Sweet Can Productions Presents MITTENS AND MISTLETOE, Now thru 12/28

Savor the season with something a little sweet (but oh so good for you)! The Bay Area's homegrown Sweet Can Productions presents an intimate theatrical circus experience for the holidays with the fifth edition of MITTENS AND MISTLETOE: A WINTER CIRCUS CABARET. MITTENS AND MISTLETOE plays for a limited engagement today, December 19-28 at Dance Mission Theater (3316 24th St. in San Francisco). For tickets ($15-60) and information, the public may call 415-225-7281, visit brownpapertickets.com or sweetcanproductions.com.

This astonishing production, a charming, light-hearted, variety program suitable for all ages, features innovative clowning, spectacular circus feats, and holiday high jinks from some of the Bay Area's most talented theatrical circus artists (Jamie Coventry, Natasha Kaluza, Kerri Kresinski, SAM Luckey, Jasper Patterson, Dawn Meredith Smith, Ross Travis, and Diane Wasnak) in an unforgettable program that will amaze, delight, and inspire the entire family. MITTENS AND MISTLETOE, directed by award-winning clown duo Coventry & Kaluza, features live music by Josh Garey, comedy performances, and performances on trapeze, aerial fabric, hula hoop, and juggling. Called "simply beautiful to behold" by SF Weekly and "intimate, surprising, humorous...magical" by the San Francisco Chronicle, Sweet Can presents this special holiday treat for 13 performances only.

Clown duo Coventry & Kaluza have developed a unique blend of comical characters, music, and circus skills; this is their fourth year directing MITTENS AND MISTLETOE. Clown school sweethearts, this award-winning comedy duo has been seen throughout the Bay Area and beyond, in the ring with Circus Bella, onstage with Sweet Can, Circus Finelli, Circus of Sound, and the New Pickle Circus, among others. Additionally, Coventry & Kaluza won Best Comedy/Clown Act in the American Circus Festival two years in a row. Jamie Coventry has a background in theater, music, and education. He attended the Clown Conservatory at the San Francisco Circus Center, and has developed his own show about his experience as a clown. He also formed Tin Sandwich, a neo-vaudevillian harmonica ensemble that plays blues, jazz, pop, Balkan, and Tango. Natasha Kaluza attended the Clown Conservatory at the San Francisco Circus Center, and studies voice at the Jazz School in Berkeley. She is perhaps best known for her signature style of hula hooping which incorporates "B-girling" and funk dancing. 2013 marked a decade of collaboration for Coventry & Kaluza.

Berkeley-based musician Josh Garey has made various noises professionally for over 25 years. Highlights include playing with Vaudevillian slam-swing band Comfy Chair, The Gun & Doll Show, as well as his own rock and soul group, Sun House.

About the circus theater artists:

Kerri Kresinski has performed in shows and festivals all over the world, including the New Pickle Circus and MTV's "My Super Sweet Sixteen;" she is a co-founder of Sweet Can Productions. She has been teaching acrobatics, yoga, dance, and aerial arts for over 10 years.

SAM Luckey studied at The Circus Space in London, specializing in swinging trapeze. During her time in London, she was part of The Optomists, a flying trapeze troop; in the Bay Area, Luckey has worked with Flynn Creek Circus, The Burley Sisters, Sweet Can, Coventry & Kaluza, Ragged Wing Ensemble, and Vespertine Circus, among others. She is an aerial dancer in Flyaway Productions, a company of "off-the-ground dance" directed by Jo Kreiter in San Francisco.

Jasper Patterson is a product of the new vaudeville movement. He is a performer, musician, writer, director, and experience designer in the Bay Area and has directed and performed in productions and festivals around the world. His current projects fuse circus and comedy improvisation with installation and reactive technology.

Ross Travis is a professional clown and circus performer. His performance company, Antic in a Drain, just finished its first international tour with The Greatest Monkey Show On Earth, a primate circus extravaganza with a twist. Ross is also a company member with Circus Bella, San Francisco's premiere one ring circus. From 2010 to 2013 he was an Artistic Associate with Naked Empire Bouffon Company, the only performance company in the United States solely dedicated to the research and performance of the obscure form of satirical physical theater called bouffon. As a circus performer, Travis specializes in Chinese Pole.

Dawn Meredith Smith joined Make*A*Circus in the 90's and excelled at acrobatics, juggling, unicycling and clowning. She has honed her skills on many stages and in festivals nationwide, most notably the NY Fringe, national tour of Ragtime, Harlem Repertory, and as a company member of Flying Ship Productions and Thrillride Mechanics. She is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and is an accomplished guitar player and blues singer.

Diane Wasnak toured for ten years as Principal Comedienne (Pino) with San Francisco's Pickle Family Circus, was featured in Cirque du Soleil's Mystere, and has performed internationally with various theatrical groups. She was the stunt double for Jada Pinkett Smith in The Matrix 2 and The Matrix 3 films, and received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Puck in Marin Shakespeare Company's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Recently, Diane and her dog, Bonzer, appeared in the Broadway production of Busker Alley, starring Jim Dale and Glenn Close.

The mission of Sweet Can Productions is to create intimate, heartfelt performances in which the audience and performer easily connect. Sweet Can presents the circus performer as a human being, and uses the performer's circus skills to make connections by demonstrating the shared emotional experiences that unite us all. Formed in 2006 at the San Francisco Circus Center by founding members Beth Clarke, Kerri Kresinski, and Daniela Steiner, Sweet Can was established with the artistic goal to bridge the gap between traditional circus and theater. Where most Bay Area circus performers were resigned to performing in night clubs, at corporate events, as incidental performers for major theatrical productions, or at non-professional community events, Sweet Can Productions wanted to allow for complete artistic expression, and embarked upon creating a production rooted in traditional circus, theater techniques, and improvisation, creating an intimate theatrical circus experience in which circus artists provide stage substance and not merely stage decoration.

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