Travel to The Mourning Tree With Soul Penny Circus for a Theatrical Aerial Performance

"Our show is essentially a circus inside a circus on steroids," says Jeanne Bayerl, chief financial officer at Soul Penny Circus. "The Mourning Tree takes you backstage at a traveling circus and will break your expectations of what an aerial show can be. It adds in clowning, drama, confetti, props, costumes and elaborate special effects mixed with a fun story arc that I think will surprise people."  

Soul Penny Circus is a Denver-based nonprofit that was founded in early 2021 by a group of aerial performers who were eager to participate in the Denver Fringe Festival. 

“We just never really stopped the magic,” says producer and events director Fae Walls. "A few of us were in a company doing aerial and got wind that Fringe was accepting ensemble group performances. So I asked, 'What if we got together and made something to present at the festival?' And the rest is history."

And although their intention wasn't to start a company, the founders had so much fun that they decided to keep collaborating. The first original show, Sea Fable, told the story of two clown sailors, Wingus and Dingus, who are hopelessly lost at sea, and won the Audience Choice Award for Best Ensemble Performance at the 2021 Denver Fringe Festival.
"We were just going to do Fringe and see how it went," says artistic director Erica Holt. "But we all enjoyed it so much that we wanted to keep creating together."

Soul Penny Circus's name was inspired by the myth from antiquity about how the dead needed to pay coins to a ferryman to cross the river Styx and make it to the afterlife; that same myth inspired Sea Fable.

"I thought that imagery was intensely powerful," says Holt. "When you think about it, you give a piece of yourself every single time you create something. And I like the phrase 'A penny soul never came to twopence,' which means to lead with kindness. Our whole mission is that anybody can create, and we all have a soul penny to give."

The organization is known for its highly theatrical productions that combine a variety of performance styles like aerial, clowning, dance, puppetry and theater to tell deeply immersive stories. Soul Penny Circus shows often include dozens of intricate props, bright colors, detailed costumes and stunning visual effects.

"Our goal was to present something that showcased a bunch of different storytelling elements audiences don't normally see together," says technical director Tim Holt, Erica's husband. The company's integration of different techniques to tell a fully developed story has taken some of its initial audiences by surprise.

"I don't think people expected so much story," says Bayerl. "We started as aerialists, and most aerial shows around town are just straightforward showcases, which are cool, but that is not what we are doing. All the aerial and dance are in service of a story, so people are sometimes caught off guard. I've had people tell me they weren't prepared for what they saw, because they expected a recital; they weren't prepared for the emotions our shows inspired and certainly didn't expect to laugh or cry."

Soul Penny Circus's stories are created by Erica Holt, who also directs the troupe's staging, dance and other design elements. "I manage the big-picture stuff, but it is really a group effort," she says. "Everyone contributes; I wouldn’t be able to do anything if everyone else on the team wasn't incredible at their roles, or without these professional-level performers who are willing to volunteer their time to perform with us." 
The group has produced four original shows within its short life span and is fiercely dedicated to community engagement. Although it has only been an industry player for two years, Soul Penny Circus has worked to ensure that its original productions foster inclusivity, and implemented a donation-based ticketing system that allows people from all socioeconomic backgrounds access to the arts.

Along with its productions, Soul Penny Circus is offering workshops and classes in schools across Colorado; it also currently is holding a visiting-artist residency at Kent Denver School for the 2023 spring semester. "Whether it’s in a gravel parking lot in the rain, like at our first Fringe, or working with young students, we try to bring professional quality no matter the environment," says Walls.

Soul Penny Circus continues its creative momentum with the debut of its fifth show, The Mourning Tree, which runs Friday, March 24, and Saturday, March 25. It is a dark and soulful experience of a traveling circus that ventures into an enchanted forest to uncover the mysteries of a tender tree spirit who has been swept away by witches.

"I'm consistently thinking about how to make an environment in which our technical apparatus is present but allows the audience to focus on the story," says Erica Holt. "There is something wonderful about a tree that is happy and amazing, but then [it] has this fall from grace. Something traumatic and awful happens that they have to pull themselves out of; it represents something we’ve all gone through in life and allows us to take the audience on this uniquely human journey." 

The company plans to perform The Mourning Tree at the Denver Fringe Festival in June, and in Greeley later in the fall. Soul Penny Circus has also applied to attend the Kansas City Fringe Festival in July and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, and is considering touring the production to Durango.

"When you are a fringe performer, there is this expectation that you are going to do it in more than one location," says Walls. "Whenever we travel, it’s been a great experience and given us another chance to find out what works."
Even if you've seen past productions by the group, the team teases that it has some new tricks up its sleeve, and Walls declares that The Mourning Tree was its "most heavily theatrical" production to date. 

"We are pulling out all the stops for this production," says Walls. "Everyone is vocalizing, we've got cool new special effects, and The Mourning Tree's story is very deep and moving."

For those interested in checking out the show, you'll have three chances this weekend to catch The Mourning Tree at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. And while the show has some dark themes, the creators promise that there are plenty of whimsical elements to balance out its melancholy moments. 

"I hope that people will have a great time experiencing something different and magical," says Erica Holt.

"This is a very one-of-a-kind show that I think the audience will be incredibly moved by and impressed with the quality of performance from each performer on stage," she adds. "You only know something was traumatic because you’ve experienced something more wonderful, so we include glitter, confetti and other elements of spectacle to create that beauty despite the darkness."   

The Mourning Tree, Friday, March 24, and Saturday, March 25, various times, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, 119 Park Avenue West. Find more information at soulpennycircus.com.