WHO WE ARE

People’s Circus Theatre is a growing performing arts organization based in San Francisco.  Founded in 2023 by seasoned performer, producer and director Felicity Hesed, People’s Circus Theatre strives to deliver poignant, thought-provoking and memorable experiences that win new audiences back to the wonder of live performance, through a unique blend of theatre, dance, and circus arts.

People’s Circus Theatre creates high-quality performances, employs local artists, develops the next generation of performers, and produces shows that are highly accessible for diverse audiences.

“People's Circus Theatre is on the cutting edge of melding circus, music, dance and theater. They are creating a new approach to Contemporary Circus that starts with a well written script and then uses circus, music and dance to bring the story to life in wonderful ways.

The San Francisco Bay Area has a strong history of circus theater, with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Make*A*Circus and the Pickle Family Circus, going back over fifty years. People's Circus Theatre is part of that long tradition, and they are taking it in new, exciting directions. People's Circus Theater is a force in the circus and theater worlds here in the Bay.”

—Jeff Raz, former Cirque du Soleil performer and author of "The Secret Life of Clowns" and "An International Circus Affair"

How People’s Circus Theatre began.

People’s Circus Theatre is creating an ensemble of multi-skilled artists right here in the Bay Area.

Meet the Team

  • Felicity Hesed

    FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

    Felicity is a creator, director, and producer specializing in integrating circus and theater.  Felicity wrote and directed PCT’s Reindeer Games (2023, 2024) and The Nightingale (2024, 2025).   

    Felicity directed {IN}TANGIBLE at Theatre Row in Manhattan (Off-Broadway).  She was one of the directors of the 2024 remount of The Speakeasy: Age of Scofflaws, San Francisco’s longest running immersive theater show.

    Felicity is well known for her outstanding work as Artistic Director at Circus Center in San Francisco which included her groundbreaking adaptation of The Secret Garden (premiered at Circus Center in 2022, remounted at Children’s Creativity Museum in 2023). 

    During the pandemic, Felicity directed innovative projects including Circus Pop Ups!, a series of pop up performances at iconic locations.  The film documentary of Circus Pop Ups! won the Audience Choice Award in the Circus International Film Festival 2022. Before the pandemic, Felicity toured her solo show, Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto, to San Francisco, the East Coast, and London.

    Learn more at felicityhesed.com.

  • Ariel Mihic

    ACROBATIC COACH

    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.

  • Claire Mann

    PRODUCTION MANAGER

    Claire (she/her) 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.

    You can follow Claire’s film endeavors and circus training on Instagram @clairesthemann or check out her website https://www.claire-mann.com/.

  • Fernando Gambaroni

    GRAPHIC DESIGN & MARKETING

    Fernando’s work as a graphic designer began in 2007 after many years in the arts. 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). He is a board member of the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts in an advisory role.

  • Lex Baesen

    COMPANY MEMBER

    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 an Ensemble Member and the choreographer for their production of The Secret Garden in summer 2023. Lex played Comet in Reindeer Games in Fall 2023 and Dasher in Reindeer Games 2024. Lex created and performed the role of Assistant #2 inThe Nightingale.

  • Mikayla Dinsdale

    COMPANY MEMBER

    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), 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.

  • Rosemary Le

    COMPANY MEMBER

    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.

  • Yasmina Bourdais

    COMPANY MEMBER

    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!