Greetings!
We began the day with Gregangelo and I having a heart to heart about what we want to accomplish today. We both looked at each other, and said,it is about the artists, the kids and the community. We need to be big spirits today, because if we do not own the day, it will slip away. It is comforting to know that our regular Special Events business is in good and caring hands with Rachel Stegman,Laura Fraenza, Denise Adkins and Lorna Zilba. Their support allows us to nurture and grow this show and our artists.

The first phone call before we left the house was to The Blow Up Lab. They were printing a "Circus Extravaganza" banner that would be displayed over the marquee to attract PIER 39 visitors to the show. I called to see if we could pick up the banner on our way to the show at 10am and to my elated surprise Bryan of the Blow Up Lab, was planning on delivering the banner, as he understood how important it was to have it in place before the show, and our time was limited, he volunteered to go the extra mile. It was a great sign, (pun intended) and a moment that whispered of wonderful things and honorable business. I highly recommend their business and look forward to building their business alongside ours!

Our day at the theatre began with a rigorous rehearsal and fine tuning of both choreography and lines, followed by a heart to heart with the cast and tech crew about uplifting the audience and each other to a place beyond each others expectations. There is a sense of family that is present now in the cast, we have won with each other, we have lost with each other, and more importantly in our most vulnerable moments that each and everyone of us has, we have truly become a "friend" to each other in the truest sense of the word.

I dressed in my Native American Phoenix ceremonial regalia, and led a parade of 5 of us down Jefferson to Fisherman's Wharf. It was quite a spectacle to see, me with my huge red wings fluttering in the winds, Kelsey and Rebecca in their belly dance costumes playing the Dumbek and finger cymbals, Vladimir trailing with a huge smile in his purple tunic and accordion humming traditional Russian melodies and sweet, dear Apollo greeting people we passed by and encouraging them to come see the show.

It was very refreshing to step outside the theatre and see the energy and excitement around our parade, we didn't parade to create a spectacle, but to see, touch and hear the spirit of families coming to our lovely San Francisco to be entertained, enriched and embraced. I thought a lot on the walk about growing up in Arizona, my life on the reservations and people of color. They were happy thoughts about the joy of embracing one another and what a wonderful place this city can be when we truly allow each other the room to breathe.

Apollo stopped and began speaking with a Latin woman in Spanish with 5 kids, she seemed a bit perplexed by all the commotion and her kids clung next to her, part hugging her, part peeking out at all the colorful characters making a commotion. She reminded me a lot of my mother, there were 8 of us kids,with a single mom and figuring out what to do with us on a summer day was always difficult for my mother if not financially burdensome. I spoke to her in Spanish, and told her about the show, and that kids are free. I saw her look at her 5 kids all under 12 and I said, "never mind" how many, bring the kids, they will have a great time, and it is about them having a great experience today. We left her with a rack card and danced our way back to the theatre to prepare for the show. I wondered as we left, would she come to the show. It is alot to ask a stranger to leave the safety of their world and enter a new one. I saw her look at her kids, and then look at us. Her kids were these lovely spirits dancing around her cocoon she so lovingly provided and I understood that her heart would provide the direction needed.

As we arrived at the theatre, Miguel Martinez was in full Native American Grass Dance dress, welcoming us back with Loree Lee Harper in her 10ft lime green Luna Moth wings and glorious smile, taking a picture with a young family on their way to Aquarium by the Bay.

Before the show Miguel Martinez and I take the stage as is our calling, and begin to dance around the stage, Miguel dances a traditional Grass Dance which prepares the stage or "camp" for all the other performers, and I fall into a rhythmic movement and clear the space and corners of any negative energies or thoughts that have drifted by. We dance to open the hearts of the audience to see wonder and take them away from their toil. We dance because we care for one another and especially the cast, we dance because we want the acrobats to have a safe show, the aerialist to be light in the air, the singers voices to soar high and that the laughter will blossom open heavy hearts.

Shortly after, Apollo comes back into the dressing room and gives us a 10 minute call to top of the show, he mentions" It is a very enthusiastic crowd" so be very big! He whispers in my ear that the Latina mother and her kids, made it to the show, I bow my head and give thanks, as I move into place. There is a huge Mongolian crowd in the audience to support our Mongolian artists Darkhia Damba and Bolorrma Batbayar who are in the show. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and spreads like the Japanese saying "Takashi" mentioned in the earlier blog "The water never runs higher than its source" and boy was the source of the laughter and enthusiasm of its purest! To hear children laughing and shouting out, the parents lost in the comedy and their children's delight, wonder and inspiration dripping like honey, and all of this with no barrier such as language or expectation. The audience gave incredible energy to us today, and we threw it back to them three fold from stage. After the show ended, I watched the Latina mother leave with her kids, they were all excited and speaking to her in Spanish about their favorite parts, she was smiling and laughing as they pulled at her to listen to them first, fighting for her attention. I asked in my heart that many blessings would find their way into her and her children's lives, just as San Francisco and Gregangelo had found their way into mine.

I listened closely to the chatter and enthusiasm back stage, as the cast, were enjoying a beautiful moment of "what it is all about" and knowing we had given it our best with purest heart, and the universe had given us the purest audience and acknowledgment in return.

After the show Gregangelo, Rita Abrams our lovely, and graceful collaborator and I went to dinner in North Beach to work on an outline/script for an upcoming private gala, and it was the first time that the three of us had met outside of the show, relaxed, laughed and enjoyed the city. We had grown closer in 6 months, we weathered a tough storm, found a new benchmark of friendship and in the setting sun of San Francisco on this rare and warm day and without a spoken word, knew we were with each other for "Life". A good place to be.....

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Ferns
www.gregangelo.com/1906

photo by Scott Saraceno