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29.09.15, 14:52
Photo credit to Samuel Laliberté
Krista Monson has worn many hats during her artistic career. She started out as a professional dancer and moved on to being a talent scout and a casting director among other creative positions, but she says lately she is most in her skin when she is in the role of creator. From 2004 to 2012 Krista worked for Cirque du Soleil as an artistic director for O and as a casting director staffing all resident shows worldwide. Now she is a freelance circus writer and director working on some overseas projects that are still under wraps.
For a long time, nearly every artist at Cirque du Soleil came through her casting department. Although she has moved in to writing and directing shows, she is grateful for the tremendous insight in to artists she has gained over the years working in the world of talent scouting and casting. Krista knows how to compile a talented team and she was happy to share the secrets of circus talent scouts and casting departments—from the qualities they seek, to the challenges they face—during our interview.
Of all your positions in the circus industry, which do you enjoy the most? Choreographer, talent scout, casting director, artistic director, writer, director?
I would say right now I really enjoy writing and conceptualizing things. I love the research part of it. Like looking at a water scene; it’s exciting to go from hardcore research to sensory immersion, because you are looking for ways to create emotion in people as a concept, but it still needs a basis and foundation. At the end of the day, you don’t want the audience to think about it, you just want them to sit back and feel it. Throughout my whole career I loved losing myself in a project. I loved contributing to something that is great and meaningful. That has taken on different forms for me. And when I was a casting director that was great! I loved it and felt in my skin then too.
What did you look for in a casting team?
What I looked for in a talent scout was that strange paradoxical dichotomy of expertise and openness at the same time. The scouts and advisors have to understand what the artistic director needs. They may need a trapeze flyer of a certain height and weight—but they also need to read between the lines–to understand what that artist might need to do besides the trapeze. They may need to do dance, do transitional things or character work. Or the director of a new creation might say ‘I’m not sure what I want. I just want something different and wild.’ The scout and advisor’s view of their own expertise can never be so black and white that they are wearing blinders to another type of talent—they need to be able to react with openness or instinct. So expertise and openness are really critical attributes to working in the casting department.
What is the biggest quality you seek in a performer?
It’s hard to sum that up between an accordion player and a base in an acrobatic act, but what they both need to have in common is technical and artistic excellence. Technical excellence is being very skilled at a very high level. Still, there are some guys who are phenomenal who’ve grown up on the streets. They’ve never done the Olympics, it’s not part of their voyage to do that, but they’re very good at a certain skill. The artistic excellence is where the interpretation comes in. Someone who finished a career as an athlete may not have an interpreter background (like acting, for example) but what we can do is recognize a willingness to go beyond their technique. That’s where the artistic excellence is…because it’s that layer that is going to touch people. And they both go hand in hand.
What types of places do scouts go?
There is no formula. In circus, there are tentacles touching the entire planet. There is no rule that scouts only go here or there. It depends on what is needed at the time. Definitely Eastern Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Africa, Australia, everywhere! A scout used to be on the plane 200 days a year out in the field because that is where they could get a sense of who each artist is. That is still the best type of encounter, but now with technology we are able to virtual scout. If you have a camera on your iPhone and you are in a remote little village somewhere, you can go to the casting department. So its two ways now.
What do circus artists always worry about (in an audition or scouting situation) that isn’t really important?
Artists try to assume what the casting department is looking for, thinking ‘Ok they are probably looking for this, so I’ll do it this way.’ But it’s really important to remove that worry and just to be and maximize everything that you do within the process of an audition or scouting situation. You never know what the need is, so it’s an unnecessary worry that can detract from you maximizing your full performance.
What should circus artists be more concerned about?
Just showing us who they are, and that means technically showing what their skill is, but it also means challenging themselves to go a little bit deeper and go beyond their comfort zone, because in an audition it is so normal to think ‘I don’t want to show what I am weak at.’ They want to show their strengths. But when I was a casting director, I found that it is that vulnerability that can actually be very precious and very important because you can see how open the artist is to being directed and they’re willing to cross that line between what they’re good at, trained at, confident at, and yet share that vulnerability. It is only by trusting yourself in that moment about what is being asked and instead of asking questions, just doing it and showing us who you are. If you feel uncomfortable than you are probably doing something right.
Do you give artists feedback or advice even when you don’t hire them?
Yes, I try to. I value that exchange a lot, but sometimes it’s just not possible if there are hundreds of people. But I try to whenever possible.
How many languages do you speak? How important is it to speak multiple languages in your field?
I speak French and English. French is related to Spanish and Italian so it helps. It is very helpful to speak more than one language. In auditions, a casting department usually facilitates a process that is as open and as comfortable as possible for an artist. Even though there is a high degree of expectation, usually there are translators or there is someone else in the room who happens to speak Japanese or whatever. But it’s not always necessary, because we use other techniques. We have music and physical direction and things like that…but it definitely helps.
Talent scouts love it when…an artist is not self-conscious. When they go beyond their comfort zone.
Anything else you’d like to tell circus artists?
Be present and maximize every moment of the situation. It’s really important that you don’t assume anything– just really go for it and don’t leave with any regrets. We all second guess what we could have or should have done in the moment. It’s normal. But you face one of two things. Either you face fear or you face regret. I think it’s a lot easier to face your fear than regrets.
As Krista Monson mentioned, the casting now starts online for artists who share their skills, accomplishments and background. Nowadays, it is much easier and more direct for you to put yourself out there than to wait for a talent scout to come to you.
As a members of Circus Promoters, you have online tools to help you increase your potential casting opportunities. Your profile on Circus Promoters should reflect that by including photos and videos of you practicing your circus discipline, and information about your experience level and work history.
If you are not a member of Circus Promoters yet, registration is free and all levels of performer are welcome. Visit circuspromoters.com to create your profile and learn about employment opportunities.
Bio & links:
Kim Campbell is a circus and theatre critic and writer. She has written for Spectacle magazine, Circus Now, Circus Talk and was a resident for Circus Stories, Le Cirque Vu Par with En Piste in 2015 at the Montreal Completement Cirque Festival. She is the editor of American Circus Educators magazine, as well as a staff writer for the web publication Gapers Block, where she writes about arts and culture. You can follow her frequent musings on circus via Twitter, Instagram or at Kimzyn Chronicles .
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Circus Promoters and Kim Campbell with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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28.08.15, 22:52
(Photo credit Steve Hersee)
Improve your life, your act, your art, your profession, the industry itself, and your income potential.
By Kim Campbell for Circus Promoters
Who is an independent circus artist?
You are a professional performer, getting gigs and traveling the world. You are living the dream. But your work does not stop there. There are auditions to attend, employment details to be negotiated, as well as travel, training, networking, and collaboration. In the midst of all the hubbub, perhaps you wonder whether you are you creating the art you once longed to make, while positioning yourself for a long career that will lead you to newer heights. How can you possibly do all of those things at once? Is it as simple as putting money in the bank and planning for other opportunities a year or two in advance? Do you have to market yourself and your art form too?
Every day you take enormous physical risks to do the art you love, but as an independent circus artist, you must also take professional and personal risks to gain a reputation as an innovator and an outstanding performer in your field. There is no circus school that can teach that set of skills; they are cultivated on the job by years of trial and error. Fortunately, there are many tools, resources, and experienced people in your network that can help you to grow not only as an artist, but as a professional. With a little attention to detail, you have more potential to craft a career designed to meet your goals than any previous generation of circus performers.
What does it mean to be an independent artist?
To be independent means to be free to create and control your product (i.e., your work), to stipulate the details of your contracts, to negotiate your salary, to create your own brand, to shape your artistic identity, and to freely express your creativity. To some performers, maintaining independence is paramount; else they risk becoming a puppet who is called upon to perform their tricks, rather than a central figure in the process of their own creation. Yet circus work is, in some ways, like any other work environment: there are tiers of authority; collaborations must exist between artists and industry professionals regarding everything from act creation, costuming and performance themes, to lodging and pay. In these situations, you are not always acting solely as an individual, but for the whole production team. The bridges you build in these settings help lay the foundation and expectations for future performers. It takes years of experience to strike the right balance between independence and collaboration, but it is a crucial step in the balancing act of any professional.
Thomas Monckton, describes himself on his website as ‘a freelancer creating cross-genre contemporary theatre and circus as well as touring a number of international solo and ensemble shows’. Although he chooses to work independently, he recognizes the nuances that circus artists experience in their efforts for independence, since each performer comes with their own goals and background, “ Being independent is perhaps of less significance or benefit overall than having positive and transparent working relationships considering the spectrum of work avenues and artist's goals. Circus can attract athletes focused on honing their abilities to the highest level or creators who are focused on creating new forms of circus and of course a mish mash of both and everything in between. All variations have different optimal levels of independency and creative freedom.”
What does independence require of you?
Does independence have a price? It certainly does, but the cost is up front, like paying cash rather than relying on credit. All of the work you need to do to maintain your independence as an artist is that cost, requiring hours spent in research, administrative tasks, and decision making. But the benefits are personally enriching and can lead to a better work environment, increased income, more creative input, greater respect from peers and employers, and ultimately even a longer career. The risk of independence is that as a freelancer, a solo artist, or as part of a small company, you might have to make difficult choices, like deciding between job offers. Dana Dugan, a freelance circus artist in the US and former Operations Manager at Chicago Contemporary Circus Festival, explains some of the costs of retaining her independence, “My priority was to become an artist an expert in what I do- to create meaningful body work that was intelligent, challenging, touching, memorable, and inspiring to my peers and the general public. I chose the projects that were inspiring. They didn’t always pay well, but I could stand behind them. They fed me as an artist and challenged me. I also do lots of corporate work that is generally awful but it pays the bills.”
What are the benefits?
Independent artists innovate their industry rather than repeating stale material. This improves the profession by giving artists a stronger voice in their work. Individual acts are better because artists are more invested when they are involved in act creation. Ultimately, independent work can improve income potential for the performer as well as the profession, because an educated, confident, creative, connected, protected artist is happier and projects herself as a strong candidate for show producers. She also improves the industry, since working independent artists are more innovative, creating better shows, which leads to bigger audiences.
Barry Lubin (a.k.a. Grandma the Clown) now works largely as a freelancer in Europe after many years with Big Apple Circus where he built his reputation and brand. He says that the responsibility to manage your career is entirely yours, and offers a simple suggestion to begin with: ”Read anything you can get your hands on about the art of negotiating, because that is applicable in any business or service. It is impossible to be totally independent in any business, but it is very possible to figure out the potential for synergy between you and everyone you do business with, whether you own a circus or theater company or are a beginner.”
Be yourself
The irony of circus training is that you can learn the discipline and the tricks, even the tenets of what makes a good performer, but the essence of what makes a good performance is something that can’t be taught. It is a mix of dedication, guts, honesty, passion, creative thinking, skill, openness and generosity towards the audience. The correct mix cannot exist without you, because you are the only person who knows what proportions of each ingredient is required for your best performance, and how to promote yourself to convey that. This is why ‘doing you’ can be such an essential ingredient in any successful show, and an integral part of your professional long-term success. Natano Fa'anana, creative director and co-founder of the popular contemporary Casus Circus in Australia, defines what the concept means to him: “The good practices that have helped sustain me as an independent artist and kept the passion alive is to be unapologetic about my creative choices and decisions. Steer away from the norm and carve a new aesthetic, play with other mediums, i.e. technology (and) other art forms.”
There are many ways to put your stamp on your art. Monckton defines the process that helps him stand apart in his league, “In order for an artform to progress and to remain relevant to a contemporary public, it’s imperative that there is a vibrant experimental movement discovering new territories with circus. As a creator, it can help if you block yourself off from your own genre and look to other forms or contexts for inspiration. For example, if you are an aerialist, try not to look at what other aerialists are doing.” Breaking out of the norms of your discipline might seem impossible until you consider your personal differences. For Fa’anana, what is unique about him is that he thinks of the stage as a place to tell a thought-provoking story, rather than to fit in with fashion. He explains, ”I place importance on making my own work because that's what excites and defines me as a circus artist. I have a catalogue of stories to tell tucked away in the back of my mind and gradually I hope to tell those stories using circus as my medium. To develop as an artist I think you need to be true to yourself. Be comfortable with yourself and roll with your gut feelings and less with current trends.”
Thinking about your background, your interests, and your experience will help you to embrace and craft your identity. Brainstorm, dare to be different, create your own act, and ultimately build your own brand that will attract the type of employers you seek – they will recognize that you have a marketable performance and value you for it.
DIY
While you are identifying what makes you unique as an artist, you may get inspiration for act creation, allowing you to put your own unique twist on what you do. But independence should not stop with creating a unique act. It can extend to all areas of your professional life, from designing your own apparatus to identifying themes for a show you would like to produce, from set design to crafting your social media presence. You do not have to do all of those things, but depending on your age, experience and budget, you may find yourself enjoying a higher level of creative control. Many new companies work together as a tight-knit team to create their identity, and they harness that momentum to generate interest in their work as well as plenty of performance opportunities. If there is a show, an act, an apparatus, a festival, or a circus school that doesn’t exist yet, create it and you will attract interested colleagues. Use social media to display your creation process, your triumphs, and to ask for advice and feedback.
Barry Lubin explains his methods for keeping engaged: “Part of my job as a performer is to remain relevant, which simply means that I need to adapt and remain successful in each new gig I do, which helps with word of mouth, helps with my own confidence, which then helps when I search for the next gig."
Keep in mind that you are in this for the long haul, and that networking is more of a long-term investment than an immediate payoff. Lubin says, "I also realize that relationships and contacting people such as producers, directors, owners, and agents can pay off years later, so patience is very important. Careers are built over time, but I know that I need to work now so that it can possibly pay off in two or three years with a job offer. Staying in touch via email and social media, going to festivals to network and let people know I am alive and working still, and simply the act of doing different gigs tends help further my career.”
Educating yourself on the circus industry is easier today than in the past, where learning was on the job and by word of mouth. That insider network was how most circus gigs were found. But now producers have more festivals and schools to comb for talent than ever before, not to mention the convenience of the internet for discovering potential acts.
As one of the online resources, Circus Promoters provides a platform in the world market and opens it up for professional circus artists and producers to meet. Circus Promoters has a large, private database for both employers and performers and works directly with individuals to help connect them. In addition, Circus Promoters will maintain this blog for the professional who wants to stay current on industry news, and gain insight in to the worldwide circus market, and other issues that will affect their career. In the coming months, this Circus Artists Blog will cover topics such as; understanding contracts, current circus trends, working with or without an agent, and what talent scouts are too busy to tell you.
Continued training and professional development is an area most circus performers do not struggle with maintaining. During off-seasons, gyms and circus schools are packed with individuals trying out new apparatus, testing their material, and sharing expertise with colleagues. But professional development can extend beyond physical skills into areas that seem less obvious, such as small business skills, studying a foreign language, researching performance grants, or pricing insurance quotes.
The Internet is a tremendous resource for promotion and research. You can use the Internet to follow industry news by using Google Alerts to be notified about topics of your choosing. You can sift through YouTube to check out your competition. You can take online classes in business, marketing, and finance to help manage your income and prepare for your future. You can watch videos about the circus world to see what audition processes are like. You can follow the blogs, publications, and websites of circus-centric businesses to see what trends are emerging and what is in demand.
When you are done scouring the Internet for guidance, there are always your agent, mentors, teachers, and colleagues to check in with. Barry Lubin agrees: “Educating yourself can come in many forms. Talk to people in the industry, especially veterans. Talk to them about how to ask for things like money, accommodations, getting travel costs covered. Talk with agents clearly about how they work, who they will attempt to contact on your behalf, what they will try to accomplish for you, and what their commission will be. Don't guess. Any unanswered question by a producer, director, agent, owner, etc. is your responsibility to get answered."
It's important not to burn your bridges. Lubin says, "I always talk to people about dealing in a positive way with those you are negotiating with. If you don't get what you would like, you can always go down a little, that is up to you, but if you really aren't going to make a deal, I still try to say, ‘I really hope next time we can figure out how to work together.’”
Protect yourself
As an educated, capable, and confident artist, you will naturally protect yourself throughout your career. You will create your own work, foster innovation within your field, chose a good agent, read through and negotiate your contracts to fit your needs, connect with associations that support artists, obtain good insurance, plan for your future by saving some portion of your income, plan your gigs one or two steps ahead of your current position, and network with the people you meet within your industry.
You will help the profession remain strong by educating and mentoring the next generation, promoting yourself and your colleagues, and upholding high standards in the industry for safety, compensation, and performance. If you can manage all of these things, you will not only be on your way to a tremendous career full of travel, opportunities, adventure, and artistic growth, but you will also be a treasure to the circus world itself.
In the words of Fa’anana: “ In my career, I have seen some great performers rise and then fizzle out. Sometimes out of the circus industry altogether simply because they didn't know how to manage themselves or understand how the industry works. Self-management, administration, negotiating and networking are a few of the important things a circus artist could benefit from having. To create a great act or product is one thing. To put it out there on to the stages is another. Be one step ahead. To protect yourself and livelihood, surround yourself with supportive, professional and motivated people.”
Bio & links:
Kim Campbell is a circus and theatre critic and writer. She has written for Spectacle magazine, Circus Now, Circus Talk and was a resident for Circus Stories, Le Cirque Vu Par with En Piste in 2015 at the Montreal Completement Cirque Festival. She is the editor of American Circus Educators magazine, as well as a staff writer for the web publication Gapers Block, where she writes about arts and culture. You can follow her frequent musings on circus via Twitter, Instagram or at Kimzyn Chronicles .
Photo Credit: Steve Hersee
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Circus Promoters and Kim Campbell with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.