Mastering The Ring

As we put the finishing touches on a new round of Le Cirque de Nuit, I find myself reflecting on this creative process of mine. The mind map for this production is labyrinthine, it stretches back many years, and has been hand-drawn, shaded and re-coloured according to my personal belief system and the influences that have passed over that.

I always wanted a Circus. I thought burlesque and circus could work so well together, and that was the motivation behind The Beautiful Freaks Burlesque Circus. Beautiful Freaks was to be a kind of melding of circus, burlesque and dark cabaret influences. It worked too, but I let it go in a moment of self-doubt. Lesson One: Don't let that happen again.

 The story of how we came to The Night Circus is part of the annals now, and has been included in more than one interview: newly arrived at Guerilla Burlesque and on my Facebook friends list, Gloriana Maertens recommended a novel to me, and I was so caught by the imagery within it, it was easy to imagine it in Second Life.

It wasn't my first foray into an event production. Mark Moffre and L.David Hesler had both very generously allowed me to work with their original music to create dance entertainment productions, and I'd learned a great deal about managing my own team and piecing together the elements of a show on their time.

But Le Cirque De Nuit brought it's own magic with it. It arose at a time when I needed very badly to work, and at a time when Arrehn Oberlander's work towards scripted cameras began to show results. And, of course, at a time when Gloriana was available and willing to do the work of building it.

This is what I enjoy most in these projects. Imagining a notion, and drawing together the people who can profoundly influence it. I cannot now imagine a circus project as compelling, as satisfying, as the one Glori, Arrehn and I have majicked together - and I use the term deliberately. Cirque is charmed, I am convinced of it.

The original story, if you do not know, is a tale of two illusionists - one naturally gifted and born into The Business. One carefully selected and trained to it. They were raised to compete against each other, with the ultimate goal of proving which method is the more powerful.

I don't actually believe in magic, of course. But it's not hard to imagine the three of us casting our different energies at that sphere in the sky above Idle Rogue.And then came the dancers, every one of them on target despite a very soft brief. I hadn't known what we could have until they brought it, and it was an indescribable joy to watch it unfold.

I am not easy to work with. I choose people based on their talent, and then let them alone to work up their part of the process. I figure they'll call me if they need me, and I can move onto another part of the plan.

They hate it.

My mission, it transpires, is to try and manage creative people who are capable of a high level achievement. This requires a serious humility, and I sometimes fail at it. I do not doubt I take it all too seriously. But there is fun, there is wonderful fun, when it all comes together - and it comes together this weekend. I hope you can make it!

Style Notes

Body:
Skin - Amber Fair "Smokey" by League
Body and Hands - SLink Physique
Hair: Zaara in Black Amber (modified for hat) by D!va
Makeup - Circuit in Black by Beautiful Freaks (link to blog)
                 Harley by MUA
Eyes - Promise Oxidation by Ikon
Tattoo - Bohemian by Letis
Nails - Dante's Daddles by Koffin Nails

Clothing:

Coat: Alvira Frock Coat by Dark Passions
Chemise: from "Chantilly" by Boudoir
Pants: from "Applause" by GlitterMonster
Boots: Anakre from "Raine" by The Plastik

Accessories:
Monocle by Yasum
Hat by Timelines Vintage Couture
Cravat by Ladies Pleasure (marketplace)
Nose-ring by Zaara
Garter by LouLou & Co
Cane by Creative Insanity (marketplace only)

Idle Rogue Productions: Le Cirque de Nuit

What a wondrous journey Le Cirque de Nuit has been! In small but complex steps, this notion made it's way to me, from my first rudimentary attempt to combine circus and neo-burlesque, to the strangely rare gift of a book voucher serendipitously arriving at the same time as a new and clever friend, who recommended The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. The book was a cute and quick read, but the striking imagery of a monochromatic Victorian Circus stayed with me throughout the remainder of The Very Bad Year that was 2013.

Many things failed in 2013, and others were fatally wounded. Projects that should have been meteoric failed to launch, people who should have felt beloved did not, the fog of many unhappinesses clung to me wherever I rode, but as the year ended I dreamed of a black and white steampunk circus, and when I woke, the idea stayed luminous; by December the dream was a plan, and it strengthened and consolidated throughout the first months of 2014.

Le Cirque de Nuit demanded all the time it needed. We thought we'd be performing it in January, February at the latest, but it was April before everything was in place. In that time, Gloriana Maertens built an enchanting environment that was an inspiration to everyone who saw it; Arrehn Oberlander joined the project with a formidable skillset and enough will to see this project through to a higher level. The two of them gave me toys that weren't even whispers in my dreams, and they polished and refined them as we watched the various other elements fall together around this charmed endeavour.

We called for auditions, and warned hopeful candidates that we intended to edit their work to get it to a higher standard than anyone had seen before. And one by one the candidates brought us intricate, beautifully realised acts that required nothing from us but our delight. Stars from all over the grid came willingly to work with us, hard-working, gifted performers who agreed time and again to rehearse with us, to meet with Arrehn, to learn new tools and new ways of performing. Not once was there a tantrum or a rift: everyone who joined this project brought with them goodwill and diligence, and sustained it even when they weren't quite sure of the vision. I am so grateful to you all for staying with me, for trusting in the concept and in our ability to make it real.

Two days before the April 6th premiere, we held a "teaser" preview for SL media, and as they reacted, we knew it was really, truly the spellbinding achievement we suspected it could be. Opening night audiences were rapturous, with the sim filling at both performances within minutes and people left outside the sime clamouring for a chance to see it.

Tonight we perform it again, two more times, in hopes of satiating some of the demand. Is it my magnum opus? Is it that one lucky time when everything fell into place? Is it the beginning of a SLifetime of producing totally immersive, high-quality original entertainment? Is it enough, just one time, to wash the taste of ash from my mouth?

Le Cirque de Nuit is a dance entertainment production set in a black-and-white steampunk circus, and will be performed to audiences on the Idle Rogue sim in Second Life at 7pm and 10pm on Saturday, April 19th. It features original performances by 13 professional dancers from around Second Life, as well as art installation interludes in a 90-minute production.Seats are limited to ensure a high-quality production, so the sim will be reset an hour before each performance. Audiences are advised to arrive early, seat their avatar and remove all unnecessary scripts and devices to assist the performance.
An Idle Rogue Production.