April 20, 2020 | Together Apart,

WATCH: A Conversation with Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider

A note from Artistic Director David Dower on The 7 Fingers and our conversation with co-founders of the Fingers, Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider.

It is a surprisingly sweet treat to see Sequence 8 again. This was the first project from 7 Fingers that I was part of presenting here at ArtsEmerson.

I was struck by how themes that have been at the heart of our commitment to this company are explicit and on display in this show. ArtsEmerson is always striving to create connection across difference, out of the understanding that the health, welfare, and liberty of our communities depends on it. In circus, if one forgets that we are all in this together, all depending on each other and holding each other’s lives in our hands, someone dies. And in Sequence 8 the Fingers addressed that connection both in their performances and also in the spoken text.

How fitting, then, that this project is featured in the Together Apart series, as we live out the interconnected truth of our lives together by living them apart.

Moreover, every Fingers company that has landed in our season has been an international mix of artists. Often, multiple languages are spoken during the course of their shows. This company puts the world on stage all on its own!

We had the chance to talk with two of the seven co-founders of The Fingers, Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider, about circus, how to survive as an artist, and the humanity of the moment as part of the Together Apart series. This video was recorded on April 23, 2020 at 5PM EST. We’d love to hear what you think, so leave a comment below!

Some fun facts:

• This show marked the first return of the company, and its director Shana Carroll, who also directed Passengers, which kicked off our 10th season in the Fall.
• We met Ugo Dario and Maxim Laurin, the duo who had us holding our breaths throughout their teeter totter routine, for the first time during Sequence 8.
• Ugo and Max then went on to co-found Machine de Cirque, and performed in its inaugural production which was part of our 16/17 Season.
• We then hosted a residency for the duo in the summer of 2018 to support their work on a new piece called Buskaltoo. (GhostLight) 

https://vimeo.com/404402992

• The Fingers’ Shana Carroll joined Ugo and Maxim in Boston for this residency and we presented a work-in-progress performance when the residency was completed.
• By the way, Ugo and Max went on to capture the Guinness Book of World Records with their teeter board routine.

If you haven’t already, make sure to register for the Together Apart series to RECEIVE updates, access links, and viewing reminders, as well as leaving any questions you have for the artists in the comment section below!