Celebrate the power of play!

Back for its third year in a row, Reindeer Games is Bay Area’s favorite holiday tradition.  Combining interactive games, jaw-dropping circus, and a heart-warming story, Reindeer Games is a must-see show for the whole family!

Santa’s Reindeer anxiously await Christmas Eve when they get to fly Santa’s sleigh.  How will they pass the time?  Playing Reindeer Games, of course!  Peek inside the secret lives of Reindeer with this festive tale of inclusion, collaboration, and the joy of playing.

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Previews
December 17 & 18 at 7pm

Performances

  • Saturday, December 20 at 11am & 2pm

  • Sunday, December 21 at 11am* & 2pm

  • Friday, December 26 at 11am & 2pm

  • Saturday, December 27 at 11am** & 2pm

  • Sunday, December 28 at 11am & 2pm

Arrive early to the show in order to get a snack and catch our Preshow Performances by PCT’s Emerging and Youth Artists!

*AcroSports' Circus Lab will perform during the preshow on December 21 at 11am.
**Prescott Circus Theatre will perform during the preshow on December 27 at 11am.

Children's Creativity Museum Theater
221 4th St. in San Francisco


Tickets start at $20
Running time ~90 minutes
All Ages (recommended for 2+)

 

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Photos from Reindeer Games 2023 & 2024

The Cast

Diane ‘Pino’ Wasnak

  • In her life long career as a physical comedienne, Diane Wasnak  apprenticed with Master Mime, Tony Montanaro. Diane (aka “Pino”)  then joined the San Francisco Pickle Family Circus and partnered with  Joan Mankin to become “Pino & Queenie Moon”, the first female clown  duo to be featured in the history of American circus. Under the tutelage  of Master Trainer, LuYi, Diane put her acrobatic training to work in the  clown duo, “Pino & Razz” with Jeff Raz. After ten years with the  Pickles, Diane went on to be featured in Cirque du Soleil’s production of  “Mystere”.  On the theatrical stage Diane received major acclaim for her portrayal of  Dr. Ruth Westheimer in the Farmers Alley Theatre production of  “Becoming Dr. Ruth”.  An accomplished Animal Handler, Diane graduated from the San  Francisco SPCA’s Dog Trainers Academy and apprenticed with Cinema  Safari Zoo. In 2006, Diane and her dog, Bonzer, made their Broadway  debut in “Busker Alley” starring Glenn Close.  In 2015, Diane’s work with the Palo Alto Humane Society earned the  team a Telly Award for their video, “It’s A Dog’s Day”. Diane’s career  spans four decades with many more credits in Stage, Film and  Television.   Diane is thrilled to have her heart back in San Francisco and working  with the next generation of artists in the Peoples Circus.

Mikayla Dinsdale

  • Mikayla is a PCT Company Member. She began her training at the San Francisco Circus Center at ten years old. She continued her career at ÉSAC (École Supérieure des Arts Du Cirque) in Brussels, Belgium. Recent credits include: Immortals of Aveum (motion capture artist), The Secret Garden, a Circus Center production, Reindeer Games and The Nightingale with People's Circus Theater, and the off-broadway production of {IN}TANGIBLE. She is thrilled to be working once again with the incredible cast and crew of PCT to help bring Felicity Hesed's beautiful storytelling to life. 

Lex Baesen

  • Lex is a San Francisco based acrobat, Chinese pole artist, and hoop diver. They’re originally from Chesapeake, Virginia and received their BA in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2016. Lex is a company member of The People’s Circus Theatre and is grateful to have been Acro Captain in PCT’s production of The Nightingale as well as choreographer in the company’s production of The Secret Garden. When working as a soloist or ensemble member Lex brings their technical skill, creativity, and energetic presence to every production.

Yasmina Bourdais

  • Yasmina is a PCT Company Member. She is an Alumni of the San Francisco Youth Circus, the pre-professional performance program at Circus Center. She currently attends SFSU, double majoring in Cinema and Race & Resistance, with an interest in combining Film with Circus Arts. (Check out her film “Traversing Tarot” on YouTube, an official selection of the 2023 Circus International Film Festival) Yasmina collaborated with previous People’s Circus Theater productions; she enjoys character work and especially ensemble work! When onstage, she brings her full presence and expressive energy. When backstage, she is very quiet; because it’s backstage; and she doesn’t want to disrupt the show; obviously. Most importantly, she puts her all into everything she does, and hopes her love of Circus rubs off on the audience!

DeMarcello Funes

  • DeMarcello “Cello” Funes is a dynamic and versatile stage performer originally from West Oakland, California. Trained at the Prescott Circus Theatre, Cello has developed a wide range of performance skills, including juggling, clowning, hambone body percussion, African drumming, and West African stilt dancing. He continued to expand his artistry with Circus Bella, refining his stage presence and acrobatic talents. Cello’s background in stage acting, musical theatre, and improvisation was shaped through his drama studies at the Oakland School for the Arts, located in the historic Fox Theatre in downtown Oakland. In addition to performing, Cello is a passionate educator. He teaches circus arts, clowning, and physical comedy at Circus Center SF, where he also serves as Community Engagement Associate of Performance. He is currently a performing artist with Thrillride Mechanics at ZSpace, appearing in clown operas such as The Supers, Atomic Comic, and The Mechanics. Cello also serves as Co-Lead Teaching Artist for West African drumming and stilt dancing with the Beautiful Beginnings Arts Collective in San Francisco, where he shares his love for the performing arts with the next generation.

Chanty Aguirre

  • Chanty Aguirre (they/them) has been described as eccentric and “virtuosic at flailing.” A gymnast turned circus artist and instructor, they deeply value curiosity and collaboration, always seeking to explore the seemingly mundane from a new perspective.


    As a graduate of the New England Center for Circus Arts Professional Training Program, Chanty has performed in touring productions, ensemble-devised shows, fairs, amusement parks, corporate events, and more.


    When not upside down, they enjoy abstract street photography or doodling at the beach, making their recent move from Texas to the Bay Area a perfect fit!


Ray Ostrow

  • Ray Ostrow is an acrobat and hoop diver from San Francisco. After being introduced to the San Francisco Circus Center at age four, she has essentially grown up with the circus community. Her commitment and love for acrobatics truly began to flourish after joining the San Francisco Youth Circus in high school. She has been performing in productions and creating ever since.

Joey The Tiger

  • Joey is a visually stunning aerialist known for his strength and graceful movement.  On stage a good part of his life by way of performance groups, he has naturally taken to the skies.  He performs on a variety of apparatus, specializing on dance trapeze and aerial straps.  He has trained at the San Francisco Circus Center as well as Chez Victors’ and L’Acadamie du Monastere in Montreal. He is a resident artist at Berber in SF, codirected “Circus Pop Ups” as well as produces and directs the fundraiser “Spectrum”.  Other performance highlights include: Montreal Completement Cirque, medalist at De Leon Cirquefest, Drago’s Odditorium, Cirquantique, Cirque de Boheme and Bow and Arrow Circus.  He currently teaches and performs around the San Francisco Bay Area.

    To watch Joey perform is to be momentarily wrapped in a glittery cloak and shown a glimpse of a secret, stirring world of vibrant beauty.  The most human of movement, of feeling, and of strength are raw and open in each of Joey’s pieces and tangible in every minute detail of his work.  As a stand-alone artist, this performer is a blaze of originality and brings an honesty and vulnerability to the stage that will stir and compel any audience to touch their own depths of courage and love.


James Dallape

  • James Dallape is an aerial artist and acrobat from San Francisco. He graduated from SF Circus Center’s pre-professional youth program in 2018, and he holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University. While he was in college, he continued to develop his circus practice with Brown’s Aerial and Acrobatics club. He has trained in a range of disciplines over the years, and he specializes in aerial rope. He has previously performed with People’s Circus Theatre in The Nightingale and the 2024 production of Reindeer Games, and he is excited to be a part of Reindeer Games again this year. In his free time, James enjoys running, playing piano, and studying languages.

Annie Fraser

  • Annie's first exposure to circus was at the age of 6, when she attended summer camp at Circus Center. She spent her teen years as a member of the San Francisco Youth Circus, specializing in hoop diving and acrobatics. Since then, she has developed her skills in partner acrobatics, teeterboard, and unicycle. She is excited to add her skills to the talented cast of Reindeer Games!

Youth Ensemble

Giovanni HunzekerHesed

Lia Shusterman

  • Lia is a dedicated acrobat and handbalancer. She has been training in circus arts for three years, developing her skills as a part of the San Francisco Youth Circus. Lia has performed in The Nightingale with PCT as well as multiple Circus Center showcases. In addition to circus, she has a background in gymnastics, which continues to influence her movement. When not training, Lia can usually be found curled up with a good book, enjoying a movie, or sipping on a warm cup of coffee or tea. Lia is looking forward to pushing her limits as an artist and athlete as a part of Reindeer Games.

Mara Lau Seim

  • Mara Lau-Seim is a multidisciplinary youth circus performer with experience in aerial arts, acrobatics, hand balancing, contortion, and juggling. Mara has been training in circus arts for six years. She started her training at Kinetic Arts Center in Oakland in 2018, and moved to Circus Center in 2023 to continue her development. Mara has performed in three productions of Kinetic Arts Center’s Circus Gilly youth troupe, and multiple showcases with Circus Center. In addition to circus training, Mara has trained in gymnastics and classical ballet. Dance continues to be a source of artistic inspiration even though she’s fully dedicated herself to circus training. Mara has also been studying piano for nearly ten years, and music is another source of artistic expression.

Tali Siegel

  • Tali Siegel is a 14-year-old acrobat and actor. She has been training in acrobatics since age six. This past year, she started unicycling and very much enjoys it despite being, admittedly, a beginner. She has been part of youth productions at the Circus Center (such as Alice), where she currently trains. However, The Nightingale is her first professional performance! Tali is very excited to be part of The Nightingale, build performance skills, and gain experience. If Tali’s not at school or in the circus gym, she is either reading, playing the piano or hanging out with her friends or cat.

Edie Norwick

  • Edie is a 13 year old circus artist and dancer. They have been training in acrobatics since age 6 and Circus since age 8. They have spent the past few years honing their acrobatics and aerial skills at the San Francisco Circus Center where they train. In addition to circus they also dance at A.P.G middle school under Mary Carbonara and Monica Rivara. Reindeer Games is Edie's first professional performance and they look forward to gaining experience and pushing their creativity as an artist with PCT.

Understudies

Alex Ansari

  • Alex is a circus artist with 15 years of aerial experience and pedagogy from all over the world. They grew up in a small aerial studio in Charleston,  South Carolina before attending various trainings with Aloft Circus Arts in Chicago and eventually the National Centre for Circus Arts degree program in London where they specialized in corde lisse and all things dynamic. 

    Most recently they have performed with Riposte and Fish Island Circus in London, and 13th floor in Colorado.


Emily Engelking-Rappeport

  • Em is curious about bodies and their many entangled relationships to space and story. They explore movement as both an animal and a human. To experience joy, fascination and connection. You can find her dancing solo and in partnership, upside down on all manner of surfaces, climbing mountains and sliding down them, and bathing in most bodies of water. Other interests include: figure modeling, poetry, watercolors, naps, daydreaming, letter writing, photography and type two adventures…

Stef Ren

  • Stef Ren is a pole dancer, aerialist, acrobat, and contortionist. After being a competitive pole dancer and recreational aerialist for many years, she finally took the leap and left her full-time software engineering job in 2024. Afterwards, she trained full-time at Aircraft Circus Academy in London, performing acts on aerial pole and doubles trapeze. She is passionate about storytelling through physical performance and dance, and about movement as a way of life. Outside of performing and training, she likes to read, hike, and spend time with friends and family.

Production Team

Felicity Hesed

Claire Mann

  • Claire is a seasoned aerial and flying trapeze performer with over ten years of experience in the circus arts. She began her movement journey in rhythmic gymnastics at the age of ten, transitioning into circus at fifteen when she joined Les Aerielles, an all-aerial troupe performing throughout the Bay Area.

    Claire has been flying for the past nine years, getting her start at Trapeze Arts in Oakland before joining Circus Center in San Francisco, where she is now the Head of the Flying Trapeze Department. Known for her precision, coaching style, and passion for the flying trapeze community, she brings both technical expertise and creative energy to her leadership role.

    While studying at university, Claire directed a competitive dance team and performed extensively. After graduating, she returned to the circus world to direct the youth troupe at Trapeze Arts, where she discovered a love for teaching and mentorship.

    During the pandemic, Claire expanded into the world of film, discovering a passion for storytelling through production. She has since produced a number of independent and student films, including her first major short, which she also wrote and directed.

    Today, Claire works as a freelance producer, circus coach, and production manager for People’s Circus. Whether she’s on set or flying through the air, her work is grounded in creativity, collaboration, and a deep love for performance.

Ariel Mihic

  • Ariel Mihic (she/her) has a passion for adventure and an insatiable curiosity to live a life less ordinary. Ariel is Chinese/White, cis-, hetero-, middle-aged, able-bodied, childfree, and English speaking.

    Since 2011 Ariel has been teaching handstands and partner acrobatics primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sonoma County.  Acro is a practice that relies upon thoughtful communication, trust, and accountability; these values shape the way she trains and teaches. You can find info about training techniques and partner acrobatics @PrecisionAcrobatics.  Ariel also shares her love for handstand drills, knitting, and French Bulldogs on her personal page @InvertedLifeSF.

    Ariel is the founder of BACCES (BIPOC Acro Collective Care Ecosystem), an organization that aims to foster more BIPOC representation at partner acrobatic events and to cultivate more inclusive acro spaces (www.BACCES.org, @BIPOCacro). Ariel is also the Board Vice President for CSAW (Connecting Circus Students Around the World), a non-profit that provides grants to BIPOC circus artists.

    Ariel has a Doctorate in Pharmacy and certifications in the following disciplines:  Ashtanga Yoga, AcroYoga, YogaSlackers, Thai Massage/Thai Foot Reflexology/Pranassage.

Genie Cartier

  • Genie Cartier is a San Francisco native with a background in Chinese acrobatics and aerial rope training. In addition to many other teachers, she studied acrobatics with Master Lu Yi, Xia Kemin and Xiao Hong Weng. She has performed a unique mix of acrobatics and hand-balancing on a folding chair all over the US since 2006, and has collaborated with companies such as Hubba Hubba Revue, Fishnet Follies, Circus Finelli, Picklewater Clown Festival, Literary Foolery and Machina Candeo. A multi-disciplinary artist, she also graduated from UCLA with a BA in English/ Creative Writing and earned an MFA in Creative Writing/ Poetry from SFSU. She was the co-creator and star of Genie and Audrey's Dream Show!, an award-winning two-woman circus, which toured fringe festivals in 4 different cities. In 2016, she performed inCrescent Moon Theater's Isabella and the Jewel Divine, then went on to write the script for their production, Julia's Travels in 2018. She also co-created and performed Yesterday is Tomorrow, a political sketch comedy show with her sister as part of a residency at the San Francisco Mime Troupe in 2016 and 2017. She co-foundedBow & Arrow Circus Theatre Collective in 2017, which produces a yearly Pagan holiday show called Saturnalia, in addition to several other productions a year. She recently made her directorial debut in 2022 with Dark Side of the Circus, a large-scale circus theater show choreographed to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, developed under the auspices of a residency at San Francisco Circus Center. Her solo show, the Curve, premiered in 2023, won the Best of Fringe award at SF Fringe, and was featured at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2024.

    Most recently they have performed with Riposte and Fish Island Circus in London, and 13th floor in Colorado.


Shelli Frew

  • Shelli Frew hails from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia but currently lives in the weirdly wonderful city of San Francisco. After running away to join the circus (seriously), she got into writing (novels and short stories), immersive theater (acting, writing scripts, and producing), and costume creation. Her sewing focus is mainly circus costumes, historical recreation, and fantasy inspired. If you’d like to book her for a custom piece, you can find her on instagram @shellifrew. 


Fernando Gambaroni

  • Fernando performed in Off-Broadway shows such as: Mac Wellman's 'Cellophane,' Len Jenkin's 'Like I Say' and A.R. Gurney's 'Mrs. Farnsworth.' Was a founding member of The Hive, an Off-Broadway theater company that produced successful runs of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'The Imaginary Invalid.’

    Fernando was also a teacher at HB Studio, an acting school founded by Herbert Berghof and Uta Hagen. It was there that he developed the course 'English for Actors.’

    His solo show 'just don't touch me, amigo' premiered at The NY Fringe Festival in 2009 and was restaged multiple times in New York, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City (in 2016 and 2017).

    His work as a graphic designer started in 2007.

    He is a board member of the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts in an advisory role.

Giamaica Ziedler

  • Giamaica has been dancing for about three decades and bouncing around Circus Center for about one. Her first circus performance was as an aerialist and flyer in Circus Addiction at Circus Center, and her latest as Dancer in People’s Circus Theatre’s Reindeer Games. Choreography credits include Fraudway Productions’ “Shamilton” and TNHS “Heathers.” Giamaica is humbled and excited to be working with this incredible cast. When not circusing, she can be found frolicking with her three-year-old; doing crossword puzzles; or yelling "point your toes" at SFYC students, Terra Nova High School's dance students, or anyone within earshot.


Kapi Lee

  • Kapi (they/them) began pulling lines for People’s Circus Theatre in 2024’s Reindeer Games and has since become a regular presence backstage. They find joy in supporting from behind the scenes, helping shape the magic that happens on stage. When they’re not pulling lines, they train in partner acro and duo trapeze—exploring collaboration and balance both on the ground and in the air.


Rosemary Le

  • Rosemary Le is a multidisciplinary circus artist specializing in the aerial cyr wheel. She grew up with a varied movement background, but always felt like a dancer at heart. While pursuing her Psychology/Neuroscience PhD at Stanford University, she discovered the aerial arts which literally lifted her out of an existential crisis. When she stepped foot into the San Francisco Circus Center, she knew that a circus sabbatical was in her future.


    Since then, she has performed with companies such as People's Circus Theatre and Circus Royale, in productions such as Seattle’s Moisture Festival and Paul Nathan & Paul Dabek’s Holiday Hocus Pocus, in the Bay Area, Greater Los Angeles Area, and beyond.


    She enjoys incorporating her varied experiences into her art, whether it be her background in classical Chinese dance, her technical training in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, or her fascination with the mystical. She also dabbles in photography, and loves how the practice of capturing beauty leads to noticing it in everything else.

    As of November 2022, she's had the privilege of taking a circus sabbatical and pursuing her art full time. She is truly honored that People's Circus Theatre is a part of this journey.

Marie Cartier

  • Marie Cartier (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in San Francisco. She has been working as a board operator and lighting designer for the better part of ten years. A Collective Member with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, she is continuously working to improve their recently upgraded studio theater in the Mission, and encourages everyone to come experience community events there. She is also a founding member of Bow & Arrow Circus where she has the pleasure of designing lights in addition to producing and performing. When they brought their show Dark Side of the Circus to Mexico in 2023, she managed to design the whole show in Spanish. Marie has also spent a significant amount of time in the booth at Oasis, a constant source of inspiration.