Downtown residents perform in Circus Juventas’ mysterious jungle island adventure
Tim Spitzack
Editor
Five downtown St. Paul residents will perform in Circus Juventas’ 30th anniversary summer show “Jangala: a mysterious jungle island adventure.” This original story follows three adventurous school children as they journey to aid guardian spirits against the island’s destruction.
Phoebe Haas, 18, will perform in aerial silks and Spanish Web during the “Flora and Fauna” dance. Lucio Pranis-Ricci, 17, plays Malcolm Gulliver, a talkative pirate who plays the constantia. Ezekiel Pranis-Ricci, 19, can be seen in wire, duo trapeze, flying trapeze, theater, stage combat and parkour. Mars Niemi, 17, a student at St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists (SPCPA) can be seen in theater as a gorilla named “Kofi” and a dancer in the “Flora and Fauna” act, the monkey dance and big cat dance. Matilda Breimhorst, 16, a student at SPCPA will perform in theater as a school child. Rosie Mickelson, a resident of the West Side and recent graduate of The Academy for Sciences & Agriculture, will perform in a wide range of acts including theater, teeterboard, fire jump rope, vault mini, Russian Swing, and wall trampoline. Her theater character will be one of the school children.
“Jangala” takes inspiration from three classic adventure stories, “The Jungle Book,” “Tarzan” and the “Swiss Family Robinson.” Once the lights dim, sounds of the jungle transport audience members to the mystical island of Jangala. Guardian spirits have protected this hidden corner of the world for centuries until they are captured inside an ancient
relic. Trapped, the spirits can only watch as their island faces destruction. Across the world in an old pirate port, three daring schoolgirls dreaming of a better life stumble across the relic. The girls unleash Jangala’s guardian spirits and find themselves transported to an island far different from any world they have ever known. The trio works alongside the guardian spirits and accomplish daring feats to save the island.
The show runs three weekends, July 26 to August 11. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at circusjuventas.showare.com. Circus Juventas, 1270 Montreal Ave., St. Paul, is a nonprofit performing arts circus school for youth. It is North America’s largest youth circus performing arts program.
Local playwrights, actors launch series of audio plays about downtown St. Paul
Beginning July 26, expect to see “Hidden Herald” logos and a QR code popping up around downtown St. Paul. The code will take you to a series of short audio plays about life in downtown St. Paul. The 31 stories contemplate everything from naturalization ceremonies at the Landmark Center to business lunches at the St. Paul Grill to unsheltered people in Rice Park. Launch events will take place at 5 p.m., Saturday, July 27 at MetroNOME Brewery and at 2 p.m., Sunday, July 28 at Lost Fox in Lowertown.
The project is the brainchild of Wonderlust Productions, founded in 2014 with the mission of illuminating community stories to create a more inclusive world. The plays were written by 9 local playwrights and performed by 13 professional Twin Cities actors. Wonderlust gathered stories from members of the St. Paul Downtown Alliance, students at the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, people who had experienced homelessness, and employees at St. Paul Public Works. Actors and writers also pitched their own experiences of downtown St. Paul as a basis for the plays.
“There’s a lot more to know than meets the eye about the people and places who make downtown St. Paul special,” said Alan Berks, co-artistic director for Wonderlust Productions. “‘Hidden Herald’ tells stories of the people and places that define this city.”
Following the launch, the plays can be found indefinitely. For more information, visit www.wlproductions.org.