And what exactly did you miss? The fiery apocalypse with the flight of the flaming angel, the breathless beauty of Jenn Cohen's solo cloudswing performance, and the exhiliarating finale as the "gang of four" (Esther, Janet, Martha & Bradley) lept off trapeezes forty feet in the air to twirl and hurl through space on bungees, .... and all of this was just the last fifteen minutes!

But Millennium Circus remains in our memories at UMO as much more than a great show. For us, the realization of this piece was above all else a shining example of the amazing level of support we receive on all levels from those who believe in our work. Millennium Circus was created not just by the Ensemble, but through the collaborative sweat and devoted effort of hundreds of people - artists, funders, community organizations, city employees and volunteers.

There were several people working just behing the scenes. Guest director/collaborator Larry Pisoni truly brought the show together, and production stage manager Heather Miller kept the chaos at bay. Show designers Lara Wilder, Matthew Skenandore, Josh Johnson and Patricia Toovey worked against all odds to brilliantly transform the hangar into a stunningly surreal world. And a perfect music and sound environment was put into place by Bill Moyer, Kevin Joyce, Adam McCollum and the band Ota Prota.

Several "invisible volunteers" donated thousands of performance hours to the Circus: the selfless devotion of our five sky techs - Meg, Ray, Jackie, Laura & Elena; the generous riggging expertise of Dante Leonardi, and hundreds of hours of fire tech, consultation and safety from Daniel, Macque, Jeanine, Kirsten and other members of Fremont's Cirque de Flambe.

Even further behind the scenes the spirit of creative collaboration was joined by hundreds of supportive hands. The staff, board and volunteers of Sand Point Arts and Cultural Exchange supported the Circus and created a wonderful art exhibit in the adjoining hangar. Members of the Association of Organization Volunteers gave selfishly and heroicly of their time, tools and talent, as did over fifty other carpenters and members of the local stage hands union.

And a special, heartfelt thank you goes to those who helped to fund Millennium Circus (many of whom were not even able to attend a performance): especially the Allen Foundation for their support of Ota Prota; John Gilmore for an amazing personal donation, and the Flintridge Foundation for their ongoing support of our vision.

To all who did so much and never got to take a bow, we all stand and yell "Bravo!"

Press:

The Stranger

Seattle Weekly, 22 July 99

Seattle Times, preview 8 July 99

Seattle Times, review 13 July 99