On the opening night of its 4 day run in Worcester, I had the privilege to go backstage and interview the Publicist, an Artist and the Artistic Director of Cirque du Soleil CORTEO. I had to find out what about the Cirque du Soleil CORTEO performance makes it so special for families. I also wanted to find out why Cirque du Soleil returned to Worcester. You can find out more about their training session in our Facebook live video here.
Check out our interviews by clicking on the video below or here.
Maxwell Batista, Touring Publicist with Cirque du Soleil for 2 1/2 years, gave me a glimpse into the perspective of a family attending the show. He told me that the performance is visually appealing for children and that the bouncing bed scene can relate to everyone, as children have all jumped on a bed at some point. It is also very imaginative and kids naturally love pretending. Max recommends coming to the show early to get acquainted with your seat location and purchase snacks. Animation will start 5 minutes prior to the show and is exciting for children as the acrobats interact with the audience. Max told me that Cirque du Soleil has recruiters all over the world and they are always looking for talented performers. He told me that in the past, Cirque du Soleil did very well with ticket sales in Worcester and had a lot of local support, so they wanted to return to our wonderful city in Central Massachusetts!
Mark Shaub, Artistic Director of CORTEO told us that he looks after all aspects of the show. There are 51 artists in the cast and he helps keep the show true to its original concept. He believes this show is special and worked on it when it started in 2005. It's a circus show based on characters and their relationships, along with acrobatics. The story is of the main characters life during his funeral procession. The clown on his deathbed, imagining his own funeral, celebrating his life. A fully lived clown life, full of people he shared experiences with while alive, women he loved, even past co-workers. CORTEO has been touring since 2005 and is wonderful for all age groups. It can appeal to very young children with the funny moments, childlike moments, acrobats, music, theater.
Harvey Donnelly, Artist of CORTEO has a main act that is a teeter board skit, a type of extreme seesaw with 5 other gentlemen. His other act is a Hoosier, which is a big metal hoop that he spins around in. He is 27 years old, from London and loves travelling the world and meeting different people. Harvey mentioned that all of the Artists come from small towns around the world where they once watched Cirque du Soleil as a child and dreamed of performing with them. He himself attended a show when he was 7 years old and during the intermission he did back flips because that is what he thought he needed to do to be a performer with them one day. His advice for children that would like to one day perform for Cirque du Soleil is if you are passionate about it, don't give up, check each step and make it happen.
Macaroni Kid Worcester thanks Cirque du Soleil CORTEO for their time and their candid and honest responses to our interview questions!
Cirque du Soleil CORTEO opens Thursday, January 3rd at the DCU Center in Worcester and is in town through Sunday, January 6th. Tickets can be purchased online today at https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/corteo. Tickets are available starting at $54.
Facebook: facebook.com/Corteo Twitter: @Cirque #CORTEO Instagram: @cirquedusoleil #CORTEO
Show Schedule:
Thursday, January 3, 2019 – 7:30 pm
Friday, January 4, 2019 –7:30 pm
Saturday, January 5, 2019 – 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, January 6, 2019 – 1:00 pm & 5:00 pm
