circus of life
Bread and Puppet Theater: Puppetry in Performance Workshop
Bread and Puppet Theater’s “Domestic Resurrection Revolution In Progress! Circus” features diverse puppetry and street theater performance styles to tell vital stories of the moment. Participants in the Puppetry in Performance Workshop will be introduced to these performance styles and methods. The workshop culminates with participants performing alongside Bread and Puppet company members as they open Counterpublic's CIRCUS OF LIFE at The Big Top. Participants must be 18 and up. Space is limited, registration is required and free.
Workshop: Kenneth Bailey and the Design Studio for Social Intervention
“Another City is Possible: St. Louis” will explore the varied ways folks are imagining a new city, one where they want to live. We will hear from community leaders on how their work intersects and combines city planning with social justice. Participants include Galen Gritts, Matt Bernstine, Jeanne van Heeswijk, and Melisa Betts Sanders. Visitors will be invited to participate in hands-on activities and are welcome to drop in and out over the course of the workshop. Registration is encouraged, but not required.
Workshop: Circus Harmony
Led by performers of Circus Harmony, St. Louis’s only social circus, this workshop will include basic circus skills like hula hoop and juggling and will take place on the circus grounds! All ages and abilities are welcome. Participants can drop in and out as they’d like. Registration is encouraged, but not required.
Workshop: Hilma’s Ghost
Hilma’s Ghost’s workshop, “Bottled Resistance,” invites participants to learn about the history of magic while crafting their own spell jars for this urgent moment, when collective ritual can open new pathways for resistance and repair. Each participant will receive jars and a curated array of potent materials—plants, teeth, sigils, keys, and more—to create their own personalized spell jars. Further, the participants will learn how to activate their jars through invocation, ritual, and incantation, and can take home their jars at the end of the session. Space is limited, registration is required at $25.
Workshop: Department of Transformation
Led by P! Krishnamurthy and Sam Rauch, this workshop is a series of exercises adapted from the practices of graphic designers, performance artists, curatorial collectives, and institutional consultants. DOT distills the process of knowledge creation and exchange down to its essence in a workshop inspired by the informal, action-oriented ethos of the teach-in. Working individually, in pairs, and in small and large groups, participants will practice tools for connection, collaboration, and co-creation, activating the creative potential of the “classroom” as a site of experimentation, exchange, and speculative possibility. Space is limited, registration is required and free.
The Final Act: Reflections for the Future
Organized by artist Jeanne van Heeswijk and Joia Walker, we reflect on our shared futures over food and an open mic for all. Parade from The Big Top to the Counterpublic house with Bread and Puppet and participants. The communal meal includes invited responses from Jessica Hentoff of Circus Harmony and local artists NEU ER WORLD, Molly Pearson, the Kendrick Smith Quartet will set the stage and invite inspiration. Food for most dietary needs is available. Registration is encouraged, but not required with a suggested donation of $10.