Ben Sota of Zany Umbrella Circus on Factory 14S: Party II

This summer's Factory 14s workshop at the Mattress Factory is an amazing opportunity for 14-18 year olds to really see behind-the-scenes at the Mattress Factory. Participants get to explore all of the exhibitions, meet incoming exhibiting artists, hang out with and learn directly about the creative process of an artist and use all of that inspiration to create their own work and performances. The Circus + Activism workshop is going to be a wonderful learning experience - but mostly it will be tons of FUN. To find out more or to register via e-mail, contact felice@mattress.org. 

In this second part of our series, Zany Umbrella Circus Artistic Director Ben Sota, who will be leading the Circus + Activism workshop from July 21-August 8, will share details about the program and why young people should enroll in the class. 

 

 

What was your experience of art in high school?

I had a wonderful art teacher named Chris Fetter at the Winchester Thurston School who owns Fetter Studio.  Mr. Fetter encouraged us to go to the Manchester Craftsman Guild and I learned a great deal in his sculpture class.  He really helped me question how I thought about space, objects in space and how sculpture is communicative.

Why is this class / workshop / Factory 14s experience going to be so great?

We will start by studying circus, pantomime, mask performance and physical theater and after learning fundamentals we will begin to work as theater devisers.

I am interested in examining how non-violent activism and performance art intersects.  How circus and theater have been used by Bread and Puppet Theatre, the San Francisco Mime troupe and more recently in protests in Cairo in December 2013, during the Arab Spring protests and the Occupy Wall Street movement.

This class will be responsive to the zeitgeist of today and students will also have an opportunity to design costumes, create video and examine how sound design influences theater and circus.

What is a sneak peak into just a few of the fun things you have planned for Factory 14s?

I will bring a portable tight wire and students will have a chance to learn the skills of a funambulist [a tightrope walker].  I spent three years studying mask performance and design in Italy. I want to use that knowledge to give students the chance to sculpt and build very detailed masks that they could probably sell for a couple zillion dollars.

Why should young adults sign up for this awesome class!?

Balance, flexibility, and creativity are necessary skills for the 21st century and this class probably will not be offered again so seize the day!

Read Part I of the interview series with Zany Umbrella Circus Artistic Director Ben Sota here.

Ben Sota of Zany Umbrella Circus on Factory 14S Part I

This summer's Factory 14s workshop at the Mattress Factory is an amazing opportunity for 14-18 year olds to really see behind-the-scenes at the Mattress Factory. Participants get to explore all of the exhibitions, meet incoming exhibiting artists, hang out with and learn directly about the creative process of an artist and use all of that inspiration to create their own work and performances. The Circus + Activism workshop is going to be a wonderful learning experience - but mostly it will be tons of FUN. To find out more or to register via e-mail, contact felice@mattress.org. 

In a two part series, Zany Umbrella Circus Artistic Director Ben Sota, who will be leading the Circus + Activism workshop from July 21-August 8, will discuss his interest in circus performing, the history behind Zany Umbrella and why he wants to spend this summer at the MF. 

 

Can you tell us more about Zany Umbrella Circus? What was your motivation to start this company?  What is your favorite part of the circus?

 Zany Umbrella Circus is a tented circus company that I founded in 2002.  The circus has toured nationally and internationally, and has performed at both the White House and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.  As an organization, Zany Umbrella Circus is known for social circus, and touring and developing locally specific programming in an experimental theater format. As a performance art company, Zany Umbrella is interested in further addressing issues of social change and community participation and involvement. With its mission rooted in compassion – the company has performed in war zones, disaster relief areas, areas of famine and areas where xenophobia exists – Zany Umbrella uses performance art in the form of circus and physical theater to educate and connect people to each other.

In my twenties, I was motivated to form the company because I felt I needed a vehicle to express my artistry.  My favorite part of the circus is that I love how circus performers collaborate and rely on each other.  Circus performers really trust one another and I think the circus has the innate ability to function as a microcosm that represents humanity at its best.

Why do you want to spend the summer at the Mattress Factory? 

Last fall Felice Cleveland, the museum's Director of Education, invited me to teach the inaugural Install: Afternoons at the Factory and the program was amazing.  This summer I am looking forward to taking this programming a number of steps further.

As a theater artist I am very used to working with actors and designers, and loving having the chance to collaborate.  I have been fortunate enough to travel to numerous places throughout the world and I spent the last five years studying in Arezzo, Italy and Honolulu.  As I get older I want to make sure circus and physical theater exists for generations to come.  Teachers from around the world have shared amazing techniques in circus and theater and I am looking forward to the chance to share this with students from my home community.

How do you combine the circus with social issues / issues that are important to you?

This mashup requires quite a bit of creativity.  I love using visual metaphor, improvisation and storytelling.  In theater and circus you get to create a world where anything is possible - in this world change can happen. By creating theater you can actually cause change and question that status quo.

 

Please stay tuned for Part II of the interview series with Zany Umbrella Circus Artistic Director Ben Sota, coming soon! 

UPDATE: Read Part II of the interview series here.