Company

Based in southern Vermont, Big Teeth works across disciplines to explore the dark comedy of social ecologies. The collective was originally founded as a four-woman acrobatic ensemble in 2017 and has since evolved to include new members and guest artists from across the United States, remaining committed to rural art making, community collaboration, and creative practice in the face of existential confusion. From 2018-2020, Big Teeth toured the evening length show Ordinary Creatures and is pleased to share the worlds of hand-balancing, trapeze, partner acrobatics, physical theater, clown, and burlesque with our current show, Goodbye Party the Show, a evening-length work of physical theater set in the offices of the going-out-of-business company Earth, The Planet, LLC.

Jessica Hill // Creator, Performer // choreography, aerial rope, partner acrobatics, trapeze

Jess Hill is an acrobat and performer of many kinds hailing from the rolling mountains of Appalachia. As a founding member of Big Teeth, she loves forging connections and telling stories through movement and collaboration. Jess is so excited to be a part of Goodbye Party the Show. A graduate of the professional training programs at the New England Center for Circus Arts, catch her teaching vertical apparatus at SHOW Circus Studio.

Naomi Ullian // Creator, Performer // trapeze, partner acrobatics, hand-balancing, physical theater, clown, choreography

Naomi Ullian grew up on the salt marsh of SC and now lives in the birch woods of southern Vermont. Naomi studied dance and acrobatics under Mara Meir, June Watanabe, Diane Frank, Aerial Space, Frequent Flyers Aerials Dance, and the New England Center for Circus Arts, from which she graduated in 2016. A co-founder of Big Teeth, Naomi has performed and taught across the continent, specializing in collaborative performance, trapeze, hand-balancing, and partner acrobatics, and is currently teaches at the New England Center for Circus Arts and SHOW Circus Studio.

Allison McDermott // Creator, Performer // object manipulation, stilts, lyra, theater

Allison is a artist, director, creator and storyteller. She began her journey as a circus artist at the Children’s Circus of Middletown in Connecticut and is a graduate of the New England Center for Circus Arts. Allison currently serves as the director of Circophony, a youth circus ensemble in Middletown, CT and co-directs the Children’s Circus of Middletown. She is thrilled to present her most recent work as a part of Big Teeth Performance Collective’s, Goodbye Party.

Violet Defiant Livingston // Creator, Performer // hand-balancing, swinging trapeze, static trapeze, partner acrobatics, object manipulation

Violet is a writer, educator, and multidisciplinary circus artist specializing in acrobatic and lyric storytelling. Violet performs in Goodbye Party the Show as Salmon and Pronghorn, using her technique as a foot juggler and trapeze artist to tell stories with grit and heart. Catch her teaching many aspects of acrobatics at the New England Center for Circus Arts

Hayley Brown // Creator, Performer // dance trapeze, fabric, theater

Hayley is a dance trapeze and fabric artist based in western Massachusetts. She created, performed and toured nationally and internationally with Double Edge Theatre for thirteen years before switching her focus toward the aerial arts. She is currently an instructor and administrator of SHOW Circus Studio, and will be starting an MSW program this fall. As Batwoman, Hayley enjoys both lightening and darkening the mood.

Calvin Raygun // Creator, Performer // drag, burlesque

Cal is honored to bring his exuberant, risqué burlesque antics to the character of the Red Fox alongside the talented members of Big Teeth. When not shaking his tail in Goodbye Party the Show, Calvin can be spotted dancing in demon-possessed metallic stiletto boots in a queer cabaret or singing with his moody, minimalist band This Could Be It. He is currently writing a space-travel synth-pop opera with his other band, badweatherfriend.

Jack Kavanaugh // Creator, Performer // aerial rope, drag

A graduate of the New England Center for Circus Arts, Jack is a multidisciplinary artist working in circus, clown, and drag and is so excited to join the Big Teeth collective for Goodbye Party the Show as Cicada. Jack is especially excited to bring the show to his home city of Philadelphia and the Cannonball festival. Jack believes all people have a right to access art and culture, and that artists are key to changing the world, one performance at a time.

Zane Defiant // Rigger // Technical Director // Swinging Trapeze Longueur // Placemaker // Roustabout

Zane is a circus rigger specializing in finding creative solutions to rigging problems. He is making his theatrical debut in Big Teeth’s production Goodbye Party the Show, playing Dino, a tough on the outside, soft on the inside representative from the Transition Committee. He is the Head Rigger and Director of Facilities at the New England Center for Circus Arts and has also worked in productions for companies like: Opera North, Sunset Circus, Immersive, Defiant Circus Arts, Nimble Arts, Wunderle’s Big Top Adventures, Great Lakes Experimental Arts Inc, Lakes of Fire, Madison House, Riverwalk Theater, and Everything But Theater.

Lizzie Anderson // Creator, Performer // theater, science arts

Lizzie joins Goodbye Party for a rare appearance! As a performer she can most often be found singing, jumping rope, hamming it up at a dinner party, sharing about science, and, most recently, being a stern microbe. She is more generally being a friend, being a reader, being a justice seeker, being a therapist. She believes in the power of sharing, with urgency and humor, the perils of climate disaster.

COMPANY MEMBERS EMERITUS

Molly Graves // rope, trapeze, duo trapeze, partner acrobatics

Molly is a Tennessee native who boasts a life-long interest in all things acrobatic. She currently resides in Brattleboro, VT, where she coaches on faculty with the ProTrack Professional Training Program at the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA). Molly completed NECCA’s ProTrack Program herself in 2011–12 with a focus on aerial rope and static trapeze; she has trained with professional coaches from Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Elozie, École Nationale de Cirque, Ringling Brothers and Drapés Aériens.

Molly’s performance resume includes guest artist appearances with Acrobatic Conundrum on their 2016 “Love and Gravity” tour; Circus Now’s 2015 International Contemporary Circus Exposure in NY; the 2014 International Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival in Denver, CO, where she was awarded “Best Technical Performance” for her aerial rope act; Vault Festival of Aerial Arts in Houston, TX; Carolina Aerial & Dance Exchange in Charlotte, NC; and in collaborations with Susan Murphy at The Marsh Studio in Darien, GA. Additionally, Molly counts herself lucky to be a member of the inspiring & empowering company Girls on Trapeze

Catherine Jett // trapeze, duo trapeze, partner acrobatics

Catherine Jett found circus as a bored 20-something and has never looked back. She delights in how circus combines athleticism, creativity, and collaboration in one single pursuit. Catherine’s first circus love was the static trapeze, but she has since dedicated herself to duo and ensemble work. Catherine trained at Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance in Boulder, Colorado, then joined the staff at Aloft in Chicago, where she taught for over three years before moving to MA. She currently coaches and trains at NECCA and SHOW Circus Studio.

Megan Gendell // trapeze, hand-balancing, partner acrobatics

Megan Gendell is a Philly-based artist who has performed circus professionally since 2007, including at the Chicago Contemporary Circus Festival, the Golden Karl international circus festival in Riga, Latvia, and the Daidogei World Cup in Japan, all with her trapeze partner, L Feldman. She is a 2012 graduate of NECCA’s Pro-Track Program and currently teaches at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts. In the past year Megan has performed classical ballet with the Farm to Ballet Project in Vermont and joined in the creation and performance of three ensemble contemporary circus shows: Alter Circus’s Hysterical, The Subject Tonight Is Love with Susan Murphy, and Acrobatic Conundrum’s Fig Tree Waltzes.