Meet the Cast- Creatures Edition
over 2 years ago – Mon, Aug 30, 2021 at 08:48:21 AM

Elis Gifford- Cheshire Cat

Elis “Dizzy Lizzy” Gifford started their circus career at the tender age of twelve, performing with Dr. Reg Bolton’s youth company the Suitcase Circus, Circus Y and Cirque Bizirque. After studying theater at John Curtin College of the Arts, they attended the Australian National Institute of Circus Arts, where they specialized in hula hoops and sundry aerial apparati. 

Elis has performed all over Australia, Asia and the U.S with companies including the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, Aloft Circus Arts, the Actors’ Gymnasium, Midnight Circus, Fliptease, Throw Down, and Bizircus. This is their first production with Yes Ma'am Circus.

Rebecca- Caterpillar

Rebecca (Slightly Spitfire) is a performance artist and early childhood education enthusiast in Chicago. With a background in competitive gymnastics and theatre, she began taking static trapeze classes at Aloft in 2017 and has loved every minute of being in the air! 

She has been working with children (and sometimes adults!) for nearly ten years in a variety of endeavors such as coaching gymnastics, teaching playwriting and acting, and being a lead preschool teacher. Currently, she can be found rolling around her apartment with her two rescue pups- Lord Pumpernickel and Bailey.

Kai Chin- Hedgehog

 Kai is just a little guy on their way through the world. They're always still learning on rope, straps, and handstands. They have previously performed with Vorris and Vox at UChicago, and Aloft.

 For Kai, the dormouse is the best part of wonderland; they love a good tea party. Kai can be found at @hellogoodkai on two social media platforms.

Meet the Cast- Court of Hearts
over 2 years ago – Fri, Aug 27, 2021 at 10:44:46 AM

Luke Greeff- Jack of Hearts

Lucas Greeff is a dancer, choreographer, and amateur circus artist whose work focuses on expanding the scope of queer performance, engaging inherent energies, and challenging physical extremity through movement analysis. Luke received their BA in Theatre from Florida State University, where ze performed and worked for the FSU School of Dance. Former dancer for St. Petersburg Ballet Company and Level Dance Company; Luke is currently a 1st Company Member with Joel Hall Dancers, one half of the movement collaboration Such Creatures, and teaches movement classes throughout the city of Chicago. Luke's original work Carnal Inferno was featured in Yes Ma'am Circus's production Hellidays in 2019, and he is honored to share the stage with this incredible group of artists. 

His favorite Alice quote is "We're all mad here." 

 Matthew Kugler- King of Hearts

Matthew was one of the founding members of Yes Ma'am Circus and served as the Narrator for Paradise Lost and Duke Orsino in 12th Night. He performs partner acrobatics and juggling, and spins Spanish Web.

In regular life, Matthew works as an Associate Professor of Law for Northwestern Pritzker School of Law., where he specializes in empirical studies on privacy and intellectual property law. 

His favorite character in Alice is Dinah, the cat.

Kristi Alyssa- Queen of Hearts

Kristi got her start in circus at Illinois State University’s Gamma Phi Circus and then went on to graduate NECCA and Aloft’s professional training programs. She is highly specialized in lyra, although she dabbles in handstands, trapeze and other disciplines as well. In September she'll be debuting two silks pieces at Frankfort Circus Center's 1st Annual Showcase! She currently teaches circus arts and is a manager at Aloft Circus Arts and Frankfort Circus Center. Kristi played the role of the Countess Olivia in 12th Night.

When she’s not doing circus, Kristi enjoys hanging out with her dogs and cats, travel, photography, and asking people what Hogwarts house they are in (she's a Slytherin). She recently completed her Masters Degree in counseling.

Kristi's favorite Alice quote is "Every adventure requires a first step."

Meet the Cast- Bring in the Clowns Edition
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 18, 2021 at 03:06:23 PM

The Clowns

Crucial to any circus show are the clowns; they run the ring and bring beautiful chaos and mayhem to life. Yes Ma'am Circus is privileged to work with some truly glorious clowns for this show.

Maggie Karlin- The White Rabbit

Maggie Karlin is a Chicago-based circus and fine artist. As an acrobat, clown, aerialist, they are invested in making the queer and weird come alive on stage for you. They graduated from the Aloft Circus Arts full-time training program in 2016, and are a founding member and current Artistic Director of Yes Ma'am Circus. 

They also work as a living statue, usually by the Arts Institute in the Loop. In this production of Alice in CircusLand, they will be playing the White Rabbit.

Their favorite quotes from Alice are: "There goes Bill!" and "Here one of the guinea-pigs cheered, and was immediately suppressed by the officers of the court. (As that is rather a hard word, I will just explain to you how it was done. They had a large canvas bag, which tied up at the mouth with strings: into this they slipped the guinea-pig, head first, and then sat upon it.)"

Scott M. Priz, E. E. E. E.- The Mad Hatter

Scott's is Chicago's very own English Explorer Extraordinaire, Esquire.  Not only a circus performer, he is also an attorney and local history enthusiast.  He is, as far as he knows, the last loyalist to the British Crown residing within the United States. 

He has performed in the before times, with Yes Ma'am Circus' Twelfth Night as Malvolio, and also for Aloft Circus Arts, MSA Circus, and Pocket Guide to Hell.  He is also the author of a few slightly dry law review articles.  No need to read them, I'm afraid they were written in Vogon. His favorite quote from Alice: "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

We Funded!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 11, 2021 at 08:05:25 AM

Well dang!

We funded with only 2 backers! Thanks guys!! We're so excited to see word start to spread; tickets are selling, and we've heard from lots of people that they're hoping to come. From now to the end of the campaign, we'll be introducing you to the cast, showing pics of the super cute rewards that are coming, and sharing our acts in progress.

Meet Alice

Alice is played by Amancay Kugler, the Executive Director of Yes Ma'am. She started circus as a recreational student in Philadelphia 7 years ago; after college she trained with Aloft Circus Arts in their 9-month Full Time Training Program, then took several courses in circus instruction. 

In 2018 she founded Yes Ma'am along with Artistic Director Maggie Karlin. Her first role with the company was as the Archangel Uriel in Paradise Lost. During 12th Night Amancay was recovering from the birth of her first child, Diana, so she took a backstage role, directing and managing the puppets and projections.

Following the birth of her pandemic baby, Gabriel, she is excited to get back in the air and play Alice. Her favorite Alice line is: "she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked “poison,” it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later. However, this bottle was _not_ marked “poison,” so Alice ventured to taste it."