Tag: #backstage
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Slowly Arriving
It’s been eight months now since I came back to Zurich. A place which has been my home two times before already. All in all, this is my 19th year here. It is more home than any other place on Earth, and yet I struggle to relax into it. Over the last thirty years, I’ve grown…
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Hasenmatt
Another eventful day. We reached our highest point so far: Hasenmatt at 1435 m above sea level. The view was absolutely amazing as you can see. In the distance you can just make out the Murtensee and the Bielersee. Since we are so high up now, the nights are freezing cold. I am wearing every…
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Step4Circus
My buddy Dave and I keep on walking along the Swiss jura crest trail. One of the best experiences of our lives, albeit intensely exhausting.
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You Never Know Until You Go
Last year, in one fell swoop, I lost everything… the love of my life, my family, my home, my cats, my job, and all my savings. I did my best to survive. Then, just as I thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse, the Covid19 pandemic hit us all. During lockdown, I had time to…
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Make the Best of It
Update from the Lake Constance Writing Front: Over the last few months, I’ve had so much to process, learn, and overcome, I ended up being not by far as productive as I’d have liked to be. Still, I alternated writing short stories and articles for various platforms, worked on my blog, kept developing the story…
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Entertainment With a Splash: a History of Aquatic Shows
Ever wondered when the first aquatic theatres with moving lifts were built? When the first performer fell off a bridge into an artificial lake beneath? Or how it felt to be underwater with wild circus cats, goats, and pigs? Aquatic circus shows are technological wonders of our time… or so we think. In this stunning…
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Under the Big Top with Zirkus Knie: Birth of a Passion
Come run away with me to the circus… in my article on TheatreArtLife, pondering the intricacies of life backstage… In the words of Geraldine and Franco Knie: “This is our life. It’s what we grew up with. We don’t know anything else. We learned from an early age that the show takes priority over anything…
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ELĒKRŎN – The Fast and the Voltaic
In my latest article on TheatreArtLife, let me lure you into the fast and furious world of ELĒKRŎN, the arena stunt show I worked for in Macau from Nov 2018-July 2019. “Our performances were a potpourri of color, flying popcorn, and smoking tires, and they came alive with an atmosphere of joyfulness and audacity.” Read…
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Isolation with Dad, Cat, and the Fish
It’s the end of March 2020. A slightly ruffled, disoriented “hello” from myself and Bocelli, my dad’s ever-meowing cat who isn’t quite sure how he feels about me invading their space… How are you all? I haven’t written much in this blog since last December… As stage and production manager on one of the largest…
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A new decade, a new year
Here we are. A new decade, a new year… I am finding myself surrounded by the deep blue sea once more. Amazing how life keeps bringing me back to be either on, at, in, or under water. Ultimately, it is where my soul feels the most at home. 2019 was the worst year of my…
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A Brief History of Cirque du Soleil
If you are interested in stories about theatre shows and the arts, then this might be something for you: I regularly write articles about life in the entertainment arts here on TheatreArtLife. My latest contribution is perfect for you if you feel like diving headlong into a bit of entertainment history… more specifically: A Brief History…
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The Importance of Kindness
My latest article for TheatreArtLife. Enjoy 😊 “There aren’t many communities like the entertainment industry, where individuals from multiple backgrounds, languages, and nationalities come together to collaborate intensely in order to deliver a product. Add to this the different mentality and beliefs of each person. And an intimacy backstage which far surpasses any work environment…
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I Often Fondly Remember…
I often fondly remember working as a diving instructor in the Maldives. Four years of living and working on a small island with individuals from all corners of the globe, in closest quarters, with hardly any privacy. Teaching students who are sometimes terrified of the element they are about to enter. Learning a whole new…
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Cultural Deer
In 2013, I was able to spend a couple months at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada. I’ll never forget my time there. On my daily walk up the mountain from home to the theatre, the cold, fresh air did not only clear my lungs but also my mind. Each time I stepped outside through…
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Through These Doors
It’s been just three days since I last went through stage door at the Studio City arena in Macau. And I miss being backstage already. Eleven months ago, our show moved into this performance space. Walking into the arena now, you’ll never even know we were there. Yet the time in between was filled with…
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Behind These Walls
For four years, I entered this concrete fortress almost every day. What looks like an oppressive Orwellian government building is in fact the Dragone theater in Macau. A visionary creative endeavor was realized here: The House of Dancing Water. It truly is a show like no other. A fairy tale that rises from below the…
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The Life of a Show Diver – Part 2
Check out my latest article on TheatreArtLife. If you’ve always wanted to know what it is show divers actually do in their daily work, then this one is for you! Both, Part 2 (and Part 1 I wrote a few months prior) give you unique insight into a world usually hidden from sight – for,…
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A Moment With…
Big thanks to Theatre Art Life for featuring me in their “A Moment With” series. How did I start my career? What was the best role/job/gig I have done and why? What advice would I give my 18-year old self? … and many other interesting questions. Read all about it here …
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The Life Of A Show Diver: Part 1
Once you have worked underwater, you’re forever changed. It never lets you go. Every day, every minute, I am longing to dive again, to immerse myself, to ride exhilarating currents, to marvel at the beauty of underwater existence. After working for many years as an instructor and guide in the Indian Ocean, I came to…
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Add Oil
My latest contribution on TheatreArtLife. Remembering when I immersed myself in a Hong Kong Chinese theatre production. I worked backstage, with barely a clue what was going on. It was an unforgettable experience. Because, as I mention in the short story as well, there is nothing more valuable than opening your mind, letting go of…
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Through the Looking Glass
Here is one of the articles I wrote for TheatreArtLife so far. It is about discovering the magic backstage and re-claiming my muchness. If you like this one also check out the other four articles from my contributor page. I am looking forward to writing more for this exciting new platform over the next few…
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TheatreArtLife has launched!
TheatreArtLife has launched! Amongst many other interesting subjects to browse through, you’ll find an array of fabulous contributors sharing their personal stories and experiences. The link here will take you to my contributor page where you’ll already see 5 engaging short stories/articles about backstage life – with more to come Enjoy browsing the site!
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Writing for TheatreArtLife
My first gala premiere in Zurich’s Cinema Corso was in 1993. After a while of working as an usher, I became the designated follow-spot operator for these events, wielding an ancient, uncooperative, and incredibly heavy follow-spot. Ever since then theatre has a special place in my heart. So, I am truly happy to be a…