The cast of CIRCULATE (Photography by Annie Galloway ’15)
One of 2014’s most popular Minnesota Fringe Festival performances, CIRCULATE, is coming to Gustavus as part of the Gustavus Artist Series on September 28. CIRCULATE, written and co-directed by Gusties Renee Guittar ’12, Sarah Jabar ’10 and Benjamin Kolis ’12, and listed as one of the top 10 highest attended shows of the 2014 Festival, will be presented in Jussi Björling Recital Hall on Sunday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m. Underwritten by the Gustavus Artist Series, this special, one-time-only performance of CIRCULATE is offered to the entire Gustavus community and public at no charge. Tickets are not required to see what critics called “By far the best we’ve seen this year and last.”
From the hive-mind that brought you CLOCKED, the 2013 Fringe Festival Audience Pick, CIRCULATE is a wacky wink into the weird world of news: Who writes it, how it’s delivered and who even cares. In an age of buzz feed, gossip columns, and satirical TV news programs, CIRCULATE shines a spotlight on how we create and relate to news media. Guittar Productions devised this dance/comedy/physical theater hybrid which was hailed by critics as: “a raucously comedic experience”, “magic from the mundane”, and “an exuberant and entertaining mixture… great energy from a young company.”
CIRCULATE was designed to make fun of our society as we know it. The cast explores the odd and ridiculous aspects of news media and then creates highly physical and comedic dance and theater piece to exaggerate the way we all see the news. It makes a caricature of “ourselves” through dance and comedy and attempts to make magic from the mundane. And then, in turn, the audience sees its everyday world in a new way.
CIRCULATE was reviewed as “Breaking Now — Circulate is Da Bomb” by Mark Tafel and “A mesmerizing show that had me grinning all the way home” by Gustavus classics professor Eric Dugdale. One high-ranking member (initials A.S.) of a certain theatrical department on campus wrote: “This creative mix of dance, comedy and song is sheer delight. There’s no doubt these are skillful, talented and well-rehearsed performers, yet they manage to make the entire evening seem spontaneous and joyful. Their connection to the audience is especially warm and engaging. ( Most of the remarkable performers are alumni of Gustavus Adolphus College — and they do the college proud!)”
The cast and creators of CIRCULATE include Renee Guittar ’12, Sarah Jabar ’10, Benjamin Kolis ’12, Rush Benson ’13, Rob Ward ’14, Julio Zelaya ’12, Jordan Bergman ’15, Megan Myhre ’11, and Thalia Bea Kostman.
They do indeed make us proud and you won’t want to miss a minute of their energy, humor, and fantastic physicality.
HOT OFF THE PRESS! Don’t miss this exclusive performance of CIRCULATE on Sunday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Björling Recital Hall on the Gustavus campus. Tickets are not required and everyone is encouraged to take some time off, laugh ’till you cry, and wonder if you’ll ever take the news, any news, seriously again.