Coming all the way from Australia to campus, Gravity and Other Myths, a circus company, will be performing in a high-flying acrobatic show called “A Simple Space” on Jan. 31. The show is guaranteed to be full of amazing physical feats of gravity defying entertainment.
Gravity and Other Myths, although technically a group of acrobats, doesn’t keep their audience at a distance. The chairs will be set up with minimal rows, so viewers can be as close to the stage as possible. That way, there is an intimate connection between the performers and the audience that a circus doesn’t offer.
This mental connection between the performers and the audience is integral to the show itself. It allows the audience to root for the performers, even if they happen to miss a stunt.
“When we fall, the audience ends up saying, ‘We know it’s hard, but could you do it again?’” Jacob Randell, a performer for Gravity and Other Myths, said. “And then we get up and do it again.”
The performer and audience connection also gives them a once in a lifetime experience of seeing acrobats up close. You can see the sweat as it drips down their face and can hear their breaths.
“We try to bring the audience into our world rather than have them watch a play that could easily be on video,” Randell said.
“A Simple Space,” like the name suggests, will have minimal props. The group will only be bringing a few poles and a mat to the stage. This raises the difficulty of their act and allows their performance to seem almost impossible from the audience’s perspective.
Gravity and Other Myths not only showcases a performance with fast-paced excitement, but it will also have Shenton Gregory, a one-man band that performs entirely live percussion music to go along with the show. He even joins the act for several stunts.
All of the performers for Gravity and Other Myths have a background in youth circus where they learned traditional circus acts like juggling, unicycling and, of course, acrobatics. From there, they went to more elite circus groups to perfect their talents. They train four to five hours a day to maintain their fitness for the highly strenuous activity level their show requires. Although the physical training is the most difficult part of the experience, the most interesting part in the trust the performers have built between themselves over the years.
“The other performers put their total trust in you which is an amazing thing,” Randall said, “It’s something we built up over ten to 15 years.”
“A Simple Space” will be performed in the RecPlex Fieldhouse at 8 p.m. on Thursday, January 31. Tickets are $5 for students and are available at the Regina A. Quick Center of the Arts.
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