It’s a Tuesday morning. Jeffrey and I are quietly planning the next Artists’ Showcase at CUE. I ask him which artists I should include this time. On the potential lineup we have “Theatre of PI,” an ensemble of seven clowns who are presenting a new show directed by one of our V-Troupe members, Kelsey Custard. We will also be showing a new film by Hiromi Yoshida, our resident filmmaker.
“Oh, by the way,” Jeffrey adds casually, “if you haven’t heard from the sword-swallower, could you see if the bed-of-nails guy is available for our Arabesque show in February.”
“Yeah sure. Bed of nails. Gotcha.” These are the kinds of things you won’t hear in any other work place, and it’s also why most people gaze at me with a confused expression when I try to explain to them what I do for a living.
The rest of the afternoon is spent writing up information for Darkhia Dhamba to help her renew her work visa (she’s a dancer from Mongolia). The woman who is requesting information about her work is asking for an itinerary of all the jobs she will be doing over the next year. We have SF LGBT Pride Parade, SF Carnaval, and the Arizona market is picking up now that we have a Circus School there. Rachel called today regarding several AZ events including one with the GLBT community, which is where we love to support.
Next, Daria (our Book Keeper) waltzes in with a phone call from Honda. They want circus performers for a new commercial they will be shooting. Jeffrey takes the call with the same calm demeanor that he would take any call. “Hi, this is Jeffrey. I’m the Managing Partner for Velocity…Yes…Well we have a core circus company that trains and performs with us regularly. Are you looking for a classical circus look, or contemporary?…We have everything from fire-eaters to stilt-walkers, acrobats, aerial artists….” Get the idea? Not a normal life by any means.