The Unfinished Work of Camille Claudel
Camille Claudel was an Impressionist sculptor in France at the turn of the century. She defied expectations of women at the time by creating dynamic pieces that shocked the art establishment. Single-handedly, Camille manipulated marble into artworks that tenderly exposed the full range of her subjects’ humanity. She was a visionary, but Claudel’s genius came at a price.
Written and Directed by Felicity Hesed, People’s Circus Theatre blends circus, dance, and physical theatre to tell Camille’s story. In this stunning homage, Claudel’s art is brought to life through movement. The Unfinished Work of Camille Claudel is a passionate revelation of art in the face of adversity.
"The Unfinished Work of Camille Claudel" had a Sneak Preview on April 16 at Club Fugazi as part of the San Francisco Circus Festival and made its World Premiere on May 1 & 2 at Dance Mission as part of the San Francisco International Arts Festival.
Limited Run at ODC
June 4 at 7:30pm
June 5 at 7:30pm, post-show Q&A
June 6 at 4pm & 7:30pm
At ODC Theater (3153 17th St.)Our Partners
The Cast
Kapi Lee
-
Kapi (they/them) began has been working behind the scenes with People’s Circus Theatre since 2024 as a Rigger. Kapi made their debut performing with PCT in the work-in-progress of “The Unfinished Work of Camille Claudel” and continues with the cast for this premiere. Kapi is also currently performing with Flying Rabbit Circus on Box [M].
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.
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.
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 adventure
James Dallape
-
James Dallape is a circus artist from San Francisco. He began his training in the pre-professional youth program at the San Francisco Circus Center, and he continued his training at Brown University. James has previously performed with People’s Circus Theatre in The Nightingale and Reindeer Games, and he is excited to be working with PCT again on their newest creation.
Production Team
Felicity Hesed
-
Felicity is the Founder and Artistic Director of People's Circus Theatre (PCT). With PCT she has written and directed "Reindeer Games" and "The Nightingale." She made her Off-Broadway directing debut with the world premiere of "{IN}TANGIBLE" at Theatre Row in Manhattan. Felicity was one of the directors on the 2024 remount of "The Speakeasy: The Age of Scofflaws," San Francisco's longest running immersive show.
Felicity is well known for her outstanding work as Artistic Director at Circus Center from 2021-2023, including her groundbreaking adaptation of "The Secret Garden" in 2021 and remounted at the Children’s Creativity Museum in 2022. Before the pandemic in 2020, Felicity's solo show "Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto" toured to San Francisco, Asheville, and London. Felicity directed and produced Circus Pop Ups! in 2021, a series of pop up performances at iconic SF locations that incorporated live circus and music. Felicity's film documentary of Circus Pop Ups! won the Audience Choice Award in the Circus International Film Festival 2022.
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.
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.
Rachael Servello
-
Rachael is a US based choreographer who has been developing work and performing for over 15 years. Rachael holds an MFA in Dance from Washington University in St. Louis, and an Associate's in Dance from Santa Monica College. Recently she was a guest speaker at Tanzahoi Dance Festival in Hamburg, Germany.
Rachael studied under company members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Karen McDonald (Director, Debbie Allen Dance), choreographer Doriana Sanchez, Shana Lord (Quidam), Petra Sprecher (Quidam), and Joshua Ryan Zhener (Kooza). Her previous performances include Dolly Parton Entertainment, Santa Monica Opera, Modesto Opera, Circus Lena, and Ramos Bros. Circus. She has worked extensively in arts outreach with Cirque Du Soleil, Children of the Night, Camp Ubuntu, Refuge Recovery, and the Department of Justice.
Tanya Nelson
-
Tanya is currently part of the Stage Management team at Club Fugazi for the circus show, Dear San Francisco and is an active member of the Board at 3Girls Theater Company. Theater has been a major part of her career path over the last 20+ years. Past collaborations include Gravity (SFBATCO), The Pajama Game, Snoopy!!!, and Sugar (42nd Street Moon), Jerry Springer the Opera, Baby (Ray of Light Theatre). She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and has a BFA in Technical Theater from Emerson College in Boston.
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.
Daniel Weiermann
-
Daniel Weiermann has designed lights for dance, theater and opera for over 20 years. He holds an MFA in Lighting Design from Northern Illinois University and spent the following 15 years designing and consulting in and around Chicago. Since relocating to the Bay Area, Dan is currently the Technical Manager/Resident Lighting Designer for Boxcar Theatre.. He is also an adjunct professor at Dominican University teaching lighting design. His design work in the Bay Area includes LINES Ballet Training Program Performance Company, ODC Pilot Program, ZiRu Productions, Ballet22, Ragged Wing Ensemble and Alayo Dance. His work at Oakland Ballet Five Decades of Dance, at the Paramount Theater resulted in them receiving “Izzie” (Isadora Duncan Dance Awards) and collaborations with Robert Moses, Amy Seiwert and Graham Lustig. Theater installation projects include CounterPulse in San Francisco, Berkeley Unified School District, Shawl Anderson Dance Center and Flight Deck Theater in Oakland. When he has some downtime, Dan enjoys teasing the wind with stunt kites and finding new trails for bike riding with his family.
Meghan McClure
-
Choreography is like a treasure hunt- or so it is to Meghan McClure. Meghan knows there are treasures in the form of circus skills and characters hidden inside each artist she works with. Her job is to bring them to light and present them onstage! She loves working with all levels of circus artists and creating acts that are unique to the people performing them.
After growing up touring with the Flying Gravity Circus, she pursued professional training in Oregon before co-founding her own circus company Constructive Interference Circus. Now Meghan regularly performs on the East and West coasts, as well as sporadically in the midwest and Canada. She is passionate about pushing her technical and artistic skill levels while working in collaboration with like minded artists.
Outside of performing and teaching circus, Meghan is a competitive gymnast in both Men’s and Women’s gymnastics where she holds national and regional championship medals. In her spare time you can find her reading a book, making frog stickers, or watching the ducks swim at the local park.