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Walking a tightrope
BY KRISTEN LOMBARDI
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The OPENAIR Circus, of Somerville, is something of a hidden gem. Just how hidden became apparent to the circus’s own members earlier this month when they handed out leaflets on upcoming performances taking place August 1 through 3 at the OPENAIR Theater, on Village Street. " We had a shocking discovery, " says Peter Jehlen, 24, an aspiring computer programmer and the circus’s board chairman. " We found out that almost no one had ever heard of us. " But if people knew about the OPENAIR Circus, chances are they’d love it. Every summer for the last 19 years, it has set up shop to teach area children standard circus-act maneuvers — juggling, walking on stilts, tumbling, fake-fighting, and clown tricks. Every summer, the children end their circus season by putting on a show for a rousing public crowd. This year, as many as 120 kids, from toddlers to teens, have paid the requisite $10 to participate in the five-week OPENAIR Circus season. This Friday, they will take the stage for the first of four performances. Jehlen, who teaches juggling, stilting, and stage-combat classes, still remembers the first time he ventured into the OPENAIR Theater, in 1984, at age five. His mother, State Representative Pat Jehlen, had founded the OPENAIR Circus with a handful of other parents and artist Be Sargent, whose murals grace various squares in and around Somerville. As a kid, Jehlen had watched with envy as his two older siblings walked on stilts at the circus. At the time, he had already experienced the glory of being on stage. He had performed in Malice in Wonderland, a spin-off of the famous Alice tale that highlights environmental issues. He had played a worm and, as he describes it, " some sort of a munchkin. " He explains, " The worm was eaten by a fish. And the munchkin-type thing was radioactively poisoned. " Needless to say, his theater experience had never consisted of mindless revelry — until, of course, he joined the OPENAIR Circus. His memory of that first season is fuzzy, he admits. " I was five, " he says. But he remembers it as " a very fun experience " — one that kept him returning. Jehlen has since learned all he needs to know about making puppets, performing clown tricks with elastic bands, and fire-twirling. He has even mastered using stilts for three hours. Now, he and 12 other teachers pass on such fun stunts to kids enrolled in the circus’s afternoon classes. Still, the circus’s survival now seems up in the air. Indeed, the OPENAIR Theater is being sold. Sargent, who owns the property, is moving to New Mexico. Though no one has bought the theater yet, Jehlen and his colleagues expect that the landlord-to-be " will just bulldoze the whole property and start from scratch. " There’s always the chance that someone friendly to the circus will purchase it. But that, he notes, " is pretty much not realistic. " As for other pipe dreams, the circus’s board — all 10 of them — is contemplating how to raise enough money to buy the theater upfront. That would entail collecting as much as $2 million, while the circus yields only about $2000 from its annual performances. So such a task, Jehlen says, " would be tough. I mean, I don’t even really understand how much $2 million is. " All of which is to say that this weekend could see the last performances of the OPENAIR Circus. The thought troubles Jehlen, who has associated summertime with clowns and gymnasts for as long as he can remember. What really bothers him is the fact that the OPENAIR Circus might cease to exist just as it’s expanding. It’s true that people on the street don’t necessarily know of the circus. But it’s also true that the circus has grown from just four classes in 1984 to 20 today. And so, as Jehlen says, " It’s sort of like being cut down before you can thrive. It’s really sad. " Catch the 19th and possibly final season of OPENAIR Circus, at the OPENAIR Theatre, 27 Village Street, in Somerville. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $2. For more information, check out the OPENAIR Circus Web site at www.openaircircus.org
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