A single spotlight directed the audience’s attention to a lone bicycle repairman toiling away in his shop. He swung his hammer against the steel railings, producing a pulsating beat that reverberated throughout the theater.
As the strikes accelerated, two women in strappy stage wear sauntered into the bike shop and began to perform an aerobatic trapeze act.
The Carpenter Performing Arts Center at California State University, Long Beach welcomed a one-night only performance on Saturday of Cirque Mechanics’ “Pedal Punk,” a circus show infused with industrial aesthetics and Victorian appeal.
“Cirque Mechanics is a fantasy of acrobatics and daredevil stunts using pulleys and levers and bikes,” Michele Roberge, executive director of the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, said. “It’s called Pedal Punk.”
Steampunk is a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology typically featured during the Victorian period, according to the Huffington Post.
“The whole family likes the steampunk atmosphere,” Nikki Smith, a thirty-seven year old mother, explained as her two kids dawning mohawks cheered in the background,
“These guys have built simple motors with batteries, and magnets,” she said, citing their father’s electrical work at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has inspired their hobbies. “They are very much into science; they really enjoy it.”
“Pedal Punk” immersed the Carpenter Center’s stage in industrialized steel apparatuses and muscled strongmen. It featured acts involving the dazzling motion of acrobats, cyclists and chinese yo-yos.
“You come to see a show … to expect to see something a bit larger than life,” said Daniel, a twenty-nine year-old actor and seven-year circus performer, who came to support his best friend in the show and did not wish to mention his last name. “[But] I don’t think you necessarily know what to expect from a circus show, which is kind of the fun thing.”
Since the signature ring-shaped arena’s founding by Seven Years’ War veteran Philip Astley, the circus has always had a strong reputation as a place full of surprises and wonder. According to PBS, Astley left the war and transferred his riding skills to a London school that taught horsemanship by day and became his platform for his off-hand talents by night.
Late 1800s birthed the famous escapist Harry Houdini from the Welsh Brothers Circus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania as well as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey company, still bringing traditional acts like clowns, strongmen, trapezes and awe-inspiring animals to their audience at “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
Cirque Mechanics stays true to this circus tradition but a gives its a little twist for all of its acts.
After the success of previous collaborative projects, German Wheel artist Chris Lashau founded Cirque Mechanics in 2004, according to their website. Described as a “rowdy show where the mischief is on wheels,” “Pedal Punk” portrays a story of an eccentric mechanic repairing both bikes and a technology-obsessed society.
“[Metal and Machinery] are a really appropriate thing to have,” said Daniel, hinting at the lineup of mohawk totting clowns with a kickass attitude, bowler hat equipped strongmen in vests and a powerful soundtrack that belongs in an electric swing club. “Circus ‘stuff’ always has an apparatus and some interaction with the physical environment; this cool metal [theme is] a nice way of taking old things and making it new.”
The ragged-edged show full of vibrant contrasts was nerve racking and left a lasting impression on audience members like Janet Wong.
“I really enjoyed the dieselpunk, steampunk feel of it; it really fits the theme of Cirque Mechanic,” said Wong, a 2010 alumna from CSULB. “It’s basically things you loved to do as a kid, tumbling, falling chasing, handstands, there’s a lot [to enjoy.]”
Former member of Cirque Mechanics Sagiv Ben attended Saturday’s show in support of his old troupe.
“The opening number was great. The mechanical aspect was cool. I like the music,” the 37-year-old circus performer, said. “But that’s what the circus is all about, you feel all those crazy feelings in one show.”
