Utopia Pleneesha Live at Lips!

On Wednesday the beautiful Utopia Pleneesha, (Kevane La'Marr Coleman's character from 'Deconstruction of a Drag Queen'), made her fantastic debute performance at 'Lips'- San Diego's Drag Performance venue!  After Kevane's experiences in 'Deconstruction', he realized he had something really special with Utopia, and the Drag Community that saw her performance agreed.  

Utopia has been picking up gigs, and last Wednesday she made her debute performance sans 'Deconstruction' at 'Lips'!  And you better believe that CCdd was sitting up front and center to cheer her on at the start of what is sure to be an exceptional life of a Drag Artist.  

Here are a handfull of cell phone pictures that hardly do the night justice:  

CCdd Artistic Director and Utopia!  

We love you Utopia!  We are so proud to have helped you in anyway to get to this awesome new adventure.  We are your biggest fans!  

Happy Friday Friends!  Be who you were destined to be!  

Hey Circle, What Ya Up To?

When you aren't in production, you get a lot of people asking you what's up?  Where you at?  What's next?  Well folks, we're going to answer some questions for you on our upcoming season, and some of our 'top secret' projects will finally be revealed.  Hold onto your hats as we answer some FAQ's!  

1.) When's you're next mainstage show?  What's it going to be about?  

Thanks everyone for being excited about this.  Our next mainstage show will take place at the 10th Ave Theater November/December and is going to be about underground graffiti artists in San Diego.  We are shaking things up a bit and have invited 5 different playwrights to interview 5 different artists.  So the entire production will be composed of 5 different short pieces.   We are currently at the very beginning of our development for the show- preliminary meetings and interviews, but the ball is rolling steady.  This show's idea came from the incredible Michael Mahaffey who designed artwork for our 'Deconstruction' postcard and will be playing a huge part in this production.  Haven't seen Michael's work yet?  Check out some that we stole from his facebook page: 

We love Michael and his amazing art.  Check out more at his etsy shop HERE!  You'll be surprised to see how affordable his amazing work is.  

2.)  What's you're season looking like?  

Since we currently work on a show-to-show basis, developing as we go along, (something that we will become better at in the near future), it's hard to make a typical 'season announcement' for our projects.  But we do have 3 main projects for our 2012/2013 season and can announce them on here.  First, we will have our Graffiti artist piece in November/December.  Then in February we are planning a special site-specific piece about Derby Girls.  And finally, in May/June 2013, Circle is taking a 'Crack' at creating a new musical!  Some of this information may change as the year goes by- but we will always keep you informed loyal fans.  

3.) Will you ever have auditions for your pieces?  

Yes.  This year our 2nd and 3rd pieces are such beasts we will need to go outside the company to acquire a few additional brave souls.  So please stay tuned.  We will make announcements on our needs and times of our auditions as the productions draw near.  

4.) Is Morp coming back?  

Yes.  Yes it is.  We are working on some finalized planning before our announcement- but we are shooting for the second weekend of October!  So within the next two weeks look for our 'Save the Date' information and start planning your crazy outfit now!  We imagine the title of 'Morp King and Queen' is going to be even more coveted this year!  

5.) What's the news about 'Deconstruction'?  

After 'Deconstruction' closed we kept mysteriously saying that it 'wasn't the end' for the production.  We are officially announcing on this blog that the show will be revamped/revisited & taken to the NYC Fringe Festival in 2013, and perhaps more.  We have a lot of fundraising to do from now until then- but we are motivated and inspired by the reactions we got from the production and we knew it had a big life past our May showing.  So CCdd will be hitting the road in the summer of 2013!  

6.)  Speaking of 'Fringe' What's going on with the San Diego Fringe Festival?  

Well!  We're helping to make it happen!  Our next blog will be all about it- so come back for more!  

Enjoy your three-day weekend San Diego!  We love you!

Announcing Circle's Newest Company Members: Shaun & Justin!

Sometimes, during our shows we work with artists who are interested in participating in the development and the future of our company- not just the present task.  They go above and beyond what is needed from them as an actor or designer, they dedicate their time in significant ways to the good of our work, and they sincerely care about Circle's mission and want to help us succeed.  After the months it takes to prepare for these productions we can't help but want these folks to work with us after the closing night.  This last happened with the amazing Melissa Coleman Reed during 'The Break-Up/Break-Down'.  Melissa helped with costumes, marketing, and much much more in the development of our company and it became clear that she wanted to help build the future of our work. 

During 'Deconstruction of a Drag Queen' the incredible power couple Shaun Tuazon and Justin Warren Martin not only delivered powerful performances in the production, but they helped greatly with marketing, party planning, costuming, and just general good will for the work.  They have made it clear that they were willing to go above and beyond for Circle, and so we have invited them into our motley crew as we continue on our journey of creating a successful company in San Diego. 

To make it official, we asked them to come up with a little content for our blog to make the announcement, and this adorable video blog is what they came up with: 

We are so excited to have you both and the wonderful spirit you bring to our lives! 

Happy Friday Circle friends! 

Bullies

We have wonderful fans & audiences who have wonderful perspectives & opinions, and today we are requesting your help!  

This summer, in association with LifePlay Productions, we are workshopping an anti-bullying assembly to take to schools.  We are in the process of gathering our resources so we wanted to ask our community a couple of questions about your own associations of bullying.  If you have an answer to some (or all) of the questions below, please feel free to answer in the comments section of this blog- or shoot us an e-mail at circle@circle2dot2.com.  Your perspectives might be put into our work- and may help make a difference!  

1.) To you, what categorizes as 'bullying'?  

2.) What do you believe makes someone act as a bully?

3.)  In what way have you been a victim of bullying as either an adult or a child?  Did you realize at first you were being bullied, or was it something you discovered after the fact?  

4.)  How did you overcome a bullying incident?  

We hope many of you take a moment to respond!  We can use all the help we can get as we explore this wonderful opportunity to make a difference in our local schools.  

Thanks friends!  

Guest Blog: Executive Director Ashley Toolan!

Miss Ashley?  We do too.  Here is a new blog written by her about all the fabulousness that is happening in Boston whil she works on her Masters Degree!  

Ashley at the Opening Night of 'Deconstruction' with Sam and Katie

Hey Circle Friends!

In case you were wondering, I managed to survive my first year of grad school in Boston!  At times the classes and papers felt never ending, and at times I missed San Diego so much I almost jumped on the next plane back there, but here I am- with a brand new appreciation for everyone who works in arts non profits!  So far I've learned the art of grantwriting, the trials and tribulations of being an arts administrator, how to manage the financial side of a non profit organization, and how to avoid legal troubles. While these don't sound like the most exciting of topics, I'm grateful to be armed with this new knowledge to help Circle Circle dot dot launch itself into the non profit theater world.  I'm also thrilled to know that I only have a year of school left!

I am managing to find my way in this crazy city of Boston.  It's taken about 6 months, but I can (somewhat) confidently navigate the T and not get too terribly lost!  I've overdosed on Dunkin Donuts, eaten cannolis and pasta in the North End, and spent New Year's in Harvard Square.  I'm also moving to a new apartment in a few months, so everyone feel free to come visit!  

Even though I'm beginning to enjoy my new city, I do miss San Diego and my CCdd crew a ton and was lucky enough to make two trips back this year.  I was incredibly blessed to be able to make it out for opening weekend of "Deconstruction of a Drag Queen" and see the magic that all of the amazing actors/ queens created.  It reminded me how lucky I am to be a part of this special group and how art truly changes lives.  I'm so excited to see these new doors opening for Circle and can't wait for what the future holds!

-xoxo Ashley

Ashley don't go!  We love you!  

Lot's of work is boiling in the Circle world friends- so stay connected!