“Through Cracks in the Walls” Almanac Theatre Connects Us

Circus News

Through Cracks in the Walls Almanac Circus Dance Theatre Connects Us

Almanac Circus Dance Theatre is known for their multi-disciplinary work, and now with their latest piece, an exquisite corpse style video called Through cracks in the Walls they are crossing over into a new genre, that of video.
We asked members of Alamanc Circus Dance Theatre “What does this collaborative creation from your company members tell us about humanity during quarantine?” Just like with their video below, the reply was communal:
I think that in some ways we are more connected than we think we are being so far away…as collaborators, it only took 3 seconds to sense the mode/feeling — this piece starts light, silly, almost funny, and ends in this place that is very real and emotional, as we contemplate our loneliness during this time. It’s remarkable that the progression of these ideas was sensed, somehow, without talking about it — but that’s what ensemble is. And it makes sense because these ripples of feelings and modes and moods are each of our experience during these times — sometimes we are confronted by the reality of grief, uncertainty, biology, nature — and sometimes we are shielded from those things for long enough to be able to laugh at ourselves and our plight.”

– Ben Grinberg (Almanac Co-Founder and Company Member and Artistic Director)

“This video piece a la Mitchell Rose remixed likely started with a bit of pent up stay-home energy. It’s clear that as each person adds onto the momentary pose they received before, each builds the string of togetherness differently. When I watch, it feels like the definition of “together” evolves one segment to the next because we know each other. And I think that’s a big key to the “virtual” connections we make and return to during Stay At Home. It’s not that the experiences we share are “virtual” and therefore not completely whole, rather we take time to be with others genuinely. We help ourselves to arrive alongside others online — temporally, emotionally, whatever — and that happened here at Almanac one day at a time.”
-Adam Kerbal (Co-Founder and Company Member)

“Humans are innately communal and emotional creatures. We crave connection, we crave being seen, we crave a sense of “normalcy” and the feeling of being a part of something more than ourselves. When the communal structures we’re used to are shattered, we find ways to build new ones. And even though our personal situations and environments and responses to this pandemic may be totally different than each others, we all share in our need for creation and expression of our experiences.”
-Macy West (Almanac Associate Artist)

“This work, for me, speaks to our differences and unique interpretation of a shared experience. People are constantly looking for an identity and regularly we find it by comparison to those around us. We cling to horoscopes and personality quizzes to tell us who we are and even more so when we find ourselves alone. I find beauty in Almanac and our creation process when these individual thoughts and identities merge into one piece of work that speaks to many because of its nature of togetherness.
The prompt was to embody the 3 seconds of film that was given to us and continue the creation. Each of us interpreted the film before ours sometimes visually, emotionally or physically different than it had been pursued previously, but there is a clear through-line. That through-line is what we share as a humanity. Sometimes we express it with different words and actions that do not match each other’s, but our very innards understand each other beyond the physical expression.”
-Lauren Johns (Almanac Company Member)

Kim Campbell
Writer -USA
Kim Campbell has written about circus for CircusTalk.News, Spectacle magazine, Circus Now, Circus Promoters and was a resident for Circus Stories, Le Cirque Vu Par with En Piste in 2015 at the Montreal Completement Cirque Festival. They are the former editor of CircusTalk.News, American Circus Educators magazine, as well as a staff writer for the web publication Third Coast Review, where they write about circus, theatre, arts and culture. Kim is a member of the American Theater Critics Association.
...
Thanks for reading CircusTalk.News.
Support us by registering and subscribing!
FOR UNLIMITED ACCESS TO ALL NEWS CONTENT + JOB LISTING.

Learn more about PRO and PRO Casting

Do you have a story to share? Submit your news story, article or press release.

Kim Campbell

Kim Campbell has written about circus for CircusTalk.News, Spectacle magazine, Circus Now, Circus Promoters and was a resident for Circus Stories, Le Cirque Vu Par with En Piste in 2015 at the Montreal Completement Cirque Festival. They are the former editor of CircusTalk.News, American Circus Educators magazine, as well as a staff writer for the web publication Third Coast Review, where they write about circus, theatre, arts and culture. Kim is a member of the American Theater Critics Association.