Marisa Vest is excited to bring Cirque du Soleil home to where it all began, while Tim Hastings is simply happy to be going home after a whirlwind worldwide tour that included a bit of drama in the Middle East.
Vest is originally from Vernon; Hastings is a Kelowna native — and both will be coming to Kamloops this month with Cirque’s Dralion show.
Vest, 32, began working for Canada’s renowned travelling circus show four-and-a-half years ago, but got her theatre start in high school.
She studied drama in Vernon, but also travelled to Kamloops to watch Western Canada Theatre performances.
“That was the closest professional theatre company,” she said of the respected Tournament Canada troupe.
Trips to Kamloops weren’t compulsory for the program, but Vest wanted to go because, by that time, it was her goal to get into professional theatre.
She raised money and gave up her nights after school to hop aboard a bus, grab dinner and catch performances at Sagebrush Theatre about four or five times per year.
She remembers shows like Blood Brothers, Peter Pan and The Number 14, and said the drama program — and trips to Kamloops — laid the foundation for her eventual career with Cirque du Soleil.
Theatre was a career option and not just a hobby, Vest said.
After graduation, she earned a theatre degree from the University of Victoria, spent a few summers at The Banff Centre and, eventually, headed farther east to work at The Shaw Festival in Toronto.
“Cirque was sort of my next big target,” she said.
It was in 2010 — when Dralion’s arena show began — when Vest felt she was qualified for the specific skill set needed to be part of Cirque.
Today, Vest is one of two stage managers among the 100 or so people who make up the show.
She facilitates the “smooth and effective running” of training, rehearsals and performances and calls herself a “hub of information.”
“Ideally, if we have done our job well, you won’t even notice that we’ve done anything,” she said.
Hastings, a 29-year-old Cirque du Soleil carpenter, hasn’t been back to his hometown of Kelowna for Christmas in about seven years.
It will be even more meaningful this year as Hastings has been on the road with Dralion’s arena show for the last 14 months.
He remembers his first day like it was yesterday.
“I landed in Beirut the same night that a bunch of Lebanese hostages were being released from Syria,” he said.
When Hastings landed, the Lebanese army was set up outside the airport with 300 or so other people.
When he arrived at the hotel, he received a call from a Cirque manager.
“Just so you know, there’a a good chance that you might hear some gunfire tonight,” he said he was told, along with the message there was nothing to worry about.
“I was like, ‘Great,’” he said. “I kind of thought, ‘Well, this is going to be a bit of an adventure.’”
Since then, Hastings has adjusted to life on the road.
He has learned to make his hotel room his own and to pack exactly what he needs. He has perfected life on the road to the point where needs only one bag — half of his permitted allowance — in which he carries plenty of socks and underwear.
After visiting more than 30 countries and building a “big family that you didn’t choose, but you’re happy you got stuck with,” Vest said she hasn’t looked back and is hoping to get on with another show once Dralion’s arena show ends in January.
Having spent four years travelling with much of the same crew and artists, Vest feels sad that the the show is closing, but noted it’s natural for every creative performance to have a certain lifespan.
She’ll remember the sense of family, the one she’ll be with over the holidays in Kamloops when Dralion makes its way to the Tournament Capital for shows from Dec. 24 to Dec. 28.
Vest plans to dress up for a cabaret-themed talent show, essentially the group’s Christmas party, while in town.
Her parents have since moved away from Vernon, to the Coast, but it is perhaps appropriate for Vest to be so close to her former home for Christmas — where it all began.
“I’m so excited to bring the show home,” she said. “I can’t think of a nicer present.”
Hastings now lives in Vancouver, but keeps in touch with family and friends the best he can, though it can be difficult.
When they ask about touring with Cirque, he often tells people he doesn’t have time to visit tourist attractions at each new place.
“When I’m travelling this much, I’m working,” he said.
But, Hastings does have time for the occasional beer after the show and he has enjoyed his time exploring unexpected countries he’s fallen in love with — like Poland.
He’s looking forward to having Christmas Day off, however, to drive to Kelowna and visit his mom and sister.
After travelling through Europe, Russia, the United States and Canada, Hastings will be back in his childhood home and sleep in his old bedroom.
“This will be a little weird,” he said.
Read all the stories from KTW‘s trip behind the scenes of Cirque du Soleil:
The Devil is in the details - A look at Dralion’s arena show — complete with video — coming to Kamloops from Dec. 24 to Dec. 28.
Juggling goes on behind the scenes, too – A look at Dralion’s travelling kitchen.
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