ABOUT
Stuck in an airport of absurdist proportions with only their baggage—literal and metaphorical—three strangers are left with no choice but to better get to know their companions and themselves.
A comedy that fuses juggling and circus arts with dance and music, LAYOVERS explores the collisions and near misses between three individuals, as well as the age-old problem of how to go to the bathroom without leaving a mountain of luggage unattended.
A visual delight for audiences of all ages that includes confetti, play-pit balls, and plenty of pink, LAYOVERS is the scientific* opposite of having to sleep in an airport overnight. Selected acts include duo diabolo, hoop juggling and rolling, acrobatic folding chair, and hoop manipulation accompanied by a zither and a looping pedal.
LAYOVERS will premiere in New Haven, CT on May 4th at ACES Educational Center for the Arts before moving to Northampton on May 25th at the Northampton Center for the Arts and locations to be announced throughout the summer.
*According to three circus artists
This show was initially conceived from a deconstruction of the nature of juggling and object manipulation. What can juggling be if we think outside the box (or suitcase, in this instance), and begin exploring movement beyond our preconceived notions of tricks and tosses?
What is a juggling pattern—is it just a series of numbered throws, or can it be three hoops rolling on the ground? What about movement between three individuals? Where do we intersect, where do we drift apart?
We extrapolated these ideas onto the earliest theme of our show, which was, at its most basic level—patterns—creating them for comfort and safety, how to break out of them when they become restrictive.
Over the course of the show, our players, initially identifying as three distinct entities, discover that their lives are full of complementary patterns and intersections, made possible only by their previous missed connections.
Selected Inspirations for LAYOVERS Include:
Jay Gilligan’s workshops, podcast, and juggling.school website
《这！就是街舞》(Street Dance of China)
Huis Clos – Jean Paul Sartre
Gandini Juggling and Social Siteswaps
French Tutting artists including Zyko and Geometrie Variable
Trying to make a close connection at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport