AIR PLAY
A breathtaking homage
to the power of air.
CREATED WITH SCULPTOR DANIEL WURTZEL
Seen on 5 continents by 150,000 people.
Air Play
“A joy from start to finish”
In Air Play umbrellas fly, fabrics soar over the audience, balloons swallow people, and snow swirls, filling the stage. With stunning images and gales of laughter, Air Play bounces on the edge of definition: part comedy, part sculpture, part circus, part theater.
A circus-style adventure of two siblings journeying through a surreal land of air, Air Play transforms ordinary objects into uncommon beauty. Created by circus performers Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone in collaboration with kinetic sculptor Daniel Wurtzel, Air Play was devised through years of experimentation with simple materials, movement, and technology.
Great for all ages, Air Play creates beauty and inspires laughter across cultures and continents. No translation necessary, Air Play has played from the southernmost opera house in the world in Chile, to London’s Royal Festival Hall, Melbourne's State Theatre, Shanghai’s Grand Theatre, and continues to tour.
Air Play is a visual poem, using no words, and brings to life the very air we breathe.
Air Play is made for venues seating 500 to 2,500.
"The curtains open and we see a man holding on to a huge piece of light fabric, dancing in the air, moved by a circle of fans. The wonder begins and I suddenly feel like a child again, receptive to every single magical moment in Air Play.” - A Younger Theatre
CREDITS
WRITERS & CREATORS: Seth Bloom, Christina Gelsone, Daniel Wurtzel
PERFORMERS: Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone
AIR SCULPTURES: Daniel Wurtzel
DIRECTOR: West Hyler
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Todd Alan Little
STAGE MANAGER: Flora Vassar
LIGHTING DESIGN: Jeanne Koenig
COSTUME DESIGN: Ashley Dunn Gatterdam
SOUND DESIGN: Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone
ADDITIONAL SOUND DESIGN: Phil Ingle
PROPS: Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone
Air Play has been made possible with support from:
Playhouse Square
New Victory Theater
Zoellner Arts Center
Flushing Town Hall
TECH:
DURATION: 55 minutes
AUDIENCE: Ages 5-105
VENUE SUITABILITY: Air Play requires a great deal of height. We use fans that blow fabric, balloons, packing peanuts, and plastic bags into the air.
STAGE STYLE: Proscenium. Please contact us if you'd like to present Air Play in the round, or on a thrust stage.
MINIMUM STAGE REQUIREMENTS: 60 feet wide x 35 feet deep x 25 feet high. (18 meters x 10.5 meters by 10.5 meters high.)
SIZE OF TOURING PARTY: Four. 2 performers. 1 stage manager. 1 production manager.
LOAD-IN /TECH TIME: 8 hours with 9 local crew if lighting and soft goods have been hung.
DOWNLOADS:
Creative Team
New York City has a long history of artists from different genres collaborating and creating new work together. Air Play is borne from two art forms merging: sculpture and visual comedy. For five years, physical comedians Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone collaborated with kinetic sculptor Daniel Wurtzel, creating a genre-bending show currently touring the world.
Visual Comedians
Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone met at a circus in Afghanistan, became engaged while street performing in Scotland, married in China, and occasionally go home to New York City. Since 2005, working as their award-winning and critically-acclaimed company The Acrobuffos, they have created seven shows, competed in international circus festivals, performed in over 25 countries, headlined at the Big Apple Circus, and were even featured on a postage stamp. Christina is a former ballerina who graduated from Princeton to become a clown; Seth is a former juggler who graduated from three clown schools, including an MFA in physical theater.
Kinetic Sculptor
Daniel Wurtzel is a Brooklyn-based artist best known for his kinetic sculptures and installations using air and lightweight materials that fly. Daniel’s work is currently featured in Finding Neverland and with Cirque du Soleil in Amaluna. He has shown his artwork at the Musee Rodin, the Grand Palais in Paris, the World Expo, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, the Museu do Amanha in Rio de Janeiro, the Phillips Collection, Swiss Science Center Technorama, Copernicus Science Center, and Phaeno Science Center. Daniel has also worked with some of the world's most highly regarded theater directors including Julie Taymor, Diane Paulus, Robert Lepage, Zhang Yimou, Daniel Ezralow and Michel Laprise.
Director
West Hyler has worked extensively in theaters and circuses internationally and on Broadway, and is the Producing Artistic Director of the New York Musical Festival. In circus, he was story writer and scene director for Paramour, Cirque du Soleil's first Broadway musical, and twice directed Big Apple Circus with Legendarium and Metamorphosis. As Associate Director for Jersey Boys, he staged the show on five continents. Other directing work includes Georama (NYMF- Five 2017 NYMF awards including "Outstanding Direction”), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Broadway), Kid who would be Pope (Ars Nova), H2O (59E59), iLuminate (New World Stages), Greatest Showman Live (China), amongst much other regional and international work.
Air Play
We’ve been fortunate to perform at some of the top theaters around the globe, from the ultra-modern Shanghai Grand in China to baroque-historic Theatro Circo in Portugal.
We’ve also worked with great crews in many of these theaters. We couldn’t do it without them.
Here, seen from our view, are pictures of some favorite theaters and crews from around the globe.
