Decoding the mechanics of love

In the forest on the outskirts of a small town, there lives a magical Nightingale whose song can stir even the hardest of hearts.  When the Emperor learns of this rare creature, he is determined to capture her.  Can the Nightingale be replaced by a Mechanical facsimile?  

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, The Nightingale is an epic love story that speaks to the most pressing issues of our time through a compelling mixture of acrobatics, aerial arts, and timeless storytelling.  

PREVIEWS
June 3 & 4 at 7pm
PERFORMANCES
June 6 - 22, 2025
  • Fridays at 7pm
  • Saturdays at 3pm & 7pm
  • Sundays at 2pm
Tickets start at $25
Approximate running time ~90 minutes without intermission
Recommended for ages 7+

Children's Creativity Museum 

Yerba Buena Gardens
221 4th Street, San Francisco
 

What people are saying…

‘I loved how seamlessly and purposefully the circus is incorporated into the storytelling to heighten the highs and lows of the journey.  Beautiful.  Adults, children, no matter who you are there’s something for you.’

– Gabriel G.

‘Bringing fairytale to the modern (and comedic) era.  Impressive acrobatics!!’  

– Cormac P.

‘Stunning movement, jaw-dropping acrobatics, hilarious comedy, and a moving, relevant story.  My seven year old LOVED it!’

– Juliana F.

‘I loved the music.  Anyone, all ages, can enjoy this!’

– Citlalin G.

Our Sponsors

The Nightingale is made possible by the support of our generous donors, our partnership with Children’s Creativity Museum, and our artist residency at Circus Center.

From our work-in-progress performance on October 2024

Our Team

Artistic Team

  • Felicity is the Founder and Artistic Director of People's Circus Theatre. She recently 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.

    Read Felicity's full bio.

Felicity Hesed

Vincent De Jesus

  • Vincent De Jesus is a musician and educator from San Antonio, Texas with roots in Mexico and Puerto Rico. His musical journey began in childhood, influenced by his family and school programs, where he discovered a passion for percussion and jazz. Vincent is a collaborating musician of Circus Pop Ups. He has performed with numerous musical groups spanning a range of genres including Afro-Caribbean, Funk, Jazz, Classical, Soul, Hip-Hop along with many musical theater shows recently including Passing Strange, Kinky Boots, Hello Dolly, and Wuthering Heights. As a composer, his music is a blend of the music he grew up with including Afro-Caribbean rhythms and jazz, funk, and hip-hop.

Maya Kesselman Cruz

  • Maya Kesselman Cruz is a native of San Francisco and was part of the San Francisco Youth Circus at the Circus Center from ages 10-18. Her dream of becoming a traveling circus artist started coming true when she attended L’Ecole Supérieure des Arts de Cirque in Brussels, Belgium. After graduating with the hoop diving trio, Trio Anneaux, Maya went on to win a gold medal and the Public’s Choice award at The Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain. After touring Europe with her trio, she went on to perform in Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia. She has also done three tours with Midnight Circus in Chicago, and co-founded the Belgian circus company, Back Pocket, touring as an artist in their first show, La Vrille du Chat. She is currently performing with The 7 Fingers in Dear San Francisco at Club Fugazi.

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 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.

Giamaica Zeidler

  • 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 Production’s “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.

Evan Tomlinson Weintraub

Layla Tripod

  • Layla Tripod is a San Francisco based circus artist best known for all things that spin. She studied dance beginning at a young age, which gives them an extensive knowledge of artistry, technique and ability to design choreography that captivates the eye. After originally focusing on Tissu, Layla switched her focus to Aerial Hoop which has become her specialty apparatus. She has since followed her love of circus arts around the globe, teaching and performing internationally in Europe, India, Mexico and New Zealand.

Cast

Rosemary Le

  • Rosemary Le is a circus artist specializing in the aerial cyr wheel.  She grew up with a varied movement background of dance, gymnastics, swimming, and martial arts, but always felt like a dancer at heart. In the throes of pursuing her PhD at Stanford University, she discovered aerial hoop in 2016, and it was exactly the physical and creative outlet  she needed. Her interest intensified upon discovering the San Francisco Circus Center, at which point she decided that a circus sabbatical was in her near future. Those plans were put on hold when the pandemic hit, but she spent that year delving into her own practice and art.

    Emerging out of the pandemic, she has performed with companies such as Dahlias Entertainment and People Circus Theatre, at venues such as The Great Star Theater and The Children’s Creativity Museum, in productions such as the Moisture Festival and Paul Nathan's Dark Kabaret, in the Bay Area, Seattle, and beyond.

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

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.

Mikayla Dinsdale

  • Mikayla Dinsdale 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), Reindeer Games 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.

Scott Dare

Yasmina Bourdais

  • Yasmina 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!

Lex Baesen

  • Lex Baesen is a San Francisco based acrobat, dancer, and aerial artist. They’ve performed a wide variety of circus disciplines like dance trapeze, hoop diving, acrobatic dance, flying pole, silks, acrobatic jump rope, and columns/pyramids. They received their BA in Dance with a focus on performance and choreography from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2016. Lex is a company member of People’s Circus Theatre and was a choreographer for their production of The Secret Garden in summer 2023 and played Comet in Reindeer Games in Fall 2023. Lex is excited to continue working with PCT in their production of The Nightingale!

Cami Boni

  • Born and raised in Baja, northern Mexico, Cami’s path started with theater at 8 years old, but she has always had a huge interest for circus arts which led her to start training aerials during her teen years in 2011. She quickly fell in love with this type of training. In 2015 she started working on big top tent circuses around Mexico in both traditional circus and more contemporary projects. Mentoring other artists and directing has been a big part of her career, especially during the last 2 years when she started her own collective in Mexico, Casa Cachora.

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 ensemble cast of The Nightingale! 

Asha Jimenez

  • Asha is an acrobat with two decades of experience spanning competitive gymnastics, cheerleader stunting, and acrobatic street performance. Asha’s movement is informed by a multidisciplinary practice that includes dynamic standing and Icarian partner acrobatics, hand balancing, Lyra hoop, outdoor rock climbing, and Latin partner dance.

    Asha has taught acrobatics workshops and retreats across the world from San Francisco to Sri Lanka, Toronto, Hawaii, and Austria. She teaches technical skills and dynamic sequences, trio acrobatics, as well as therapeutic acro. She focuses on alignment and technique while keeping sight of what brings her practice alive: exploration and play.

    Most recently, Asha performed with a trio of street performers in Barcelona. She choreographed and was the flyer in a playful show that involved clowning, trio stacks, swinging, and three highs.

    Beyond acrobatics, Asha is an herbalist, medicine maker, forager, and UX researcher focused on social change.

James Dallape

  • James Dallape is an aerialist and acrobat from San Francisco. He graduated from the SF Youth Circus in 2018 and holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Urban Studies from Brown University. While he was in college, he continued to develop his circus practice with the Brown Aerial and Acrobatics society. In his free time, James enjoys running, playing piano, and studying languages.

Landyn Endo

  • Landyn (they/he) is a queer, transmasculine-of-center dancer and aerialist, specializing in lyra and silks. He graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a double major in Dance and Drama. Since graduating, he has enjoyed dancing professionally in LA and on tour with Multiplex Dance Company, helping to found the West Hollywood Dance Festival. He also had the opportunity to perform in Europe with DTM2 Improvisational Ensemble, Off-Broadway in NYC, and in Japan in “Dreaming Forward,” an artistic collaboration with choreographer Motoko Hirayama, as well as teaching dance for two years in Grenada. He has been an instructor of circus, dance, and gymnastics for 17 years, and since moving to the Bay Area can be found teaching at the San Francisco Circus Center and VRV3. He has most recently had the honor of performing in Dark Side of the Circus and Saturnalia with Bow and Arrow Circus, and premiering his aerial lamp duet in The Longest Night. Landyn has a deep passion for encouraging queer and trans youth to find their voice through movement and art.

Leó Lefèvre

  • Leó Lefèvre (he/him & they/them) is a multidisciplinary circus artist, performer and teacher. With a background of over a decade competing nationally in artistic gymnastics, they also majored in performing arts in college, (choreographing routines and studying various forms of dance including ballet, modern, contemporary, hip hop, & vogue). This all led to performing professionally nationwide with different circus companies & various traveling troupes. 

    Most notably with; Portland Art Museum Circus exhibition event in 2018, Sir Cupcake’s Queer Circus Troupe 2017-18, AYCO Philadelphia festival in 2017, “Elements” Show with Portland Circus Project Company in 2019, Choreography and performance in “Travelling Tarot” film (featured in International Circus Film Festival 2021), and lastly as a character and ensemble member in People’s Circus Theater, “Secret Garden” 2022-23, in San Francisco. 

    His specialties are handbalancing, tumbling, partner acrobatics, and dance. They also have experience within a wide variety of aerial apparatuses, and enjoy learning trapeze, pole and lyra. He started teaching at Circus Center in 2021, shortly after moving to San Francisco. They’ve been teaching and performing locally throughout the Bay Area since then.

    If not upside down, you can find him biking, baking, or spending time with his cat.

Matan Presberg

Meghan McClure

  • Meghan McClure is a juggling, and dance trapeze specialist, passionate about ensemble interdisciplinary performances. She loves thinking outside the box to create new ideas with her movement and expression. 


    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.

Giovanni HunzekerHesed

  • Giovanni is a 14 year old dancer, juggler, and acrobat. They are a proud member of the San Francisco Youth Circus, and they train in the dance conservatory at High School of the Arts. Performance credits include: Colin in The Secret Garden, Jack of Clubs in Alice!, Explorer in TRYBE, solo juggling act in Dropping the Ball, and Prancer in 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. 

Lia Shusterman

Lila Siegel

  • Lila Siegel is a youth circus performer, dancer, actor, and former gymnast. She loves doing partner acrobatics and trains dance and theater 5 days a week, but she has only been training circus for a year. This is her first circus show, as well as her first professional performance. She also enjoys learning about math, history, playing board games, or watching movies. Lila is 11 years old and is in fifth grade at Adda Clevenger School.

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.

Production Team

Claire Mann

  • Claire is an aerial and flying trapeze performer with over ten years of experience. She started doing rhythmic gymnastics at the age of ten and migrated into the circus world when she was 15. She joined Les Aerielles, an all aerial circus troupe, and began performing in gigs around the Bay Area. While at university, she directed a dance team and also danced competitively. After graduating, she directed the youth circus troupe at Trapeze Arts in Oakland. During the pandemic, she realized her passion for film and producing and has delved into the production world. She has worked as a producer on many independent and student films including her first major short which she also wrote and directed. She currently works as a freelance producer, circus coach, and People’s Circus’ production manager.

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.

Daniel Weierman

Colin Johnston

Zephaniah Bensaid

  • Zephaniah Strand Bensaid (it/they) has a circus background, but spends a lot more time backstage nowadays. A graduate of the San Francisco Youth Circus and later Circus Center's Clown Conservatory, their real passion is behind-the-scenes work, where they use their aerial and clown training to support artists on stage as a follow-spotlight operator, assistant stage manager, rigger, and more. In addition to working backstage or in the booth for more People's Circus Theater and more Circus Center shows than they can list, they've worked with various companies around San Francisco, including but not limited to Circus Something, Boxcar Theatre, Ray of Light Theatre, and Awesome Theater.

Kapi Lee

  • Kapi Lee enjoys training in various acrobatic disciplines including tumbling, hand balancing, and partner acrobatics. Preferring to stay out of the spotlight themselves, Kapi prefers to lend a hand backstage pulling for aerial acts.

Mara Hesed

  • Mara Hesed recently completed her second MA in psychology and is now a psychotherapist. Her first Master’s was in Dramaturgy. She wasn’t sure at that time if she wanted to be an actor or a director, so she landed somewhere else and did a little bit of everything. She is also a fine art painter and has written and workshopped performance art pieces of her own. Additionally, Mara teaches yoga and meditation, reads Tarot, makes podcasts, and sings. She is delighted to be a part of this wide-ranging project which appeals to her nature as a jack-of-all-trades but also comes naturally to her as Felicity’s sister.