Roll Up, Circus Oz Turns 30

The Age

Friday February 15, 2008

Jo Roberts

WHEN it comes to 30th birthday celebrations, those Circus Oz folks know how to party. At the company's Port Melbourne studio on Wednesday, acrobats tumbled and bounced, jugglers juggled, hoops flamed and clowns clowned. There was even a birthday cake which, in the most timeless of circus traditions, ended up in someone's face.

On one wall hung part of Circus Oz's history: a leopard-spotted sign long consigned to memorabilia. While over on another wall, to mark another memorable event that day, the blue, yellow and red letters in another old Circus Oz sign had been hastily and inspiringly rearranged, the blue painted to black, to read "sorry".

Circus Oz was well in the mood for leaving old ways behind on Wednesday, not just in Canberra, but in its own camp, as it unveiled plans for its birthday year.

The biggest news for Melbourne is that Circus Oz will now be able to premiere a new show in its home town each year. Because from this year begins the Lab, a six-week training and development period in March that will lead into eight weeks of rehearsal ahead of a June Melbourne premiere.

It is a process that can now happen annually thanks to an 82% funding increase from the Australia Council and Arts Victoria, which has taken the company's annual funding to close to $1.2 million in a total budget of $5 million.

In the past, Circus Oz's training and rehearsal was compromised by the need to take any gig offered to keep making money, said artistic director Mike Finch.

"It's finally allowed Circus Oz to stop being a kind of freelance street performer," he said.

Also unveiled yesterday was a new company logo, and plans to find a new home, with the company having outgrown its Port Melbourne premises.

Circus Oz chairwoman Wendy McCarthy said while the company now had the funds for adequate rehearsal time, it needed bigger premises, not just for rehearsal, but for classes and programs offered by the company. "We need time and space. We love this place, but we need more space," she said.

Tickets for Circus Oz's 30th Birthday Bash Melbourne season on sale now.

© 2008 The Age

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