La Nova Cirque (Beijing)
Parachuted in at last minute to co-produce for Asia Live the Beijing engagement of La Nova Cirque at the Birds Nest Stadium site, including creative redevelopment, presenter re-negotiation, company protection management and physical production adjustment in a purpose built proscenium tent.
La Nova Cirque 星际梦秀 at the Bird’s Nest, Beijing from April 22 to May 22, 2016 in a purpose built proscenium tent presented by Hangzhou Tian Li Cultural Development (Li Tian Ru)
Produced by Asia Live Network and Executive Produced by Toby Simkin.
Director: Neil Dorward; Assistant Director: Richard Peakman; Resident Director: Ashleigh Jane McCready; Production Design: Douglas Cook; Lighting Designer: Casey Christopher Boon; Casting Director: Mathieu LaPlante and Composer: Evan Jolly.
Technical Director: David Simpson; Production Manager: Kevin Canning; Company Manager: Susan Crossley; Stage Manager: David Bainbridge; Costumes: Heather Morales & Simone Krain; Make Up Artist: Adolfo Barreto; Video: Christian Bork; Lighting Operator: Chris Mantel; Tent Master: David Meatchem; Winch / Electrics: Hugo Mercier Bossney; Show Riggers: Jesse James Cole, Martin Peralta & Bruno Gandleman; Technician: Alan Tan; Swing Tech: Annik Sabourin and Staging/Fabrication: Humberto Sermiento; & Gilberto Hernandez.
STARRING Ross Steeves (Physical Comedian); Nazar Skladanyi (Juggler); Zore Espana (Generalist/CYR Wheel); Oleksii Mishchenko (Duo Strap); Anastasiia Mishchenko (Duo Strap and Pole); Sabrina Aganier (Lyra); Pavlovicius Gediminas (Rolla Bola); Mark Flores (Acrobat Troupe Leader); Lidia Kucharczyk, Goncalo Roque, Kinga Grzeskow, Mark Rowley, Igor Santos, Gareth Davies, Oliver Parsons, Carl Ganley, Joshua Mcgahan and Jonathan Synder (Acrobat Generalists); Ramirez Sandoval Fernando Sandoval (DJ); Lyerzkysky Rodriguez Angelo Miguel and Mayorga Macias Carlos (Wheel Of Death).
For TML Enterprises: Tim Lawson (CEO); Toby Simkin (VP Asia Pacific); Adrian Storey (Associate Producer); Gabi Overton (General Manager); Frank Harlow (Production Manager); Robbert Van Der Zwaag (Company Manager); Jay Lawrence (Ticketing); Damien Chambers (Production Associate); Tom Lambert (Production Associate); Pitcher Partners (Accounts); Peter Hourigan (Insurance); William Mulholland (Legals); AKA Australia (Marketing) and Julie Cavanagh, Bruce Pollack (Publicity).
La Nova Cirque
Beijing Bird’s Nest
Summary
Basically, a really nice & talented company of global circus experts thrown into a hideous political mess with competing Chinese investor partners and an inexperienced contracted presenter that could not keep his investors at bay, each demanding their own competing and conflicting ‘creative visions’, destroying a terrific show and uprooting a large company of foreign talents as the various investor groups used blackmail tactics by refusing to return passports, threatening arrest, denying contractual and per diem payments, and making life very difficult on the ground for the tour company until their investor (cum-producer) demands were met.
Sadly, weirdly in China, investors think they should control creative.
My solution, create a ‘fake’ new show to appease their creative urges, then during the run SLOWLY (but appearing quickly) rehearsing daytimes (during regular rehearsals) performing the original show in evenings (with investors monitoring and excitedly approving) by re-purposing what we already had (for less than $1,000) and essentially just adding a storyline, a tad of acting, a ton of pretty flowers, and re-ordering the existing show (to be minimally invasive), so at last for the final weekend, with a show ‘somewhat’ matching the investor creative visions, I got the passports back, per diems paid and escape. It worked.