
(not operating on March 12)
Bookings: 0417 073 668

La La Parlour present "Tarnished"
Back just for 10 nights! Hysterical pastische of comedy, circus and burlesque with deconstructed chorus lines, whip cracking, acrobatics, fan-dancing and cake desecration.
The Umbrella Revolution – The Garden of Unearthly Delights
Rundel Park , East Terrace Adelaide
8-11, 13-14, 18 Mar at 11.59pm A$25.00 C$22.00

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womadelaide 9-11 March, 2007
Botanic Park, Adelaide
www.womadelaide.com.au
Street Theatre Program
Cie Des Quidams (France)
Five characters from ‘Herbert’s Dream’, figures on stilts, transforming into majestic four-metre high characters whose heads light up. To beautiful original music these characters enact a rite to raise the moon.
ERTH “Petting Zoo” – ERTH’s life-like dinosaurs, from the show Gondwana overseen by a wacky paleontologist set in an enclosure. New dinos and a special guest dragon.
Snuff Puppets - “NYET NYET’S Picnic” Anarchic ‘Snuffies’, with their shamelessly handmade giant puppets
Icarus – “Bouncers” and “Moooody Cows”

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12th FINA World Championships
Festival Weekend – 23-25 March
All Events Free
www.melbourne2007.com.au/festival
All shows and roving events take place in Birrarung Marr unless otherwise stated.

CIRCA – 31 Acts in 30 minutes
Race against the clock, wild circus troupe desperately tries to dazzle its
unsuspecting audience. Prepare yourself for heart-racing hilarity, juggling, flying, bending and balancing.
Fri 23-6pm & 8.45pm Sat 24-4pm, 5.30pm & 9pm Sun 25-2.15pm, 4pm & 6.45pm

Strange Fruit – Synchro Swing
Synchronized swimming routine over 4 metres above the ground.
Sat 24- 2.45pm, 5 pm, 6.10pm Sun 25- 1pm, 3.15pm & 6.10pm

Riverside Circus
Circus performers take your breath away as they swing, swoop, flip, fly and bounce their way into your heart in action-packed, death defying, lyrical and life-affirming show.
Festival outdoor aerial rig.
Birrarung Marr-Fri 23-10.45pm; Sat 24-1.45pm Sun 25 -8.10pm

Dislocate - Three-Speed Crunch Box
Fast and frantic physical comedy moves from the ground to the air as this trio blunder their way through incredible acrobatics.
Fri 23-7.10pm Sat 24-7.15 & 10.45pm Sun 25-5.15pm & 10pm

Zim Boyz – Africa’s bounciest export
Birrarung Marr/ Federation Square
Sat 24- 3.15pm & 6.10pm Sun 25-1.30pm, 3.30pm & 9 pm

Compagnie De Quidams Herbert’s Dream –
As strains of beautiful music float over the park, these enormous ethereal creatures begin a strange and enchanting magic rite to raise the moon.
Fri 23 & Sat 24 9.40pm Sun 25 7.15pm

Ulik and Le Snob – Glisssssendo
Fri 23- 8.10pm; Sat 24- 6.30pm & 8.10pm Sun 25 - 4.30pm & 9pm

Snuff Puppets – Bunyips
Scary, highly entertaining and culturally enlightening exploration of local monsters and spirit creatures.
Fri 23 - 6.30pm; Sun 25- 2.30pm & 3.30 pm- Also roving throughout the site.

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The Deep End – All Events Free 9pm til Late
BMW Edge, Federation Square
Friday March 23
– 9pm Joel Salom
- 9.15 pm Tripod
- 10.15pm The Tom Tom Club
Saturday March 24
- 9pm This Side Up
- 9.15pm Von Trolley Quartet
-10.15pm The Tom Tom Club
-11.30pm Mr. Scruff
Sunday March 25
- 9pm Zim Boyz
-9.15pm SuperGirly
-10.15pm Joel Salom
-10.30pm David Walters
-12am James de la Cruz

Roving Performers
Carolyn Connors- Ida Noe
Talented Grandmother with her accordion.

Born In A Taxi – The Garden Party & The Boat of Faith –
Birrarung Marr
Sat 24 The Garden Party
Sun 25 The Boat of Faith

ERTH – Dinosaur Petting Zoo
Fri 23 6-7.30pm; Sat 24 & Sun 25 – 1-2.30pm & 4.30pm-6pm

Les Goulus - French Maestros of the theatre of the absurd

Sink or Swim 2 - Swimming obsessed lifesavers make sure you’re safe and sound at all times, whether you like it or not.

The Twitchers – Strictly for the birds (UK)

Icarus - Bouncers

Chrome – Sharks – Singing finsters

Thomas and Thomas Security –

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Castlemaine State Festival 2007 30 March to 8 April www.castemainefestival.com.au
Burlesque Hour –Moira Finucane, Yumi Umiumare, Azaria Universe – Multi award winning Burlesque Hour. Its Part striptease, part cartoon strip; vaudeville and carnival; showgirl and show-stopper; boho and butoh; music hall, monologue and mime.
When: Sun 8th April 9.30pm
Where: Castlemaine Town Hall
Price: A Reserve (cat-walk) full $32, con $28; B Reserve $28, con $25

Tarnished – La La Parlour – Created in a church crypt in South Brisbane, Tarnished was the surprise hit of the 2006 Adelaide Fringe Festival, winning the Adelaide Adertiser ‘Best of the Fringe’ and performing to packed houses
and rave reviews.
When: Sat 31st Mar 9.30pm
Where: Phee Broadway Theatre
Price: full $30, con $25
Adult themes: recommended 15+

ERTH – Festival artists-in-residence Mostyn St and Victory Park will be home-base for the awesome erth –our artists-in-residence for festival 2007.If you are a young person in Castlemaine between the ages of 16 and 25 and you would like to work with erth contact the festival office on (03) 5472 3733 or sandy@castlemainefestival.com.au
Monstrous Pursuit of Hope.
Friday 30th March
When: 5.30pm– Opening Night
Where: Victory Park
Free

Tom Tom Club – Join Ben Walsh (The Bird, Circle of Rhythm), Tom Thumb and some of Australia’s most hardcore tumblers & acrobats in a visual and oral hip hop. DJ Dizz1 (Wicked Beats Sound System). Then the flipping begins with a trio of Australia’s finest tumblers, acrobats and highflying aerialists.
When: Sat 31st Mar 2pm
Where: Phee Broadway Theatre
Price: full $35, con $31, youth $25, family $100

Nyet Nyet’s Picnic – Snuff Puppets – Bunyips is a contemporary work that revives ancient stories using humour, terror and fun.
When: Thurs 5th April 7pm
Where: Forest Creek, Diggings Park
Price: full $20, con $16, youth $16.00, family $60

Martin Martini & The Bone Palace Orchestra – An unlikely and formidable ensemble of freaks, misfits and creatures. Bedlam in a bathtub; Falling off a Ferris Wheel; This is fat vaudevillian rock’n’roll
When: Sat 7th April 9pm
Where: Theatre Royal
Price: full $26, con $23, youth $23

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Full Tilt Season 1 2007 - artists at work
www.theartscenter.net.au/fulltilt
We know it isn’t actually circus or physical theatre but as these great performers collaborated musically on the last Women’s Circus show , we thought we would include them.
Sista She and The House of the Holy Bootay - An uncompromising mix of hip hop, comedy and theatre - their greatest hits and side-splitting skits of all time. In the name of the rhythm, the rhyme and the bootay.
When: 26-28 April – 9.30pm
Where: The Arts Centre, Fairfax Studio

• If you missed out on Laura’s workshop at the Tasmanian Circus Festival here is your opportunity to try…
“Viewpoints” – Training intensive with Laura Sheedy
When: Sat 5 & Sun 6 May -9:30am – 4pm
Limited numbers, first in best dressed.
Price: $80.
This weekend intensive will immerse participants in the Viewpoints technique and provide an invaluable resource for performers and directors of all styles and experience.

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High Flying Circus Arts would like to extend an invitation to NICA graduates and circus folk to come and use the space with us for the small fee of $5 a visit. At the moment we are lucky enough to have our rig setup in the Gasser tent in Waterfront City Docklands. We will be there from now to end of April, and possibly later. We are going to be there generally from 9-5 everyday except tuesdays.
At the moment the equipment we have setup is,
2 chinese poles, rigged permenantely,1 rope,1 tissue,1 row of sprung floor under acromat,1 mini trampoline and crashmat, a whole heap of clubs and juggle stuff.Duel Safety lines.
We are fully insured, but will insist on a signed waiver before use of the space.
Give us a call if you want to come to make sure we're there. You can
reach us on 0417700996 or at highflying@excite.com

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Summary of ACAPTA Panel Talks at the 2007 Tasmanian Circus Fest:
by Daniel Rabin

Business and Circus - Can you make ART and make MONEY?
Speakers: Allie Wilde, Trent Baumann, Frodo Sanven, Louise Clark
Chair: Joel Salom
The discussion varied from how to craft a solid product, to how to best represent yourself, who will buy your work, why make work in the first place, and can we put a price on what we do? Trent gave a very inspiring talk about finding one’s niche and developing it, how he's found the burlesque scene picking up on his work and also how he describes himself to potential employers as a vaudevillian rather than a circus or sideshow performer.

Social Circus / Youth Circus - Where are the career pathways for performers after leaving community circus?
Speakers: Simon (Spaghetti Circus), Kate Reid, Alex and Mitch (Trick Circus), Kathryn Ellis (ex-Cirkidz and Monoxide)
Chair: Kane Peterson
Panelists spoke about how they embarked on their career, what they are seeking in the future, how their youth troupes run and where their youth circuses are heading. Some of the big advice to young people leaving youth circuses was "meet people, ask questions, look for other options"

Activism and Circus- Is circus performance still a useful medium to instrument social and political change?
Speakers: Alicia Battestini, Michelle Grant Imaru, Tony Rooke
Chair: Anni Davey
The answer was a resounding yes that circus is still a use full medium, however it was debated as to whether or not circus is currently being used for that purpose. Tony gave a very moving talk as to his motivations behind being a part of the circus industry, and also highlighted the need for us to expand the audience which attends Australian contemporary circus performance.

NICA -Experiences from the circus school
Speakers: Kane Peterson (graduate of Bathurst Theatre/Media and NICA), Kyle Raftery (NICA) Bo (Circo Arts)
Chair: Joel Salom
The main focus of this talk was the differences between the three tertiary institutions, those being - Charles Sturt's Theatre Media course, NICA and Circo Arts(NZ).

Debate - Street Performers are original
Positive team: Louise Clarke, Shep Huntly, Clark McFarlaine
Negative team: Rani, Leeroy, Mr Spin
Chair: Jeff Turpin
Please contact Jeff directly to find out who won. It is believed he is the only person who truly understood what the debate was about.

Australian Style vs the Canadian and European Wave
Speakers: Anni Davey, Sue Broadway, Bill Blakie, Clarke McFarlaine
Chair: Kim Kaos (Olsen)

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The following is a copy of the paper presented by Bill Blaikie in response to this topic.
Is there an Australian Style? Creating the Antipodean Circus Manifesto
For a while this became for me a rant against standardisation. Where do these standards come from, who sets them, what gives them the right to set them, are they the standards that we as individuals, or a group, or community want anyway. How can we have a say? Change them? On and on and on.

Australian society is obsessed with standardisation. It is the cop in our heads that controls and limits out dreaming and our actions. It limits the potential we all carry, it minimises risk and it ensures mediocrity. We should not be surprised by this. Standardisation is a key part of our history. Convicts were subjected to routine and surveillance as a matter of policy in order to keep them under control. Their only private space in a place like Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney or Port Arthur in Tasmania was a hammock or a wee cell which was the same as every other hammock and cell. You can see the pattern repeated on varying scales throughout our history right down to the serried ranks of MacMansions enslaving so many of our people with the velvet shackles of mortgage. As the comic Irish comic Dylan Moran recently put it while answering that question we ask of the newly arrived ‘It’s a gaol, it’s a nice one, but it’s a gaol.’

The first book or rules arrived with the First Fleet. It was decided by a bureaucracy made deadly efficient by the running of a vast empire. Our saving grace was distance. We were so few, so far away and there was a war with the French that could have gone their way and then would have changed everything. The rules were broken by chance, opportunity and need. We became innovators, and the harsh country, by European standards, demanded some adaptation – though the bulk of us still eat the same foods that came with the first fleet – chicken, lamb, beef, pork, eggs, wheat and the vegetables and fruits of an English cottage garden. It was all touch and go for a while and could all have easily failed.

Now standardisation is a militaristic requirement, a Prussian military model requirement that goes back to the Ancient Romans and those they learnt and borrowed their systems from. Business has adopted military management structures and we have waged war on the natural resources of the world to turn them into consumer goods and economic gain, in effect the spoils of war. It requires conformity and subservience to line authority. We all are expected to conform to the same set of standards. This is the danger. On one hand standards could require us to be courteous, humane, open to new ideas, risk takers, lateral thinkers. On the other hand standards can limit ideas, experimentation, innovation and turn us into jingoistic, slogan chanting xenophobes who are so rigid that nothing new is ever attempted while profits are made and Antarctic Ice Shelves slip into the sea.

How does this help us here at this magic circus festival so lovingly crafted and perpetuated by Tony Rooke and his team? There are certainly standards here. There are rules and requirements yet this does not feel like a prison nor do the people here look like the incarcerated. The difference I see is that it is like juggling. If we were all to juggle the same balls in the same patterns, in the same order we would have been standardised. But juggling and circus tricks the world over are open ended systems. New patterns and objects can be generated and combined in ways that become so close to infinite in their number that they might as well be infinite. This is the lesson of the speech that we use every day. With a limited number of sounds and a finite number of words we can say an infinite number of things. People will be saying things right now that have never been said in that way before. They may even say completely new things that have never been said at all. That is the magic of life.
So to speak of circus as something that must meet certain standards throws up potential smokescreens. We must be able to distinguish between the standards that enable us to invent and that keep us safe and fit enough to not be a permanent risk to our own well being and the well being of our audiences, and those forms and structures that are really the things that we must experiment with, test, reject, discard or embrace and elaborate.

If we are to have any style at all it must arise out of what we are saying about being alive, living together and solving the problems of what it means to be human on this old earth. If we honestly do that, not for the sake of the trick, not for the sake of the dollar, but for the sake of our shared humanity, and the true embraceable dangerousness of that, then we will find our true style. A style that grows out of a real response to the circumstances we find ourselves in at the start of the C21st with the loudly broadcast threats of global terrorism, global warming and the need to continue to increase growth forever at 4% or better if we are to survive economically used as yet another cop in our heads.

As Dario Fo, the Italian Nobel Prize Winning clown and most performed living playwright put it ‘We must smash all standardising systems for they are brain dead, imagination zero’.

So how to do that?

Shakespeare points one way. Take risks, push the limits of the form and always listen to and watch your audience. Let your imagination run riot, but for the audience. Shock them, tease them, surprise them, but always for them. Watch them. Develop and explore what they respond to. Work with contrast in every way you can visually, physically, emotionally, politically, aurally, between the vernacular and the highest artform you can find, between the vulgar and the refined, and butt them right up against each other: for as Shakespeare put it hot ice makes strange snow. Build tension to the furthest extreme you can push it and release it with love and laughter for it is there our humanity resides. Always expect your audience to go that one step further – not two or three just one, then another one, then… Work in teams with dedicated but overlapping roles. Everyone’s ideas has brilliance in them, you just have to find the right time and audience to work them on. The audience is always, in the final analysis the passing proof of your success however limited or great. Variety, currency, contrast and the playful imagination: dance, song, swordfight, clown, acrobat, smoke, music, wrestling, juggling, beheading, eye gouging, bears, pisstaking, mistaken identity, transformations, horror, feasting, pratfalls and all their comic variants are all there. We just have to see the principles and apply them to our own entertaining: variety, dramatic action, tension and release in laughter and joy. Dario Fo says it is through laughter that we dismantle power and that includes the power of a particular style or standardisation to have any control over us.

Another way is Eastern – the way of the Tao. All that Shakespeare achieved can be tested against the notion of yin/yang – light/dark, hot/cold, fast/slow (or as Shakespeare said in A MidSummer Night’s Dream about the Rude Mechanicals’ play ‘this is hot ice; strange snow’). The Tao is the system where form becomes action and action becomes form in a continual interplay and flow. Here lies endless variety in contrast and tension in the moment, and all you have to do is empty your mind to let the new enter. So, in light of this I offer this circus reworking of an ancient samurai poem

I have no boundaries; the desert lies around and within me and will always bloom with rain.
I have no aesthetic; I make action my aesthetic
I have no style; I embrace corrugated iron, gleaming skyscrapers, barkhuts and great surfing beaches.
I have no judge; I serve audience laughter, wonder and joy.
I have no tricks; I live life to the fullest.
I have no self importance; I trust my instinct.
I have no thoughts; the circus flows through me.
I have no limits; when I take from abundance abundance remains.

Augusto Boal ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’
‘Rainbow of Desire’
Dario Fo ‘Tricks of the Trade’
Shakespeare ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’