3 Day Festival
As a festival performer, you need to be adaptable to all sorts of variables. This is what makes working at festivals so much fun. Last week I travelled 9 hours to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario for their annual Rotaryfest. Starting on Thursday, I had three outdoor shows. Friday also had three shows and Saturday there were two. The weather for the entire durations was fantastic with no rain whatsoever. The final show on Saturday was very hot and the weather was warm too.
Festival Performer Space
The festival that’s been running for many years now, have a great layout in the park by the river. For myself and the other three performers, a set of three bleachers provided a terrific spot for the audience to sit and be enthralled by the shows. We also had a private tent to store equipment and to change.
Festival Performer
Festival shows are somewhat different from performing in a theatre. Even though the showtimes are posted, not everyone is there exactly on time. That dictates that the show has a softer beginning. I would engage and make jokes for the early attendees. Preshow music was also important to signify the show was about to begin. When enough people were seated, the show began.
Outdoor shows can be challenging if it is very hot, raining or too windy, not to mention having the sun in your eyes. There are also advantages! I love to do magic with water outdoors. There is no problem when the water spills on the ground. Another advantage is that there is no ceiling. That allows for objects to be tossed high into the air.
Other Festival Performers
I was really fortunate to work with three excellent festival performers from Montreal. Samuel, Marianne and Jess each have specialties in the circus arts. They juggled, blew incredible bubbles and also ate fire! We got along really well. That is so nice to be able to work with like-minded performers. I’m excited the next time we meet.
Time Off
In between shows, there was some time to explore. I visited the Algoma Art Gallery. They had a great exhibit of some of the Group of Seven artists and the paintings and studies of a northern mining town, Cobalt. It was a splendid diversion. I also have a friend in the Soo and we spent some good time together catching up. That was a really nice fringe benefit.
Next
I loved working at the festival and I have a few more before the summer is over. Performing outdoors used to make me anxious because of all the uncontrollable variables. I’m more relaxed as a performer and relish all the possibilities that present themselves in serendipitous moments. I can’t wait until the next one.