Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to more than 160 million spectators in more than 400 cities across six continents and is currently wowing Sydney with the breathtaking show – KOOZA.
The KOOZA show, seen by over 7 million people, is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil combining two circus traditions— acrobatic performance and the art of clowning.
The show had its world premiere in April 2007 in Montréal, Canada, and highlights physical demands of human performance presented together with classic slapstick humour.
The name KOOZA is inspired by the Sanskrit word “koza,” which means “box,” “chest” or “treasure,” and was chosen because one of the underlying concepts of the production is the idea of a “circus in a box.”
The cast and crew of KOOZA represents 20 nationalities: Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Spain, United Kingdom and United States.
Michael Jay Garner. ‘Handyman’ Clown
Michael Jay Garner as the ‘Handyman’ Clown
KarryOn caught up with Michael Jay Garner from the US who joined the cast of Kooza in March of 2016 as the ‘Handyman’ Clown in the show to find out what it’s really like to be part of a world-known travelling performing circus.
Michael began his circus life as a hospital clown with The Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit and has toured with Britney Spears on her Circus World Tour, and served as director of circus arts for various private functions featuring artists such as Ellie Goulding.
In his homeland of South Korea, he has had numerous TV appearances on shows such as Good Eats with Alton Brown and The Today Show.
Michael Jay Garner without his stage outfit and makeup.
Tell us about your role in KOOZA
I’m one of the clowns which is part of a clown trio and we are the king’s jesters. I wear a red costume and the other two clowns wear yellow shorts so that’s how you can tell us apart.
In the show we’re basically the sidekicks to the King who rules the land of KOOZA and we’re the clowns who mess things up for him.
What makes KOOZA such a unique show?
The best thing about the show is that it’s such a beautiful tribute to the classic circus.
In KOOZA we return back to the root of the circus, with a beautiful set design and a classic stage ring, which has the exact dimensions of the original circus ring which is based on how much space a horse needs to gallop around with a rider.
The circus origin has its roots from equestrian and has a lot of ties to horse-riding that’s why the ring master is wearing an equestrian outfit.
I think the type of clowning which is the classic clown trio as well as the innocent characters combined with the classically trained acrobats makes this a great show for anyone who has never been to the circus before, it’s a great introduction to the circus world.
How long does it take to get you ready for the how including make-up and costume?
Good questions, my make-up takes anything from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.
What we do on stage is very physical which require us to warm up and also get a bite to eat, so all up it will take me three hours to get ready before show time.
The actual costume is quick to put on.
Do you have any secrets you can share on what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ that the audience doesn’t know about?
Absolutely! We have lots of little traditional warm up things we do back stage, before it’s show time.
We also have little secret handshakes which will get us laughing, there’s always something going on.
There’s a lot of entertainment back stage both before and after we go on stage, that’s my favourite thing!
Have you had any mishaps in the show (that the audience didn’t notice) and did it affect your performance?
One time there was a moment when there was water on the stage and I slipped and hit my chin and basically flipped slide ways.
I don’t think the audience really registered what happened, I just powered through and after I left the scene and went straight to our physio to have a look at it.
As we professional we always push on but I did bruise up a bit.
Travelling around the world you must have seen many amazing destinations, which one is your favourite?
It’s going sound like a cliché but it has to be Sydney, it’s so amazing here.
The public transport is fantastic, the weather is great and the food is delicious.
I just love the layout of the city and everything it has to offer it’s so easy to find your way around and I’m really happy we’re going to be here for a while.
Have you had a chance to explore Sydney yet? Any favourite spots so far?
So far, I’ve really enjoyed Watson Bay. We had brunch at a beach restaurant and did a 5km cliff walk along the sea side.
We ended up walking for 3 km and then we hopped on the bus to Bondi.
The scenery was fantastic and the weather was gorgeous, we really enjoyed that.
And Sydney Opera House is obviously beautiful as well as the Harbour Area.
My wife is a sailor, so we’re hoping to get onto one of those tall ships at some point.
Due to strong demand, Cirque du Soleil has announced that the Sydney season will be extended by one week until Sunday November 13 2016. Eight additional performances will go on sale this
Saturday. To book tickets for the Sydney show visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/kooza or phone toll free 1800 036 685.
