The show that took 17 years to make

by Genie Cartier, director of Dark Side of the Circus

Although we only had a few months to rehearse it, this show took 17 years to make. My dad introduced me to Dark Side of the Moon when I was 16, a Haight Ashbury native already a decade into my circus training. The idea which immediately sparked– to choreograph a circus show to this album– sat on a shelf for the next ten years. I thought about it frequently, but had no idea how to actually make it a reality. Then I joined forces with the badass ladies who would become my fellow co-founders of Bow & Arrow, and together with this unstoppable combination of powerful and talented women, my little idea left the shelf for good. We were two weeks away from premiering it in April 2020 when everything shut down, and thus the universe generously gave us another 2 years to make sure we had everything right.

We originally premiered Dark Side of the Circus at Dance Mission in 2022, to sold out audiences. From there, we took the show on the road to Mexico, Mendocino and Humboldt. Touring was an adventure, to say the least. Mexico alone was rife with stories: we didn’t realize we were performing in a theater that was a rival to one owned by the governor, got caught in bureaucratic mayhem, and ultimately had multiple shows canceled due to what essentially amounted to a vendetta by proxy. But we did make it onto Mexican TV! All of this only made the bond between the performers closer, which ultimately made the show better.

Solaura Festival – photo by Luke Rymarz

The performers you will see in this show have worked incredibly hard to make this vision come to life, not just rehearsing acrobatics but also creating choreography, sewing costumes, conceptualizing and fleshing out their characters, and more. Creating choreography to Pink Floyd was never easy– the compositions are very complex, with long guitar solos and odd time signatures. There were many times that we collectively agonized over how to find musical cues in the murkiest of instrumentals; it was like having to crack a code with a team of experts.

As a circus performer, there is a lot to relate to in this album. Much like rock bands, circus artists essentially live on the Dark Side of the Moon: when everyone else is off work, we’re working hard to entertain them. But unlike musicians, the Time we have to practice our craft is severely limited by our bodies (and don’t even get me started on trying to make Money as an artist). The album’s classic companion piece, The Wizard of Oz, served as an inspiration for our show’s narrative: our Dorothy is transported to the magical land of circus, only to discover that behind the polished veneer we present on stage is the ongoing struggle to prove ourselves in this challenging combination of sport and creativity. The physical and emotional pain we put ourselves through in service of art is the true dark side of the circus.

One of my biggest fears about working with this album is that having to listen to it so many times would ruin it for me. But Pink Floyd’s brilliant words and melodies do not die upon dissection– they go on and remain as beautiful and relevant as ever.

May 10-12 & 17-19

Bow & Arrow Circus Theatre Collective present

Dark Side of the Circus

>> Tickets $25-$300 <<

Header photo of Garberville Eclipse by Lark Doolan