As Gwen Knox hands over the reins of the incredible Act Belong Commit Sandfly Circus, based in Broome, we celebrate her work and find out how she first got involved in the circus arts. HOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? When I was a
Featured Members
Charlie Wilkins
SACharlie Wilkins was this year’s National Youth Circus Day Spirit of Circus National Award Winner. He was nominated by Lolly Jar Circus and recognised by ACAPTA for embodying the values, vitality and passion of the circus arts in his commitment to training, performing, teaching and breathing circus!
Kayleigh McMullen
QLDHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I have a dance background and grew up on the Sunshine Coast. I actually had my 13th birthday party at Cirque Espace on the flying trapeze! Then I was hooked and wanted to learn more and more! WHAT
Ann Truong
VICAt the Melbourne Fringe Festival, ACAPTA sponsors an award acknowledging the talents of emerging artists. We are proud to announce the 2015 winner of our Best Emerging Circus Performer, Ann Truong for her work in ‘No Punchline’! HOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I
Vincent Van Berkel
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I followed a girl. Then I followed my nose! And now I follow my gut. WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO? Photographer, blogger. WHAT DOES CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE MEAN TO YOU? It’s the first thing that I truly and wholeheartedly
POW (Performing Older Women’s) Circus
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? In 1995 Jean Taylor, a then member of Women’s Circus, ran a series of workshops in circus skills for women aged 40+ culminating in a performance – Act Your Age. After the show the members decided to form
Pixi Roberton
International, NSWHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Classic circus thru’ dance and working in a Risley Act with Alfie Warren, a member of the Ashton circus dynasty. WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO? Now I’ve retired from active performing and teaching, I write novels for young
Rockie Stone
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I danced my whole childhood, since the age of 3. At 18 I decided to get a science degree and play basketball instead. Struggling to push 5 foot, basketball wasn’t a natural choice, so when an older friend
Felicia [Flick] Lannan
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? My mum is a costume designer and part of her course had her designing and making costumes for the Flying Fruit Fly Circus’ end of year production. I’d been doing gymnastics for a few years and she brought
Nick Davies
TASHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I danced throughout my teens in Tasmania. After school I left physical theatre and focused on outdoor adventure for a decade, then discovering aerials with Inside Out Circus in Motueka, New Zealand, the circus journey begun! From there
Sam Thomas
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? My mum is a choreographer/dancer teacher, as a child I operated the music in her classes. That was the start of it for me. I was 9yrs old when I began performing at festivals and community events in
Lynda Sanderson
NSWHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I helped rig the Fuse aerial performance set in 2010 in New Zealand, met some performers who were doing aerials full time and fell in love with the idea that I wasn’t too old to start. WHAT ELSE
Loki Rickus
SAHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I started performing as a dancer and gymnast and then moved to Cirkidz after an ankle injury. WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO? Ride horses WHAT DOES CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE MEAN TO YOU? Circus and Physical Theatre mixes both my
Emma Joukadjian
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I am a physiotherapist who was originally working with elite sports such as artistic gymnastics and AFL when I was scouted for Cirque Du Soleil. I was interviewed in Shanghai with Quidam. The interview was successful and my
Point & Flex Circus
SAHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Both Marina Gellmann and Taylor Dawson (performers from the latest show, 3 Steps Ahead) originated from Adelaide and began taking circus classes as young children where they found a deep love and passion for circus. This led to
Tarah Carey
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I did competitive gymnastics and power tumbling for 10 yrs as a kid. Then when I was in year 11 I went to QLD Theatre Co’s theatre residency week and set my sights on being a performer –
Tammy Zarb
QLDHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I grew up on the gold coast and began training as a rhythmic gymnast, eventually focusing on classical ballet and jazz. After a successful international career as a professional dancer, I saw the cirque du soleil production of
Rebecca McMahon (Kinetica)
WAHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Randomly! In 2001, I quit a degree in Architecture to give myself the freedom to discover my true interests and life-long calling. I soon found myself working at a small community arts organisation, Southern Edge Arts in Albany.
Tom Davis [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Started in Gymnastics as a kid, a friend from gym encouraged me to join ARENA Street Theatre with him, and that’s where I started. I joined Warehouse Circus soon after, and grew up doing circus. WHAT ELSE DO
Circus Avalon [NSW]
NSWHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Avalon was established about 25 years ago in Tasmania. Just seemed a good idea at the time. Now we have a 300 seater big top, about 30 performing adults and 70 youth circus members. Its grown slowly and
Dawn Pascoe [WA]
WADawn Pascoe has been performing aerial dance for the past 10 years… and is due to have a baby next month. Like many circus artists, she has devoted her life to making her art her career, which she loves and is grateful for. She has
James Brown [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I started gymnastics and dance at the ages of 5 yrs, circus and acrobatics seemed like a natural progression. In 2000 started a theatre degree, then in 2001 – 2003 I trained at NICA. WHAT ELSE DO YOU
Kristy Seymour [QLD]
QLDHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I was studying Theatre at Uni and began training physical theatre with Gavin Robins. I then went on to start trapeze training with Rodleigh Stevens in 2001. I was one of his first students at the time. I
Calvin Grant [NSW]
NSWHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I went to Catapult 07 with my school group and thought it was awesome, so decided to make my own group Circaholics Anonymous so I could do it for a living, and have never looked back. WHAT ELSE
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Amy Macpherson (KAGE Physical Theatre)
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I was teaching dance at the National Institute of Circus Arts a few years ago and began taking night classes in tumbling and acrobatics. From there I started private contortion lessons and got completely hooked. WHAT ELSE DO
Morgan Wilson [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I grew up at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in California, where my job was to be a Pirate. I got to growl at people and drool on myself which is a pretty great job if you can get
Casus [QLD]
QLDWHO IS CASUS?: Jesse Scott, Lachlan McAulay, Emma Serjeant, Natano Fa’anana and Clark Corby HOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Jesse, Scott, Lachlan McAulay and Natano Fa’anana are all house mates and at different times worked together in various capacities in the circus industry.
Westside Circus [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Westside began in 1996 as the brain child of Debby Maziarz who received a small grant to deliver circus workshops to female offenders from the Sunshine Juvenile Justice Unit. The workshops were a success and Debbie partnered up
Mitch Jones [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Circus Oz Youth Classes WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO? I make loud noises and ride fast things. WHAT DOES CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE MEAN TO YOU? It’s an outlet, an obsession and a physical source of energy. WHAT’S THE HIGHLIGHT
Circus Oz
VICWHICH STATE ARE YOU BASED IN? Victoria, but like any circus performer we are Global Gypsies. HOW DID CIRCUS OZ BEGIN? In 1977 New Ensemble Circus from Adelaide joined up with the Australian Performing Group’s Soapbox Circus and formed Circus Oz. Some people credit us
Dave Joseph [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Studying Performing Arts at University of Western Sydney in 1984. Old School! WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO? I’m a qualified Asian cook and a gardener. WHAT DOES CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE MEAN TO YOU? That is a seriously deep and
Bonnie Blewitt [WA]
WAHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? When I was 12 years old a local circus performer moved in across the road from me. One day when he was practicing juggling at the local park down the road from me I decided to show off
Carnival Chronicles
This month, we thought we’d do something a little different. Rather than feature a single ACAPTA member, we thought we’d feature a collective of circus folk who have got together to create Carnival Chronicles . Carnival Chronicles is a fantastic Blog on the ‘Carnival’ scene
Graham Pinning [NSW]
NSWHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Learnt how to juggle in primary school and I learnt unicycle when I was 12. Then I joined Zany Yare youth circus in the Blue Mountains. WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO? I own Weirder the Better a Circus
Matt Wilson [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? A familiar story I suppose: Youngest in the family, always vying for attention in direct competition with 2 brothers and a sister. I wanted to be an actor. And so I was! At the pinnacle of my short
Daniel Oldaker [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? Juggling club in Ballarat WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO? Rollerblade and breathe. WHAT DOES CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE MEAN TO YOU? Actionexpressionism WHAT’S THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE CAREER SO FAR? Hot Lips (Malmo, Sweden) & 365 Circus Fest
Hannah Cryle [VIC / QLD]
QLD, VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I was a founding member of Brisbane’s Flipside Circus when I was 9. I had done gymnastics prior to that but couldn’t stand competitions, so when a family friend suggested joining this new youth circus that was starting
Penelope Lowther [NSW/QLD]
NSW, QLDHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? I established a Women’s Circus called Circus WOW in Wollongong NSW in 2001. I was the Founder and Director until the end of 2006. I was influenced by the Women’s Circus in Melbourne and had the help of
Corinna Di Niro [SA]
SAHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS/PHYSICAL THEATRE? After working as an usher for Alegria (Cirque du Soleil) I fell in love so much with the roving characters that I wanted to be one! An artist in the company told me my best chance would be
Louise Moriarty [QLD]
QLDHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS? Mutual grassroots exchange, Old school. I was drawn to circus crew at festivals, I could flip to get their attention, which would be an invitation for them to show me what they could do. I would ask them “Teach
Gerard Van Dyck, Creative Director – KAGE [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO PHYSICAL THEATRE / CIRCUS? I trained in dance from the age of ten – Ballet, tap, and jazz styles. At the same time I was quite interested in old black and white slapstick silent film artists, and this seemed to
Felicia (Flee) OBrien [VIC]
VICWHICH STATE DO YOU LIVE IN? Some of my students may say I am in a permanent state of sarcasm, however, technically Victoria…. in the last 2 years mostly Macau(China) and Canada, with a little bit of Ireland and the UK. HOW DID YOU GET
Hamish McCormick [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS? I learnt how to juggle as a 12 year old from Jeff Turpin at Maleny Folk Festival where I also saw The Banana Brothers (Mike Finch and crew – which grew into precarious/Monoxide) and Rumple doing St shows which
Christian Parr [TAS]
TASHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS? My grandmother bought me a box set of juggling balls for my 13th birthday, it took me about a week to learn from the instructions in the box… I started to go to a local juggling club, and the
Daniel Aubin [NSW]
NSWHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS? I was a National Gymnast in Canada studying Drama and English. I basically put my acting and flipping together and landed right in circus. My best friend and I started training handbalancing after we retired from gymnastics. A gruff
Tessa Waters [VIC]
VICHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS? I fell into circus really. I’ve alway been performing and making shows and did a fair bit of physical theatre training in Suzuki method and Viewpoints and Clown. My first show was a series of clown/physical comedy sketches about
Tilda Cobham-Hervey [SA]
SAHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS? I started circusing at the age of nine primarily to try and absorb some of my excess crazy child energy. I did this at Cirkidz, in Adelaide. I was invited into the performing troupe later that year where I
Karen Edelenbos [VIC]
VICStage name: Miss Ellaneous HOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS? I was a Youth Worker in Fitzroy and Matty Gee from ‘Little Big Tops Circus’ used to nag me to use the youth centre I worked at for circus classes. My boss never let him,
Paul Woodhead [Dubbo, NSW]
NSWHOW DID YOU GET INTO CIRCUS? I got into circus after attending a Belfast Circus Summer Camp in 1990, as an acrobatics coach, then started Circus West at Dubbo West PS in 1991 WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO? I am also a father of five
Flipside Circus [QLD]
QLDHOW DID THE COMPANY START? Flipside started in a park in Brisbane’s West End in 1997. Two circus trainers and a bunch of kids gathered under a tree. The group grew until they needed to find a permanent home. Flipside became Incorporated in 1998 and
Zoe Robbins [VIC]
VICHow did you get into circus? I was accepted into the Flying Fruit Fly Circus at the age of 11 and was a member until I was 18. What else do you do? I train and also have a part-time job where I work around
Luth Wolf [VIC]
VICEach month our new website will present a feature member! Our inaugural member is Luth Wolf. I first met Luth at the 08 Melbourne Juggling Convention. Since then i have learnt a lot about Luth and I think that she is a great advocate for