Kathleen, Ariel and I headed out today to Randall’s Island, just off the Triboro Bridge, to see the touring Cirque du Soleil production, “Varekai.” Very loosely based on ancient myth, “Varekai” tells the story of Icarus, speculating that he survived his plummet from on high and landed in a strange garden of fantastical creatures. Creatures who can, unsurprisingly, juggle, springboard, hurl around on straps, do dizzying trapeze acts, etc.
“Varekai” had all the spectacular, jaw-dropping moments we’ve come to expect from Cirque. In this case, however, there was something more. We followed a reality series on Bravo called “Fire Within” which depicted, from audition all the way through to the show going on the road, the development of “Varekai.” What I thought was going to be a promotional puff series instead was a remarkably detailed, honest, warts-and-all weeks-long documentary of everything the performers and creators go through to produce Cirque–overseen, all the while, by Cirque’s creator, Guy, whose judgment of what works and what doesn’t, who stays and who goes, is absolute. He votes you off the island, you’re gone.
Because of FW, we came to “know” a number of the players (although, obviously, they don’t know us.) As a result, it added a whole ‘nother level to watching Cirque, because we knew everything these folks had gone through to produce the show, and had come to like a number of them as people. My personal favorite was a young gymnast named Stella. We watched her trials and tribulations, seeing her gymnastic act morph into more of a trapeze act, which was something she was unaccustomed to. We watched her difficulties with a budding romantic relationship, even watched opening night when she was going nuts because her parents became separated, one of them didn’t have a ticket, and she was frantically trying to contact her father who had inexplicably shut off his cell phone.
So there we were, seated two rows from the front, and they had just finished one particular act which involved practically skating around on a slick cloth that simulated the surface of water. And there was Stella as a supporting player in that particular sequence. At the very end, she slid on her belly right up to where we were, reached down and unhooked one of the buckles securing the cloth so it could be removed. Then, her job done, she started to spin around to head off the stage.
Just loudly enough so she could hear me, I called, “Hey, Stella.”
She did a double take in her spin, stopped, glanced our way, and then grinned in acknowledgment. The entire moment took no more than two seconds. Hopefully it was a signal to her that her contributions as an individual are appreciated.
Either that or she thinks there’s some nut stalking her. Jeez, I hope not.
PAD
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Or maybe she thought you were Marlon Brando
Y’know, you never see Peter David and Marlon Brando together at the same time…
“Can’t you hear me yell-a
You’re puttin’ me through hëll-a
Stella
Stella!!!!!!!!”
What I think is interesting about this is, due to this blog (and I’m sure I’m not the only one) that’s how I’ve come to think about PAD to some degree. Think about it, a daily chance to get inside the head of PAD, see how he thinks, or just have a (albeit one sided) dialog with him. Not a week of Buffy or Angel went by this year that I didn’t immediately start looking for what PAD thought, sometimes sooner then looking for what one of my friends thought about the episode. My girlfriend, who doesn’t even read this site, always asked what he thought too… nevermind what my mother or friend thought about this weeks Buffy, what did PAD think…
Interesting how the internet brings us closer… or brings out the stalker in each of us, not sure which….
The internet does indeed bring people closer as it pertains to the sharing of perception and information. Which is why I just bought both seasons one and two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer without ever having seen the show. Now, I am completely hooked on it. I blame Peter.
I, also, caught Bravo’s ‘Fire Within’….when I remembered to!!
Ah, well….it is for reasons such as these that the DVD was invented!!
Would that substantive and truly engaging ‘reality’ programs such as ‘Fire…’ were the norm, as opposed to the narcissism and cruelty-fests currently clogging the airwaves!!
Vive Le Cirque!!
Hooper
P.S. My first impulse was to make a Brando / Stanley Kowalski joke, too!! Ah, well…..
Peter, glad you enjoyed the show. I took my wife to see the Saltimbanco show at the Albert Hall in London for her birthday back in January, and both of us had a great time. I would certainly recommend going to see one of the many tours that are going on at any given time- watching a performance on Bravo really won’t give you a good idea of what it’s like to be there. Incidentally, the Cirque du Soleil website lists the various tours, and by signing up for their ‘club’ you can actually buy advance tickets for them before they go on sale to the public. Ironically, my wife wouldn’t watch any of the Fire Within episodes because she didn’t want to spoil the magic by seeing too much of what happens backstage.
…or maybe you just broke her concentration and the invisible wall between performer and audience. If an audience member did that to me while I was performing, I would consider it incredibly rude, actually.
Being from Montreal, i remember seeing le Cirque du Soleil in 1984, le Cirque’s first year, in a giant tent at the old port of Montreal.
I was 9 and this was the best field trip ever.
I had the chance to see Le Cirque’s many different shows over the years but December 29th 2001, we took my mother-in-law to see La Nouba at the permanent Cirque show in Disney’s World Resort.
Front row, we could touch the stage. She was amazed and looked like she was 8 years old.
She sadly past away a few month later. I don’t think i’ll be able to see that show again.
Think about it this way, if you were at a convention or a show of some sort and someone started mentioning things to you that you had talked about on your board, or in an interview many moons ago, would you think they were stalking you?
I went to see Dokken in concert a few years ago, and they were signing autographs before the concert. I made mention to Jeff Pilson that I was just there to hear the Scrotum Sound. And he was the only one in the band or people standing around me, that got the joke. Sad.
And years before that, I went to see Joe Satriani in concert, when he had just released Surfing with the Alien. Stu Hamm was playing with him in concert, and after Stu’s bass solo, I yelled out that I wanted him to play a Polka. Again, no one got it but Stu.
I think the grin indicated that she didn’t find it “incredibly rude”. For many performers, a small acknowledgment as one is exiting can be gratifying.
Your Mileage May Vary, of course…
I think the grin indicated that she didn’t find it “incredibly rude”. For many performers, a small acknowledgment as one is exiting can be gratifying.
Exactly. I never would have considered for a second, say, shouting out “Nice move, Stella!” while she was in the middle of her act. Distracting and inconsiderate. But calling out a quiet greeting that only she heard when she was exiting…I don’t think that’s out of line.
Besides, considering the vast amount of audience interaction Cirque performers do, that “invisible wall” is pretty porous.
PAD