Madison Circus Space gives performers a place to practice

Just two months ago, Madison Circus Space (MCS) opened its doors to the public, giving jugglers, unicyclists, aerialists, hoopers and German Wheel enthusiasts a place to call home.

Jeremy Perkins, co-founder of MCS and an avid German Wheel performer, began dreaming of a practice space about a year ago, but never imagined the amount of community support it would receive.

“A few of us who are involved in multiple circus arts started talking about how great it would be to have a single space for us all to practice,” Perkins said. “We're all just blown away and thrilled by how many people showed up to support the space.”

Several groups came together in order to make MCS a reality. Soon, the Madison Area Jugglers, the German Wheel Club, local aerialists and hoopers, and a Madison-based table tennis group were all involved in the early logistics of creating the space.

Although it was difficult to decide on a location for the space, Perkins said that MCS's current location, near Atwood and Winnebago Street, was ideal.

“We wanted to be close enough to the capitol that it would be accessible to students and people that live downtown who maybe don't have cars, so we wanted a relatively central location” Perkins said.

Perkins said that cultural values and interests on the east side of Madison also brought the group of performance artists to the neighborhood.

“We were really happy that we found a space on the East Side because there's a certain culture about this area around Willy Street that we think mixes well with the circus arts,” Perkins said.

After weeks of hard work, MCS was finished, and a home for the circus arts in Madison was born.

“The difference is like night and day. We had to completely scrub the place down. We built the floor that you see now, all with volunteer labor,” Perkins said. “We painted the walls, we had the bathrooms installed...and we were able to open in early June for our first few classes.”

The founders say it is truly finding community support in the area. The building and initial costs were funded by the non-profit's board members as well as private donations from local community members.

“You don't find that in other cities, the way you do in Madison - hundreds of people just coming out for a circus open house,” Perkins said. “Madison is really unusual in how many people are interested in just trying out new, cool things. 

The group was also largely funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign.

“We raised a lot of money, are very grateful to everybody who pitched in,” Perkins said. “But we are expecting that the space will be sustainable once we have our full usage.”

The space, while remaining a non-profit, will generate income through a variety of classes, workshops, rental fees and individual memberships.

Danielle Lee, a hooper in the area, was around during the foundation of the space and is noticing the advantages.

“I came in here on a cold winter day, and just saw that there were no pillars, there were 23-foot ceilings and 4000 square feet,” Lee said. “Here I feel like we have the freedom to really play at our best, at our hardest and at our most expansive, so I feel like we have a home.”

Jacqueline Ford, a member of Madison Fire Tribe, was excited to visit MCS during an open house.

“I'm really intrigued by it and am actually thinking about getting a membership,” Ford said. “It's super amazing. We've always wanted a space like this where we could practice whenever we wanted to.”

As the summer continues and community support for MCS grows, Perkins is looking forward to meeting new groups and to expanding the organization.

“Part of our mission statement is to try to bring together different groups that already exist in Madison, to increase collaboration and to have some cross-pollination going on,” Perkins said. “So the more people who want to get involved in our space, the better.”