Circus Contraption

In the summer before I began law school, I spent three months in a beautiful place: Glacier National Park. Part of my employment at Many Glacier Hotel involved singing (and, alas, dancing) in a show every night of the summer for the entertainment (bewilderment?) of the hotel guests.

A highlight of that time was making friends with drama-types from all over the country. I had never been in school plays beyond sixth grade, so I had been insulated from that peculiar breed of human. I didn't even know you weren't supposed to say "Macbeth" among them, but they had patience with me.

In keeping up with several of these people, I'm amazed at how many of them are still acting or involved in the performing arts. I may well be the only 1997 summer cast member who is not currently performing.

This is all by way of introduction to Circus Contraption, a wonderful circus arts/burlesque/freak show based in Seattle. One of those 1997 Glacier NP people is involved, and has me on the Circus Contraption mailing list. They recently got some good press on MSNBC.COM. They're based in Seattle, but are coming off of a set of fall performances in NYC. If you're in Seattle, check them out.

Sally and I saw them four years ago in Chicago, and they were fantastic. That was two kids ago, and a lot has probably changed since then - so we need to see them again soon. The whole show was memorable, but the closing especially stands out in my mind. The entire cast performed The Entertainer as a "bottle choir" - like a bell choir but with bottles filled to various heights to produce different notes when blown. It was one of the less technical bits of the show, but I thought it captured the experience of the evening: that of being among the inner works of some wonderfully twisted and magnificent pipe organ.