The Pickle clowns and acrobats will entertain audiences in three Bay Area locations from December 19 - January 13 (complete schedule here)

San Francisco, CA, November 7, 2001 -- The New Pickle Circus will brighten the holidays and bring on the smiles with the zany clown antics and fantastic physical feats of its holiday 2001 production, Show Up! Performed to an all-new score by the award-winning hip-hop band Felonious:onelovehiphop, Show Up! will entertain audiences at San Francisco's Cowell Theater in Fort Mason Center between Dec. 18 and Jan. 1. Additional Bay Area performances have been scheduled at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 4, 5, 6 and at Spreckels Center in Rohnert Park on Jan. 11, 12, 13.

This high-energy ensemble of new American circus artists combines comedy and acrobatics with live hip-hop music and dance to tell a story about everyday people learning their limitations and daring to take risks. "Show Up! is a character-driven, theatrical circus in the European tradition," explains Leslie Felbain, who is directing the show. A movement coach and teacher of theater and clowning, Felbain studied with Jacques LeCoq and Serge Martin and performed with Le dal Teatre in France. "The dilemma of the clowns is central to the circus and each member of the troupe will play a character in the show. Musicians, stagehands, ushers and even audience members will participate in an interactive performance that will involve everyone who shows up."

A clever and engaging clown trio will make their New Pickle Circus debut in Show Up! Berkeley native Jennifer Sargent graduated from the Ecole Jacques LeCoq and performed with La Companie des Linottes in France and Switzerland before joining the New Pickle Circus. Dancer and choreographer Krin Maren Haglund was a member of Celebrations Dance Company in Northampton, Massachusetts and appeared in Relevant Theater Company's production "Ego Alter Ego" at Theater Rhinoceros last fall. She is currently studying acrobatics with Circus Center master trainer Lu Yi. Cuban-born actor Gendell Hernandez brings a unique combination of skills to the clown trio: Japanese Noh theater, rap, juggling and stage combat. An accomplished actor, Hernandez has appeared in productions with the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Shotgun Players, Theater of Yugen, Theaterworks and Word for Word. He is also a member of Felonious and co-directed the group's critically acclaimed rap opera, "Beatbox: A Raparetta."

Completing the ensemble are the amazing Pickle acrobats and aerialists, whose fluid movements and split-second timing keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Among the new acts

are hand balancing performed by Aidan O'Shea and AimŽe Hancock; Beth Clarke on the slack rope; and a teeterboard routine starring Circus Center's top tumblers, Jivez, Matt White and Will Underwood. Foot juggling, hoop diving, cloud swing and trapeze will also be part of the program.

In their first collaboration with a circus, four other members of Felonious will appear in the production: Keith Pinto on keyboards, Dylan Mills on bass, and Felonious co-founders Carlos Aguirre and Tommy Shepherd, who are masters of vocal scratching or "beatboxing." Besides creating and performing original music, they will act, dance and bring a contagious spirit of joy and unity to the holiday show.

Don't miss the excitement. Ticket prices for the New Pickle Circus range from $12 to $28. For show times and to purchase tickets, call Cowell Theater (415/345-7575), Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts (650/903-6000) or Spreckels Center for the Performing Arts (707/588-3400). Group discounts are available for orders of 10 or more tickets by calling 415/346-7805.

The holiday 2001 performances of the New Pickle Circus are presented by Circus Center and made possible through funding provided by San Francisco's Grants for the Arts program of the Hotel Tax Fund, the California Arts Council, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bernard Osher Foundation, the Van Loben Sels Foundation and the Fleishhacker Foundation. For more information about the New Pickle Circus, call 415/759-8123 or visit the Circus Center web site at www.circuscenter.org.

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Media contact: Merle Goldstone, 415/291-9566 merleg@gateway.net