Step into the Big Puck Tent at Brighton Fringe Festival this year and you’ll find a circus like no other – full of heart, humour and some seriously breath stealing stunts. Nose Dive Assembly: Birds of a Feather is a joyful and uplifting celebration of trust, community and daring to try even when you’re not sure you’ll make it. With a lovable clown, a feathered drone named Peggy and a cast of wildly talented acrobats, the show mixes the magic of circus with real and relatable stories. We caught up with acrobat Arielle Lauzon and the creative team behind the show to find out how it all came together.
Can you give us an elevator pitch for Nose Dive Assembly: Birds of a Feather?
So you know when you think of a circus, you imagine big top, big props, big skills right? Well, Nose Dive Assembly is all that but with extra big surprises where you’ll find yourself amazed by world class acrobats coming together to give you that childlike joy and excitement of going to the circus. It’ll take your breath away with never seen before apparatuses and warm your heart with Pierrot’s comedic attempts at flying away. It’s a show about trusting you’ll always land back on your feet and that you can pull so much inspiration and support from your community.
The show doesn’t seem like your typical circus. What drew you to blend acrobatics with a story about self-doubt and daring?
As acrobats, we defy a lot of rules with our bodies, but we are human at the end of the day. We doubt ourselves constantly whilst taking on daily challenges. It’s a very common story experienced by everyone, but I suppose using circus to express those themes is what allows us to explore its nuances. Acrobatics has been my personal medium to explore those themes and it’s taught me to trust the people I work with on a new level. It shows the human behind the artist and those are the kind of shows I love to be a part of.
Pierrot’s grounded journey toward flight will no doubt be very relatable for a lot of people. Was she always the heart of the story, or did she emerge along the way?
The overarching theme of the show has always been Trust. Therefore, the Directors built and prompted every act around that concept. Pierrot’s story was aimed at gluing all the pieces of this trusting puzzle. Her journey, like most clowns, is what carries the narrative through in a human way. So I’d say the variety of ways she’s carried out that story has emerged as the show has evolved and grown.
Let’s talk about Peggy, the feathered drone with attitude – can you tell us about your decision bring in the tech?
Ahhh Peggy… She has also evolved in the last year. We wanted to bring a piece of our first show The Wing Scuffle Spectacular which featured a friendly Lion that represented the journey of that clown’s relationship with fear. For Nose Dive, bringing a bird in felt like the perfect evolution. However, the idea of having a bird sewed onto a costume felt restrictive. We wanted to keep the experience interactive and so integrating a drone felt a perfect opportunity to fly over the audience and over our new circus apparatuses that use so much of our big top.
The show is full of bold, breath-stealing stunts, but also quiet, tender moments. How do you strike that balance?
There is so much variety in circus that you need that change in pace to receive and digest what you are experiencing. But it’s the incredibly passionate and talented cast that make jaw dropping stunts and visceral story telling co-exist.
“Failure is part of flight” feels like a mantra for creatives everywhere. How did that theme take shape in the rehearsal room?
Quite literally. For Pierrot’s attempts at flying for example, we tried a lot of different ways to make me fly that didn’t make it in the show. Or for the floating stage cyr wheel act, there was a lot of time put into making the stage fly perfectly level all the while having artists being able to perform on and under it. When exploring new equipment and pieces of set, there is a lot of trial and error that goes into the acrobatic research and rigging to be sure that whatever makes it to stage is 100% safe. Failure is part of the fun to figure out how we can successfully play with new equipment.
From the immersive atmosphere to the collaborative spirit, Nose Dive Assembly feels like an invitation – what do you hope audiences take with them when they leave the Big Puck?
Inspired to attempt their own version of flight, empowered by seeing what is achievable with a good group of friends and hopefully challenge any preconceived stereotypes they might have about circus and want to go see more live art!
Nose Dive Assembly: Birds of a Feather will be performed at Birghton Fringe’s Circus Yard from 2nd May – 1st June. For tickets and more information, visit: https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/the-nose-dive-assembly