By Jeff Niesel
Formed in New York City some 10 years ago, the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus is a vaudeville-style troupe that features tightrope walkers, flame swallowers and target bullwhip cracking. And that’s not to mention good old-fashioned clowning around. This summer, the Cirkus is traveling the country with a little help from the Vermont-based Magic Hat Brewing Company. Speaking via phone from Hudson, New York where she was in rehearsals and “working out the show,” Monseu spoke about the extravaganza that is the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.
You were working as a waitress when you and Keith “Mr. Pennygaff” Nelson decided to form the circus. What was that transition like?
I was an artist at the time. Pretty much everyone in New York does [restaurant work] to get by. I was a silversmith and jeweler and had a background in athletics. When I met Keith, I found he ate fire, and I got him to teach me how. Coming from a background of welding and torches sets you up for that. If you can pardon the pun, it sparked an interest in other circus arts. One thing simply led to another.
How long did it take you to master the art of flame swallowing?
Fire is an element. You can never master it. You have to become familiar with it. I have burned myself very badly. Almost everyone does. You learn quickly how to do it.
Trial by fire.
Exactly.
Do you also breathe fire?
Yep. We breathe it and spit it and rub it all over our bodies. Since the accident in Rhode Island with Whitesnake, most venues aren’t comfortable with it. But we have 15 years of experience with it and are very careful. We tend not to do the huge-scale fire stuff we used to. It’s simply not necessary. You can do beautiful small things, like transfers from mouth to hand. You can do some magical stuff on a small scale.
What are your other specialties?
We have a multitude of skills. Juggling, stilt walking. Keith’s going to be sword swallowing. There are other unique Bindlestiff acts that are hard to describe.
The tour is sponsored by Magic Hat Brewing and you’re basing some of the show on their 12-pack, right?
We worked with Magic Hat to bring to life their 12-pack. What we do models what they do. They’re a craft brewer and support the arts. We realized working on this together makes sense. They have a beer called Circus Boy, and we have circus boys. We’re not trying to make it a commercial, though. It’s just that our zeitgeists mesh. Our love and their love for the arts is the motivating factor.
What gets more ooohs and ahhhs out of the audience: Mr. Pennygaff’s steel sword swallowing or Ariele’s death-defying dance on the tight wire?
I would say they both get a lot of ooohs and ahhhs, but the feeling is very different. He does it in a professional side-show presentation. He almost has a daring-to-watch attitude. Aerial is lyrical and beautiful. Nobody would expect to see a tight-wire rig in a nightclub. It’s a much different feeling.
How accurate are you with the bullwhip and have you ever missed your target?
If you have a cigarette in your mouth, I can snap it out. I’ve helped a few people quit smoking that way. We’ve been doing this stuff a long time. Part of the appeal is the threat of imminent danger. It goes back to Roman times and gladiators. That’s a real part of what we do and why people like to watch it. It’s an uplifting thing to see humans do amazing things. It’s inspiring to people and makes them realize that maybe they want to try new things in their lives.
Tell me what “orificular love poetry” is all about.
Two balloons, two noses, a kiss and a surprise at the end. That came out of our sly take on the New York bondage scene. We did it with balloons and made light of it. We have a surprise ending of our own. You will never expect it.
It’s crazy to think you guys were once located at Times Square. Were those the best and worst of times?
It was wonderful. We were the last vaudeville square on Times Square. A generous arts organization was allowing artists to use empty storefronts. It enabled us to have a place to showcase our own work and other artists to try to produce their own shows. It was a community space. It was really dynamite. We had a free museum in the lobby that showed New York’s very important place in the rise of entertainment. We wanted to pay tribute to that.
Rudy Giuliani brought an end to that. How do you feel about his run for president?
Oh my gosh. It’s ridiculous. Nobody in New York liked him, so I don’t know why anyone else would. Under him the New York City police were especially brutal and racist. He really pandered to developers without considering the thriving cultural scene. Because of his courting of money and development, it’s now impossible for people to live there. So many people are struggling to pay ridiculous rents. He killed some of what makes New York New York. Where is the cultural diversity and the true character of the greatest city on earth that was forged by immigrants? You have to allow people of every medium to live there. But we believe in what we do and love it, and we’ll keep doing it. Working with Magic Hat has been great. Meeting artists in each city and checking in on the creative scenes there — that’s part of what’s great about going on the road.
And you get to serve up Magic Hat brews at the show.
Absolutely. The more you drink, the funnier we are.
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus
8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 14
Beachland Ballroom
15711 Waterloo Rd.
216.383.1124
Tickets: $12
