SPOTLIGHT When we seek an escape from the tedious hum-


drum and we crave a wild transition into the tantaliz- ingly bizarre, we need more than an old-world circus showcase. What we need is a mash-up of classic acrobatic elegance, a boundary-pushing storyline and a rockin’ good burlesque show. We need Cirque Berzerk. Born of a love for performing shared by close friends


Neal Everett, Kevin Bourque and Suzanne Bernel, this 21st century rendition of big-top entertainment hits Los Angeles’ Club Nokia beginning January 7. The Rage Monthly had the privilege of speaking with Co-Creator and Performer Neal Everett about the truly exceptional labor of love this production has become. This trio of talent knew from the very beginning that


they were…different—not the typical formula for the average circus. “We really liked the stranger things in life…the darker side of it,” said Everett. “It was only appropriate that we start a circus that played on those things. Audiences are so used to a traditional circus, or the very theatrical Cirque du Soleil, but we wanted to take it a different direction and make it a little more twisted and dark.” Everett and company have known each other since 2003. He and Suzanne Bernel met while he was teaching at a circus school. Bernel and Kevin Bourque beckoned Everett into performing with Kevin’s musical group at the time, called Skin. Suzanne’s usual aerial partner was injured, so Everett gladly filled in. They soon began attending Burning Man together and performing for large crowds, but Black Rock Desert’s inhospitable dust storms required a shelter. Not just any rickety tent, however. “They came up with the circus tent idea so we would have a place to perform a small show for the hell of it. So I jumped onboard,” recounted Everett. “A lot of the initial participants didn’t have circus experience. Only a few of us were actual performers but we buckled down and spent all of our free time teaching each other. It was a very Vaudeville-style show with everyone pitch- ing in different talents around only a few circus acts. It’s funny because many of them had all these other jobs on the side but they couldn’t wait to get back to the circus! Of course, time goes on, the show gets bigger, some people decide they don’t want to do the circus anymore—it was fun but they really had to focus on their day job…it just happens. We’ve slowly filled those positions with people who have more of a circus back- ground.” Today, it’s an understatement to say it’s an honor to


perform for Cirque Berzerk. Everett handles all the show’s casting and he receives an endless stream of e-mails, phone calls and videos from hopefuls eager to let him know that they’re still interested—that whenever they’re needed, they’re ready. Of course with an acrobat as well-rounded and disciplined as Everett, it might be a long wait. “I’m an aerialist, so most of my work does take place


in the air,” Everett explained. “There are four different times I get in the air in the show—‘single-point trapeze,’ ‘cloud swing’ and ‘rope.’ I also do a ‘flying strap act.’ That’s where another guy and I hold onto these long straps and an operator flies us on a winch. So we’re flying through the air together doing strength and contortion. Of course there’s a brooding love affair in the act. My char- acter starts out as a sort of ladies’ man and makes his way around the show through all the women…and then he gets seduced by another man.” A rather progressive plot line...But somehow appro-


priate for our times. “The story is basically the same. Every time we reopen the show, there are changes. With new cast members, we want to use their talents and make certain parts bet- ter. Now that we’re transitioning from a round circus tent to a stage, it’s a whole bag of challenges. But we got a really interesting set out of it, which was awesome!” No doubt production values have skyrocketed since their days in the plains of Northern Nevada. And if you’re wondering whether safety nets are used, “No nets!” said


Everett. The particular acts that he does don’t lend them- selves well to nets. Instead, a sense of safety is found in the eight-hour-plus rehearsals and the trust that this ensemble has built. It takes a sense of family to keep a vivid dream like this together. Incredible investments of time and money are required of any business owner. For Everett and his co-entertainers, it is an especially personal venture. “We wanted to make this ‘our thing’ and we wanted


to reach more people than just the Burning Man com- munity. We had something that people were truly inter- ested in. But it was really hard. We were having nervous breakdowns and climbing into the backs of cars and crying. It happens when you’re such a small group trying to make this happen and you’re doing all the work your- selves. YOU have to set up the circus tent…YOU have to put up the lights…YOU have to do the rigging, make the costumes and then go out there and perform! By the time we finished the first circus tent at Burning Man, we had completely transformed the space inside. People would say, ‘Wow, it’s such an adventure!’ But it was just us


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RAGE monthly | JANUARY 2011


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The Cirque Berzerk Family: A History of Mental Genius


Neal


by david vera


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