INTERVIEW: Paranormal Cirque III returns to NJ for American Dream run
Photo: Paranormal Cirque III features Roxana Midi as the Exorcist. Photo courtesy of Mike Weydert / Provided by Cirque Italia with permission.
Paranormal Cirque III, one of the touring companies of Cirque Italia, has returned to New Jersey for two weeks worth of shows at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford. Performances run from tonight, Aug. 15, through Sunday, Aug. 25. Underneath the big top, audience members can find a plethora of scary delights, including a haunted maze and a circus spectacular that marries the spooky with the sensual. This R-rated entertainment is best enjoyed by adults because the high-flying acts are very much of the horror-movie kind, with blood, masks and death-defying feats.
Roxana Midi is one of the aerialists in the show. She plays a character known as the Exorcist, and her act takes her to the heights of the striped tent, only for her to descend to the ground again while clutching two silk tethers. Recently Midi talked with Hollywood Soapbox while taking a break from the Connecticut run of the show. Here’s what she had to say …
Where are you right now in the world?
“Right now I’m in Connecticut. … The summer? It passed too fast. I don’t think I enjoyed it enough.”
When did you join the circus?
“For me, it was an opportunity to join the circus in 2015, to join the circus and to come to the United States. This is how I joined the circus life, and [later] I switched to the company of Cirque Italia. And in time they started developing one more and one more and one more and one more unit, and I kind of switched between units for some time. And I ended up with Paranormal Cirque III since the moment they opened in April 2023.”
Are you a fan of horror movies?
“I’m not a very big fan of horror movies and things that are scary, to be honest with you, but I like the vibe of this show. For me, it’s not too scary, probably because I’m part of it. For me, it’s more challenging. As an artist, I find it more challenging to work in a horror-thematic show where I have a special character, where I have to be dressed up, makeup, and especially to train my mind, not only my body, so I can send a type of emotion and get into the character.”
What’s your role in the show?
“I am one of the aerialists. I do have an aerial act which I call Double Hammock because I have two pieces of silk, and they are in the shape of a hammock. And for this year, I’m the Exorcist, so I’m a girl fighting with her own demons. Let’s see who wins.”
Did you see The Exorcist movie?
“I did. I didn’t like it. I got scared.”
Is the show physically demanding?
“It is, for every act, not just for an aerialist. You have to keep your body in shape. You have to train. You have to warm up your muscles. It’s not that I’m just going to my work from my house and going to an office job, you know. Before each performance and during the week, you have to train.”
Do you like life on the road?
“I love it. I realize that it is pretty suitable to me because back in time, before I joined the circus, I used to ballroom dance, and I traveled for competition. I traveled for different events, and I kind of like it. My mom all the time made a joke of me, ‘You’re all the time with your luggage behind you.’ … Now I’m with my house behind me, living in an RV, pulling it.”
Do you get to enjoy the cities where you set up the circus tent?
“We do have some time. Now it’s also depending on the weather. For example, right now we are Clinton, Connecticut. We cannot catch [sunny] days, you know, and we cannot enjoy their beautiful beach. But as long as we have free time, we go to have some delicious gourmet [restaurants]. … It’s also depending on time. I take into consideration to do my best because I have a child that is home-schooling, and sometimes it takes more time.”
Has the cast of performers become a family? Are your colleagues on stage from around the world?
“We are super international and multicultural. We have Colombians. We have Argentinians, Mexicans, Romanians, Italians. We’ve got them all. … We have to get along because we’re living in the same community. In the circus, it’s kind of like a small family. … It’s like living in a small community, and yes I do learn from them. I think all of us learn one from each other, especially because there are different cultures.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Paranormal Cirque III begins performances tonight, Aug. 15, in the parking lot of the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Shows continue until Sunday, Aug. 25. Click here for more information and tickets.
