So much can happen when you take a break! Since our last installment, Cirque web sites have been very busy.
In Cirque Club, reports from Saltimbanco’s “Eddy” and Dralion tour member Jeroen discuss returns to their home towns (Paris and Rotterdam, respectively). Setting up a Cirque tent site after a hurricane hits is well documented by Rob Mackenzie, Tour Manager for Saltimbanco, as their setup in Monterrey, Mexico had to be moved! There is also a report about load-in of Varekai in New Jersey, and a short piece on a Saltimbanco “hockey game” in Paris. And there’s a nice rundown of the facts and figures behind the Corteo Tour, and an interesting article about how show names are chosen.
But the best article to come out of Cirque Club in some time is a long one about picking audience victims out of Cirque audiences. It’s longer than most other articles, and gives a good rundown of its topic, concentrating on the clown acts in Quidam. Nice job – we would have loved to have that one for ourselves!
In the Press Room, Cirque announces the Loto-Québec Complex proposal (commented on in this issue), trumpets how more people saw Corteo during its Montréal run than any previous touring show, and talks about the arrival of Jacques Méthé as new head of Cirque du Soleil Images.
Cirque also has good coverage of “Reflections in Blue,” their special Opening Ceremonies show for the XI Fina World Aquatics Championships. They covered it well on their general site, only being a little late to the gate with a listing of worldwide Official Broadcasters who might have carried the ceremonies. Afterword, Cirque Club has some nice coverage with two galleries, a summary of the show and interviews with cast and crew members.
Having not been too deeply into the CDS site lately, I was happy to find more Wallpapers in the “Goodies” section, for Solstrom, O, and Mystere. There are two new virtual cards for O and Mystere as well. And the sections of the site talking about O and Mystere have also been enhanced.
And the Boutique has a bunch of new items as their Fall line debuts. Much new and darker colored clothing can now be found on the site. They’ve added a very cute series of figurines from the shows to their offerings, as well as what looks like the beginning of a new set of refrigerator magnets. And they have a couple of interesting (if expensive) items, a “swingpack” bag ($90.00) and “courier” bag ($190.00) made from authentic Cirque tent canvas. Way to recycle!
Looking at other Cirque-related sites produced some surprises as well. “Madame” is back at Zumanity.com with some Q&A with the ladies who were involved in the August Playboy pictorial. And KA.com has several new installments of the “From The Abyss” series from Carpenter Wayne C. Robinson.
In Cirque Marketing Messages, Anne-Josée “wrote” quite a bit, taking credit for almost all of the entries we excerpt below:
The Pre-Sale of tickets for Saltimbanco’s premiere in Monterrey, Mexico included an interesting caveat. In order to purchase advance tickets, you could only use a Visa card! Visa is a prime sponsor of the Saltimbanco tour in Mexico, but even then the restriction was interesting. But it came with a nice payoff, as tickets were discounted 10%!
Varekai arriving in Columbus (a surprising two-parter) — “Before the bright colors of our Grand Chapiteau can grace the skyline of Columbus, there is a lot of work to be done! Despite the fact that performances are still in full swing in East Rutherford, a number of Varekai crew members have gone ahead to the corner of Neil Ave. and Nationwide Blvd. Why, you ask? Before our trailers roll into town, technicians will spend the next few days in Columbus making sure that the area designated for our enormous tent is good to go! Any debris or broken asphalt will have to be cleared away, markers set up to indicate exactly where our masts will be erected, and hook-ups with local water and telecommunications systems secured. Only once these details have been finalized will we be able to roll in and set up our temporary home in your city.”
“You may have already spotted them: our tractor-trailers have rolled into town, and set-up for next Thursday’s premiere of Varekai in Columbus is already well under way. In my message last week, I promised to share some amazing details about our Grand Chapiteau.
Here are just a few! Did you know that the entire infrastructure, or as we prefer to call it, our “village on wheels,” occupies an area of 170,000 square feet (16,000 square meters)? The central tent or “Grand Chapiteau” is manufactured in France, measures 184 feet (56 meters) in diameter, and is supported by four steel masts 89 feet (27 metres) in height. The stage, built of steel, aluminum, and wood, takes 48 hours to set up. Finally, we are completely self-sufficient in electrical power: the site needs only a local water supply and telecommunication facilities to be operational.”
Dralion in Oostende — “Just recently I was lucky enough to chat with Simon Howett, our Hospitality Supervisor currently on tour with Dralion in Oostende. “When you travel a lot like we do and every few months brings another town,” says Simon, “it’s nice to go somewhere where it’s not all new. Oostende is definitely familiar territory for me and really brings back a lot of memories. “I was born in Belgium but grew up in England. I was 6 years old when I first went to Oostende with my parents and grandparents. Since my first visit, I’ve driven through the city many times to get to the ferry to England. I have also worked in Oostende; during my teenage years, I worked on the busy terraces, and later in several casino shows as a dancer. My last visit was two years ago when I came with Cirque du Soleil’s Saltimbanco show. “I’m looking forward to eating “garnaalkroketten” (shrimp croquettes) with a cool beer on a terrace, going to the beach, taking walks on the dike, enjoying the many festivals going on during our stay and having fun with my friends who live there.”
Quidam leaving Australia — “August just last year marked our arrival down under with Quidam! Since then, we’ve had the good fortune to discover what it’s like to live on the opposite side of the world. It all began in Sydney, our first stop, and one we’re not likely to forget soon. While in town, we were honoured to perform at the TV Week Logie Awards. We were also lucky enough to visit several of Sydney’s hot spots, including our favourites the Harbour, the rocks, Centrepoint Tower and Chinatown. From Sydney, we wove our magic (and more than 48 tractor trailers hauling our set-up) all the way to Brisbane. And despite the pesky, poisonous cane toads that seemed to adore the atmosphere beneath the Grand Chapiteau, we had a wonderful stay! Then, in March, at Federation Square in Melbourne, a team of local graffiti and stencil artists created two colourful murals featuring characters and acts from Quidam. In fact, we’ve just learned that these two creations will be displayed at Cirque’s International Headquarters in Montreal. After Melbourne, it was off to Adelaide! One of the highlights of this stop was the gobsmacked look on Channel 10 sports presenter Mark Alston’s face when our clown, Voki Kalfayan, planted a big, sloppy kiss right on his lips! Then, at last, Perth, a fantastic and cheery city, but our last stop in Australia before cast and crew head to Singapore. All of you welcomed us with open arms and bright smiles, and we cannot thank you enough! We hope to be back in Australia more sooner than later…”
Saltimbanco in Mexico — “I can hardly wait to bite into a spicy burrito! Allow me to explain: the everyday dishes we’ve become accustomed to while on tour with Saltimbanco in Europe are getting repetitive. Thankfully, with our arrival in Mexico, menus will soon reflect local, spicy cuisine! In fact, our chefs are already hard at work scoping out local markets for fresh and zesty ideas to complete their Mexican-inspired menus. Have you ever wondered what and where we eat? Without a doubt, one of the most amazing amenities on tour is the kitchen, the heart and soul of our mini-village! In a facility made up of six trailers, a dining area and two outdoor terraces, the Saltimbanco kitchen crew (12 members in all) prepares approximately 400 meals a day, six days a week. While in Mexico, several of these meals will certainly include tacos, nachos, tortillas, beans, salsa, chili and jalapeño! And to wash down these spicy new flavors, thousands of litres of fruit juice (we drink an average of 31,200 litres a year) will provide welcome relief for our overexposed taste buds.”
Alegria in Japan (planning to leave for England) — “Just last week I was lucky enough to chat with Montse, a crew member with AlegrÃa, which is currently visiting Nagoya, Japan. She explained that with only nine months to go before AlegrÃa’s premiere in London, the team has been planning and preparing for the huge changeover from Japan to the United Kingdom for several months already. She went on to say that our transfer team at the Cirque du Soleil International Headquarters in Montreal and our own tour crew are both used to transporting the
Grand Chapiteau and its surrounding facilities from city to city, but we have to admit the transport from Asia to Europe is a bit of a challenge! Just imagine the preparations needed to move 145 cast and crew members and 12 huge sea containers carrying 800 tons of show equipment overseas for thousands of miles in an operation that will take over a week. Also, imagine the culture shock we’ll be facing: changing from sushi and noodles to shepherds’ pie and scones, from the Japanese yen to the Great Britain pound, and from riding the Japanese bullet train to “mind the gap!” Montse continues: “To perform, work, live in and discover a country like Japan has been an amazing experience for me. Japan has surprised me with its colorful costumes, amazing culture, beautiful shrines, typhoons and even earthquakes! However, I’m very much looking forward to the premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London on January 5, 2006. I hope to meet you at AlegrÃa!”
And there is a special offer available for La Nouba — “Have you ever sat back in your seat during a Cirque du Soleil show and wondered: “How on earth did they do that?” Well here is your invitation to ask the unbelievable performers from La Nouba in person! This summer we will be holding special Question and Answer sessions with some of the gymnasts, bicyclists, trapeze artists and other great performers that bring La Nouba to life. All Cirque Club members who have purchased tickets to see La Nouba between June 21 and September 30 can register to attend one of the three sessions to take place in the Cirque du Soleil Theater at Downtown Disney West Side on select Saturdays between July 23 and September 17. Places are limited, so register soon!”
And finally, Madame wrote again, about the Playboy spread. Her writing is just so delicious! — “Here is my personal little summer forecast for you: July is going to be HOT! And I’m not just talking about the weather… A few short months ago, on a steamy afternoon in the ZUMANITY theatre, eight gorgeous seductresses from the show encountered the intimate lens of Playboy. The human zoo was exposed like never before as one by one these fabulous creatures donned a seductive glance… and not much else. What a beautiful afternoon that was! If you so desire, I invite you to read all about that sexy day, including a brief Q&A with the ladies, in a little something I call Exposé! And keep an eye out for the August issue of Playboy that came out just recently: it promises to bare all the secrets of that unforgettable afternoon! Oh, one more little thing. You are cordially invited to come down to Vegas on July 15 and 16 to join our beautiful sirens, who will be signing copies of their Playboy pictorial… Get all the delicious details below! P.S. I’m glad you decided to come this far. Now go a little further… The girls will be at the ZUMANITY boutique on July 15 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., and on July 16 they’ll be at The Playboy Concept Boutique (at The Forum Shops at Caesars) from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Hope you can make it! P.P.S. Good things come in threes… forward this message to someone special!”
Above text courtesy of Cirque Club.
