Throughout my 11 years of working in the circus and show industry, working backstage as a stage manager, stage hand, and first-response paramedic for ELEKRON at Studio City in Macau was my favorite gig ever!
Unfortunately, the show flopped and we only got a run of 1 year. Conditions were rough. Safety backstage was tough to maintain and control. Everything and everyone was moving at high speed on and off stage with engines roaring. We had cars, motorcycles, buggies, quad bikes… all extremely powerful vehicles with electric Tesla engines. All these vehicles were choreographed… racing, jumping, and burning all over the place.
Imagine Mad Max on stage.
What made this the best ever for me was our team. We had a cast and crew of altogether around 80 people. Half of them were from mainland China and didn’t speak a word of English. The other half were from all over the world and didn’t speak a word of Mandarin. Imagine all the misunderstandings. Exasperating and hilarious at times. Showcalls were done in two languages and all communication backstage during the show was done in manic speed in two languages (plus hand and feet) as well.
I lost 10 kilos in 1 month. I don’t think I was ever more fit in my entire life. Backstage life is always hard, but this was hardcore physical effort, like running a marathon for 1 1/2 hours every day, whilst needing to be the one in control and calm at all times.
Honestly, I loved every second of it. Often, I felt so elated and energized by the whole experience that I had tears of passion and happiness in my eyes in the moments before everyone went out for the bow.
Just look at this video. Feel the awesome energy.
This was our very last bow at the end of our last show in the huge Studio City arena in Macau. It was the one and only time the entire cast and crew went on stage together to say goodbye to each other, as well as wave a last goodbye and thank you to the audience and stage in Macau. If you look at the crew in black running to the front of the stage, you can spot me for a second.
My heart still beats faster every time I watch and remember this. We were an awesome team, doing an amazing job with the circumstances we’d been given.
ELEKRON.
Definitely a show experience I’ll treasure for the rest of my life, even though it was far from perfect. No. It actually doesn’t matter if it was perfect or not. We had charm and a strong spirit backstage and on stage. I would have wished for a longer run, and more success… but hey, you only need to watch this video to see that for all of us who worked on it, it was worth it in the end. Success can’t always be measured in numbers.