About this Event
In the 1970s, San Francisco became an epicenter of the emerging new American circus – an intimate one-ring model that spurned animal acts and focused on traditional skills of juggling, clowning, acrobatics, and aerial work, all filtered through a countercultural vaudevillian sensibility. This “not-so-big-top” was pioneered by such local companies as the Pickle Family Circus and its later incarnation, the New Pickle Circus, which performed annually at Fort Mason Center, and longtime FMC residents Make*A*Circus. This movement spawned a stream of Bay Area talents that spread their influence from Cirque du Soleil and Broadway to movies, and TV, an impact which resonates to this day.
Come join us for a magical evening celebrating this uniquely San Francisco history through a conversation with some of its leading lights, all veterans of Pickle Family Circus and the New Pickle Circus: performer/writer/director Gypsy Snider, trapeze artist/choreographer/director Shana Carroll, clown/writer/teacher Jeff Raz, and artistic director/choreographer Tandy Beal. The program will include rare archival photos and video, and live performances by Unique Derique (Prescott Circus), Chloe Somers Walier (Dear San Francisco), Elise Hing (Circus Bella), and performers from San Francisco Youth Circus (SFYC), Circus Center's pre-professional youth program. (performers subject to change).
PANELISTS:
Gypsy Snider is co-artistic director of Dear San Francisco, now celebrating its fifth anniversary at the city’s historic Club Fugazi. As co-founding artistic director of The 7 Fingers, she wrote and directed SisterS, Réversible, Intersection, Amuse, Un Dia, Traces, and Loft. She has choreographed televised feature performances for America’s Got Talent and Her Majesty’s Royal Variety Performance. In 2013, working with director Diane Paulus on a new vision of Pippin, she choreographed and wove circus into the revival of the Broadway musical, earning her a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. Gypsy began her circus career at the age of 4 when her parents founded The Pickle Family Circus. She grew up touring the West Coast with the company. In 2002, while in her hometown of San Francisco, she wrote and directed for The New Pickle Circus a show entitled Circumstance, which premiered at Fort Mason’s Cowell Theater. Gypsy is also a guest teacher and guest director at the National Circus School of Montreal.
Shana Carroll is co-artistic director of Dear San Francisco, and co-founding artistic director of The 7 Fingers. Since the latter’s inception in 2002, Shana has directed, written, and choreographed a dozen or so of their touring and/or resident shows, including Passagers, Cuisine & Confessions, Séquence 8, and Traces. in 2024 Shana was Co-choreographer and Circus Designer for Water For Elephants on Broadway, for which she received the Chita Rivera Award for Best Choreography, as well as Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circles nominations in the same category. Shana has frequently collaborated with Cirque du Soleil, most recently as co-director of their first show on ice Crystal, and previously as acrobatic designer and choreographer of Paramour (Broadway) and Iris (Los Angeles), and as director-choreographer of their performance at the 2012 Academy Awards. Originally from Berkeley, California, and daughter of beloved San Francisco columnist Jon Carroll, Shana began her career as a trapeze artist with San Francisco’s Pickle Family Circus and went on to a 20-year career in the air with Cirque du Soleil and many others before co-founding The 7 Fingers.
Jeff Raz has performed nationally and internationally for decades, starring in the Pickle Family Circus, Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo, Make*A*Circus and many other circuses and theaters. Jeff is also a playwright, director, teacher, producer and has authored four books inspired by his career. Over the years he has also co-founded six arts organizations and worked globally as a communications and leadership consultant.
Tandy Beal is a performer, director, choreographer, writer, teacher, and ... dreamer. An off-the-map career includes: directing Pickle Family Circus for 10 years; touring four continents with Tandy Beal & Co.; writing/directing VIVA for the Moscow Circus in Japan; a show for NASA’s SETI project with Carl Sagan; projects with Lou Harrison, Frank Zappa, John Adams, and decades of projects with Bobby McFerrin, Art Lande, and Jon Scoville; choreographing opera, MTV, ballet; corporate shows (LucasFilms, SF 49ers, MCI, Coca-Cola, Pixar, Oracle+); acting off-Broadway; dancing for the Shah of Iran with Alwin Nikolais in Teheran; guest performances with Atlanta Ballet, Momix, Remy Charlip and in Europe, with Carolyn Carlson; creating what Dance Magazine said was the first contemporary dance/circus Nutcracker. Her life and work are featured in two books, The Pickle Clowns and Living Happily Ever After. Awards from AFI, CAC, NEA, Packard, Hewlett +. Her natural habitat is the Santa Cruz mountains where she lives with longtime co-conspirator, Jon Scoville.
PERFORMERS:
Unique Derique, an internationally acclaimed entertainer, is a cornerstone of the Bay Area circus and performing arts scene. He honed his physical comedy with premier troupes including Circus A La Mode, Make*A*Circus, and the historic Pickle Family Circus. Dedicated to community arts education, Derique has spent nearly three decades as an Artist-in Residence at West Oakland’s Prescott Circus Theater, teaching youth the art and history of Hambone body percussion. His versatile talent has graced international television and stages worldwide, opening for legends like Lou Rawls, Sammy Davis Jr., and The Temptations. Annually, his holiday show Fool La La: Whimsical brings joy to all ages at The Marsh Berkeley.
Elise Hing, born and raised in Santa Cruz, CA, discovered her natural flexibility at age 12 and quickly developed a passion for contortion. For the past 5 years she has performed with Circus Bella doing free shows in the park during the summer and under the big top in the winter for their holiday spectacular. She has also appeared with Flynn Creek Circus and continues to gig all over the bay area. Elise loves to connect and delight audiences through her playful, awe-inspiring shapes and movements but outside of the ring she enjoys being out in nature with friends and pursuing creative projects like sewing.
Chloe Somers Walier, known as the “Megawatt Smile,” is an effervescent circus performer with eight years of international touring experience with Les 7 Doigts de la main, performing in Passengers, Duel Reality, and Dear San Francisco. A multidisciplinary performer specializing in hula hoop, trapeze, group acrobatics, and bottle walking — balancing in heels on top of wine bottles — she has performed at three international circus festivals and received the People’s Choice Award from Riga Cirks. With a love for the unexpected and a playful spirit at the heart of her work, she brings a warm, joyful energy to the stage, blending technical skill and theatricality with a little bit of sparkle and a lot of personality.
San Francisco Youth Circus (SFYC) – performers Circus Center's pre-professional youth program.
(Performers subject to change)
Image Credit: Pickle Family Circus at Fort Mason Lively Arts Festival 1978 by Terry Lorant
Event venue & nearby stays
The Cowell Theater, 2 Marina Boulevard, San Francisco, United States
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