Bike Circus Theatre Presents
a fusion of circus arts, storytelling, and skydiving,
performed entirely on a static trapeze
a fusion of circus arts, storytelling, and skydiving,
performed entirely on a static trapeze
Susannah Bird
at the
Edmonton Fringe Festival
August 14th - 24th, 2015
Venue #1 (Westbury Theatre, 10330 - 84th Ave NW, Edmonton)
Performances: August 14th, 11:15pm; August 16th, 8:15pm; August 17th, 2:00pm;
August 20th, 12:15pm; August 22nd, 6:15pm; August 23rd, 4:00pm
Written By: Natalie Frijia
Directed By: Zita Nyarady
Performed By: Morgan Johnson
Dramaturgy By: Emma Mackenzie Hillier
Poster Design By: Joanne Galligan
Free-falling from 13,000-feet, at 120-miles-per-hour, strapped to a broken parachute.
Susannah knows exactly what is about to happen, and there’s not a thing she can do about it, except wait for her life to start flashing before her eyes. Somehow, the only thing she can remember is that summer before eighth grade, with the carnival, her “best” friends and
the one memory she never wanted to see again.
There is one minute until Susannah hits the ground.
One minute. That’s how long Susannah has left to tell you what she’s done.
Susannah Bird is the inaugural production of the Toronto-based circus-theatre collective Bike Circus, and it is performed entirely on a static trapeze. Playwright Natalie Frijia began the play as an exercise in polite eavesdropping – listening into a conversation about a man's first exhilarating experience jumping from a plane. When she began to collaborate with director Zita Nyarady, they became interested in investigating how they could dramatize a primarily physical story. Nyarady, an independent dance theatre-circus artist whose choreography and interdisciplinary collective creations have been presented around the world, brings her aerial trapeze experience to Susannah Bird, literally taking the show to new heights. Rounding out this collective is actor Morgan Johnson, who takes off in this piece as the title character. Throughout the show, her feet never once touch the ground.
Media Contact: Zita Nyarady
Ph: (416) 908-8151; E: [email protected]; www.susannahbird.weebly.com
the one memory she never wanted to see again.
There is one minute until Susannah hits the ground.
One minute. That’s how long Susannah has left to tell you what she’s done.
Susannah Bird is the inaugural production of the Toronto-based circus-theatre collective Bike Circus, and it is performed entirely on a static trapeze. Playwright Natalie Frijia began the play as an exercise in polite eavesdropping – listening into a conversation about a man's first exhilarating experience jumping from a plane. When she began to collaborate with director Zita Nyarady, they became interested in investigating how they could dramatize a primarily physical story. Nyarady, an independent dance theatre-circus artist whose choreography and interdisciplinary collective creations have been presented around the world, brings her aerial trapeze experience to Susannah Bird, literally taking the show to new heights. Rounding out this collective is actor Morgan Johnson, who takes off in this piece as the title character. Throughout the show, her feet never once touch the ground.
Media Contact: Zita Nyarady
Ph: (416) 908-8151; E: [email protected]; www.susannahbird.weebly.com
Fringe Festival Media Kit
Follow these links to download a copy of our media kit.
Press Release
High-Res Promotional Photos
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PromoTional Video |
Fringe Festial Promotional Photos
Rhubarb 2015 Festival Photos
Bike Circus Company Photos
We would like to thank the following people for their immense contributions to this show: Joanne Galligan, Emily Hughes, Rebecca Leonard, Jacob McLean, Kristian Reimer, Eva Szabo, Cirque-Ability, Collective Space, Hercinia Arts, Rhubarb Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and Dorris. For this production specifically, we want to send a special thank you to Annie Dugan and Firefly Theatre and Circus in Edmonton, who have allowed us to rehearse a new version of the script in their studios before Fringe.