And here we... go

This all started with an idea nine months ago.  It is a complete accidental bit of symbolism really... Acrobatica Infiniti went from an idea to a full fledged performance in the same amount of time it takes a human child to be born.  (I make that distinction in case any Gnortian infiltrator units happen to be reading because everyone knows it takes a full sixteen months for a Gnort to grow in the vat pools.)  This past Thursday marked our first official performances as a company and the official "hold your breath and hope like hell people think this is as great as you are trying to make it" moment.

Our adventure starts at the Auditorium Theatre here in Chicago where they were continuing their "Made In Chicago" film series with a screening of The Dark Knight.  The theatre wanted to add something extra in the way of pre-show entertainment and asked if we might be able to help.  After a healthy does of JOYGASM (a mix of happy laughter and excited cackling while running in circles making Kermit arms) plans were made and we were set to deliver roaming entertainment they would never forget.

Right, enough backstory.  On to the events of the evening.  

One thing we could not know is exactly how people would react to what we were going to do.  Oh, we had ideas and guess.  And hope.  Lots and lots of hope!  There were all the people sitting around the lobby, chatting and munching their popcorn as two men dressed as Batman and Robin (our very own Tulga and Spring) appear.  You could see their smiles and almost hear their thoughts, "Oh look, they have people dressed as the characters for pictures."  

Suddenly Robin had jumped up and was standing on Batman's shoulders so he could wave and strike appropriately heroic poses while Batman kept walking about the people.  Popcorn munching stopped.  Hands bringing drinks to lips froze in mid motion.  Eyes widened a bit.  Some jaws dropped.  Standing in the back, I could only smile and finally breathe.  

That's when the phones came out and the cumulative flashes left me blind.  

Thirty seconds and a few wall bumps later, I could see Spring and Tulga grinning from ear to ear as they went fully into classic Adam West/Burt Ward-era character.  How often do you get to see Robin balancing on Batman's head using just one hand while waving to the crowd and shouting "Holy handstands, Batman!"?    Probably about as often as you have seen Harley swinging a giant mallet about while standing on the Joker's shoulders.  

Enter Bryan and Tosha as the aforementioned Harlequin and her purple-suited Puddin in just that very way.  Except every was so focused on the dynamic duo they didn't notice their approach from behind until they came running past.  Yes, running.  In full character.  Some popcorn was tossed in shock.

I'm told that people started forming a circle around our performers to get a better look but I have to truth their word on that part since my retinas were burned out by the second flurry of flashes going off.  Note to self: sunglasses!

This is what I loved most about the event.  No one had ever seen something like it.  Here was an up-front and personal circus performance where they had a chance to interact and have fun right alongside their favorite characters.  I may be biased... okay, I'm biased, but I have been a geek my entire life and a Batman fanboy just about as long.  My inner fan is why I laughed so hard when Bryan's Joker scowled at Tulga's Batman in every single group photo with fans.  Or when he and Tosha went out into the sitting crowd and managed to find the one person in the entire audience who was terrified of clowns.  

After an hour it was just about time for the movie to start but not before one last surprise.  

Out came the theatre director to welcome everyone to the show and invited our performers to come out and take a bow.  A circus bow, to be more precise.  Wait, before you open up another window to search what that means, I'll tell you because it's a bit different for every performer.  

Tosha and Bryan?  She ran into his arms, dropped in the splits, and he twirled her about like a staff before they struck a proper villainous pose and bowing.

Spring and Tulga followed by the later pressing the former above his head and folding him backwards into a perfect human hula hoop.  That he then hula hooped down to the ground.  

You may find these hard to picture in your mind.  Do not fear, we'll be sharing the video shortly.  No words of mine will do them justice.  

And that was the punctuation to the first event of our debut night.  Yes, the first.  You may have noticed at the start of this post I said "performances".  Entertaining our fellow Batman fans was just the start to our night.  A few hours later we were back on stage...

How does the story end?  What will our heroes (or villains) do next?  Find out next time.  Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.