WHO WE ARE
Founded in September of 2023, People’s Circus Theatre is an ensemble-based company based in San Francisco and in residence at the San Francisco Circus Center.
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.
“Felicity Hesed’s 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. After only one year, People’s Circus Theater is already a force in the circus and theater worlds here in the Bay.”
FELICITY HESED
Founder and Artistic Director
Felicity is a creator, director, and producer specializing in integrating circus and theater. Felicity is the Founder and Artistic Director of People’s Circus Theatre (PCT) in San Francisco; she wrote and directed PCT’s Reindeer Games (2023, 2024) and The Nightingale (2024).
Felicity made her Off-Broadway directing debut this summer 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: 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 theatre circus adaptation of The Secret Garden (premiered at Circus Center in 2021, remounted at Children’s Creativity Museum in 2022).
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 hit in 2020, Felicity toured her solo show, Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto, to San Francisco, the East Coast, and London.
Additional directing credits include The Tempest: A Magical Circus, A Clown Without a Circus, The Monkey King: A Circus Journey, Circus Addiction, Lyle the Crocodile, and Circus of Light. Additional performance credits include the 10th National Chrysanthemum Festival in Kaifeng-China, Seattle’s Moisture Festival, the New Pickle Circus, Teatro ZinZanni, Children’s Fairyland, and the San Francisco Aerial Arts Festival.
Felicity has a BA in Theatre Arts from Kalamazoo College, a Master in Teaching from DePaul University, a certification in clowning from the Clown Conservatory, and a certification in video production from Bay Area Video Coalition. Learn more at felicityhesed.com.
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
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.
ZEPHANIAH BENSAID
Production Assistant
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 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.
ARIEL MIHIC
Acrobatic Choreographer
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.
Jenifer Jayme
Grant Writer
Jen is a seasoned nonprofit leader and philanthropy professional with 25+ years of experience in social impact and fundraising. Jen currently serves as Director of Institutional Giving at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, where she oversees the Food Bank’s philanthropic partnerships with corporations, foundations and government agencies. She has served in leadership roles at various prominent local and national organizations including NPower, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Community Action Marin, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, St. Vincent de Paul Society, and Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. She has also consulted with numerous nonprofit organizations including Per Scholas, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Nature Conservancy, and Sacred Heart Medical Center, originally as a Campaign Director at CCS Fundraising and more recently through her private practice. Jen founded Jayme Development in 2020, a boutique consulting practice focused on helping nonprofits and small businesses get the fundraising, marketing and communications support they need to thrive. Among her core competencies are fundraising strategy and leadership, grant writing, and web development. Along the way, Jen has also gained valuable programmatic expertise in youth development, education, workforce development, STEM ecosystems, neurodiversity, homelessness, and trauma-informed care. She continues to support select clients part-time while mentoring emerging grant writers.
When her 15-year-old son Cole found his calling as a circus artist and dancer, Jen turned her skills to support the organizations igniting his passions. She fell in love with the way Felicity Hezed tells a story and integrates circus arts, and is deeply committed to nurturing the success of Peoples Circus Theatre in every way possible.
Personally influenced by childhood years spent in an impoverished inner-city projects in Boston, followed by high school years in affluent Marin County, Jen has a passion for creating socioeconomic, racial and gender equity and remains active in community service. She has served in various board and volunteer roles and currently co-chairs the Dance Boosters at Marin School of the Arts, where her son attends high school and trains in dance.
Jen holds a B.A. in English with Honors and a Certificate in Full-Stack Web Development from U.C. Berkeley. She lives in Novato with her husband and son.