In The Round

The Big Top is a very special performance space that leaves no one indifferent to its experience. The Circus, for the longest time, was the most exotic and immersive experience an audience could have and traces of that legacy of spectacle always seem to be present in this semi-mythical environment.

Although a Big Top show is conventionally staged from the center, everyone who works under its cupola is always aware that the audience is in the round. Designing performance for 180° of eyes can feel like visualizing the layout through a kaleidoscope where activity on the outer edges is constantly pulling at our attention.

Varekai, one of a handful of Cirque du Soleil Big Top productions I worked on that infused me with a special appreciation for the uniqueness of space and range of movement in a Big Top.