FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TWO WELL-SEASONED PICKLES RETURN TO CREATE THE NEW PICKLE CIRCUS' HOLIDAY SHOW

Nouveau circus innovators Gypsy Snider and Shana Carroll to work with the circus where they got their start

October 17, 2002 -- Fresh on the heels of their hit production, "les 7 doigts de la main," two well-seasoned Pickles from the original Pickle Family Circus, Gypsy Snider and Shana Carroll, have returned to the Bay Area to create the New Pickle Circus holiday 2002 production. Their new collaboration, "Circumstance," premieres at Fort Mason's Cowell Theater on Dec. 18 and runs through Jan. 1.

Snider, back in the city where she was born and raised, has come full circle. The 32-year-old nouveau circus veteran is directing the company founded by her parents, Peggy Snider and Larry Pisoni, and where she began her career at the age of three. Under Pisoni's guidance, she trained as an acrobat, juggler, personage and clown, performing with the circus from 1975-87. "The Pickles were the first circus to revolutionize the art form in this country," Snider said. "When I was a child all we knew was traditional circus with animals. I want to re-capture the spirit of creativity, community and passion that my parents inspired almost 30 years ago."

The show's choreographer, Berkeley native Shana Carroll, also has a strong family connection with the Pickle Family Circus. Her father, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll, co-authored The Pickle Family Circus book with Pickle photographer Terry Lorant, and was a strong supporter of the troupe, serving on its board for many years. After watching their shows from the sidelines, Shana Carroll joined the circus as an apprentice in 1988 and learned the trapeze from Snider. The two 18-year olds clicked, but eventually went off in different directions. Snider left for Europe in 1990 to study theater and circus with the world-famous Teatro Dimitri in Verscio, Switzerland. Carroll moved to Montreal in 1991 to train at the Ecole Nationale de Cirque, after performing trapeze with the Pickles for several seasons.

Over the next decade, the two young circus artists worked with some of the world's most esteemed nouveau circuses. Snider appeared in numerous Compagnia Teatro Dimitri productions, Cirque du Soleil's "Pomp Duck and Circumstance" in Hamburg, Circus Flora in St. Louis, and the San Francisco production of Teatro ZinZanni. Carroll performed as a solo aerial artist with Cirque Eloize of Montreal, Circus Flora, les Gens d'R, and most notably in Cirque du Soleil's "Saltimbanco," where she was dance captain. In 1998, the two women reunited as members of the Asia-Pacific cast of "Saltimbanco". Ultimately, they decided to form their own circus in Montreal with five other Cirque performers. They named their circus and their first production "les 7 doigts de la main".

The new company's debut show was the surprise hit of the July 2002 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, where it received glowing reviews from the Canadian press.

Set in a loft, "les 7 doigts de la main" concerns a group of friends who voluntarily cut themselves off from the overwhelming distractions of the media and entertain one another with acrobatics, juggling, clowning, aerial acts, poetry and song. The company members created the show collectively, letting the ideas evolve organically. By placing the circus in a setting that incorporated some of the familiar objects and activities of their daily lives, they brought freshness and originality to the disciplines that they had perfected, and created nouveau circus on a more intimate and human scale.

Working with the 15-member New Pickle Circus ensemble gives Snider and Carroll the opportunity to use some of the techniques they developed in "les 7 doigts de la main." In "Circumstance," they will explore the passionate bohemian ways of the circus performer as seen through the eyes of a young woman who is struggling to survive. She is swept away by a circus troupe on the outskirts of society where the only survival is to perform. The artists challenge her ideas of what is humanly possible, flying through the air with the greatest of ease. Slowly she learns that what is ugly can be truly beautiful and that life is too short to not face her fears and live her dreams.

"This show is about being in an uncomfortable or undesirable position and transcending your circumstance," Snider said. "What better way to express the human spirit than the circus arts? In the circus ring we find a group of unrelated people forming a family. Together, they defy gravity, contort their bodies, manipulate objects through the air, and fall flat on their faces Ð all for the entertainment of others."

"The San Francisco circus scene is close to my heart," Carroll said. "It's where I got my start. No matter where my work and travels take me, it's important to me to maintain my connection with this community. The artists here are full of passion and dedication to the circus. They were drawn to it, moved by it, fell in love with it, not simply placed there by parents or coaches at an age too young to know. The decision to become a performer was a mature and passionate choice. 'Circumstance' is about that choice."

The New Pickle Circus will offer preview performances of "Circumstance" on Dec. 13, 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. Opening night is December 18 at 7:30 and will benefit the Circus Center's community programs. Evening performances will also be held on Dec.19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 and 30 at 7:30 p.m. There will be matinees performances at 2 p.m. on Dec. 21, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 and New Year's Day. Tickets for the San Francisco performances are affordably priced at $25 for adults, $20 for students and seniors, and $18 for children 12 and under. For reservations and sales, call the Fort Mason box office at 415-345-7575. For group sales, call 415-346-7805. The company will tour in January, performing in Merced, Mountain View and Rohnert Park. For performance dates, times and ticket prices, call 415-759-8123 or log on to the Circus Center website at www.circuscenter.org.

The New Pickle Circus is the professional performing company of Circus Center, a non-profit circus arts organization located at 755 Frederick St. Circus Center also operates a full-time training school, the San Francisco School of Circus Arts, a Clown Conservatory and a student performing troupe, the San Francisco Youth Circus.

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