TheatreArtLife: What’s it like to be on tour with a circus show? How do people land a job working for Cirque du Soleil? What do they love and hate about being on tour and what are the challenges? TheatreArtLife caught up with some of the cast of TORUK – The First Flight to find out
4 comments:
I find it so incredibly interesting to learn more about the process and requirements for a aerial performer in Cirque du Soleil. Reading about Tanya Burka’s story is really inspiring and incredible. The fact that she postponed being in the circus so she could complete college as an engineering major and not freak her parents out is very admirable and then even after going through four years of something completely separate and different from the circus life she still found herself wanting to join and be apart of the new and diverse, difficult lifestyle. Before reading this article I didn’t know much about Cirque du Soleil, so I really enjoyed hearing about the puppet masters and the steps Tanya Burka takes to staying healthy and on top of her backstage duties to better her acting role as a main character in a show that follows the ideas of the movie AVATAR.
I liked reading this article to get an insight into what it would be like to tour with Cirque. Although I don't think I have what it takes to be a performer seeing as I can't keep my legs straight and touch my toes, I think the opportunity to be a technician on the road would be such a great opportunity. There are probably quite a few similarities and differences between a performer and technician on the road in terms of schedule and free time just like in theater. It is nice to hear that there is time for people to experience the cultures of the places they are touring and that they do have some free time once they are on the road. It's also nice to hear that a ten year marriage has survived the touring lifestyle. I would have liked to know a little bit more about living accommodations, travel, and time off, but I suppose I can always ask other people.
What intrigued me the most about this article was the way in which she has to take care of her body, and know her limits. It wasn’t surprising, but I feel like I don’t usually hear about the amount of physical stress that touring puts someone under. But also the level of physical training that she does on and offstage. I was impressed her work ethic and range of skills, but also her balance of work and life. Because there can be such as gypsy life without any sense of regularity, I that she talks about the fact that the tours are just part of her life. Even though it’s a very different type of work, I imagine it’s very similar for technicians. I am curious about what circus life is life. From this article, I feel like I get brief insight into the level and coordination that it takes to tour a show as big as Cirque.
I can relate to Tanya I little bit. I think touring in general is a great privilege . Its a special time in ones life to be paid to travel the world. I too have been to to Adelaide and gone one some lovely wine tours. Cirque was always a company I strived for and I have come really close to achieving my goal of working with them. I just hope I get to work with them in the way Ive always dreamed. As a designer. Who know, well see. But this story is encouraging to the life style of the road. I too would recumbent it for those who want to see the work and become more rounded as a person. She is lucky to be working with such a divers group of people. That was not always the case for me so I understand the value in that. I have yet to see the production but I can not wait!
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