Alise & Tomas
Circus Conversations
We set out on a journey of listening to the inner monologues that happen during a contemporary circus show, be it the monologue of an audience member, or an artist.
We’ve created instructions that we’ve circulated around, encouraging people to have these conversations, regardless of whether they actually record them or not. If they did, then they could send us excerpts that we’d convert into clips and share them with the world through our social media.
These sound bytes are excerpts of conversations to give you a glimpse into the internal soundscape of contemporary circus:
The Set-up
- look at these instructions together with the person you will be speaking to
- make sure you’re both comfortable & in a safe space without any external distractions
- prepare your recording device
- if your conversation is online: the session ought to be recorded by both participants. Make sure you have a stable internet connection and a decent speaker/headset system
During the conversation
- if you feel you’ve stumbled across something exciting in your conversation, write it down or make a note of the timestamp of the recording. (A screenshot on your phone works great!)
Most importantly, remember, the questions are not important. Skip some of them if you feel like it. Let the conversation flow in whatever direction it takes you.
After the conversation
- if you found something interesting during your conversation and would like to share it on our platform, go over the recording and export the clip
- send the sound bytes to conversations@circosonic.net
The questions:
- What do you do before a show? How do you feel?
- Do you want to be here?
- Are you here for anyone else?
- How do you want to be seen? Are you succeeding?
- Do you ever catch your mind drifting during a performance?
- Do you think the applause is deserved?
- How much applause?
- What are you risking?
- What defines success for you?
