Tonight's Program:

Emcee: Alex Devaux

Pre-show: Maria Tate

Show/Hide: Guest Artist Bio

Maria Tate (they/them/any pronouns) is a clown, circus artist and creative known the world over for their charisma and ability to bring joy. Maria has worked with such circuses as Phare Ponleu Selpak (Cambodia), Spark! Circus (Thailand), The Great Benjamin’s Circus (USA), and more. In 2026 so far Maria has: performed at the Montreal Clown Festival, graduated the professional training program at Aloft Circus Arts, and joined Vaudeville Chicago as a professional healthcare clown. This is Maria’s Madison debut and they are SO excited to be here and make new circus friends!

ACT I

Waking the Fire

Tona Williams, Carrie Branovan
@tona_williams_art
Fire headdress, fire staff

Mirrorball

Shannon Anderson
Aerial silks

Dance on Fire

Leeah Stickelmaier
Fire dragon staff, fire aerial chains

Ankaa

Pierce Elliot, Stina Alvarez
@sunflowcircus
Aerial sling, silk fans

Play with Fire

Eli Wu
@eli.in.fire
Fire shoes, fire pole, fire dragon staff

Intermission

ACT II

Controlled Burn

Steven Clipson
Juggling torches

Fire

Lizzy Kirkland
Fire fans

Like a Moth

Chris Robeson
Fire poi

Dancing Cinder

James Reffner
Fire nunchucks

The Beast of Pirate's Bay

Ben Ziemann
@boymeetspoi
Fire dart

Begin Again

Julian McCown-Berndt
Fire poi

Putting the Fire to Sleep

Tona Williams, Carrie Branovan
Fire headdress, fire staff

CREW

MCS shows run on volunteers! Thank you to the following crew for making this show happen:

Producers: Ben Ziemann, Eli Wu
Fuel Manager: Jess Graham
Fire Safeties: Becki Arellano, Sophie Melnick, Josh Chacon
Tech: Jim Vogel
Rigging: Nicole Lane Starr; Lizzy Kirkland, Alex Starr
Stage Manager: Percy Hill; Karen Corby
Setup/Strike: Ben Ziemann
Front of House: Amy Washbush; Cassy Smithies, Kelly Bix, Rachel Brewster, Petra Hilgendorf, Hildy Feen, Hailie Higgins, Sarah-Louise Raillard
Promotion: Eli Wu, Ben Ziemann, Anna Krueger, Sarah-Louise Raillard
Photography: Dutcher Photography
Program: Sara Woolery

A registered nonprofit, Madison Circus Space exists to foster circus and movement arts in Madison, and hosts a variety of clubs, classes, workshops, and events open to the community.

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