La Charente Festival is making its circus 2023: Hep Hep Hep

Circus Festival: Hep Hep Hep - Interview with the organizers

The Hep Hep Hep Festival!

How did you come up with the idea of organizing a circus arts festival in Charente?

Our company (Tout Par Terre) has been established since 1999 in Charente Limousine, in a village of 3000 inhabitants. We are very attached to our territory and consider that on the one hand there are few substantial and quality cultural offers in this territory, and on the other hand, there is a real demand from the population for live entertainment . Consequently, for many years we have enjoyed organizing events around circus arts or street arts in our department of Charente.

The Compagnie des Tout par Terre is at the origin of the organization, can you tell us a little about the company?

Our company has always developed shows for all audiences in a burlesque universe and rather oriented towards " street arts ". At the beginning, the identity of Tout Par Terre was based around juggling, which was clearly our preferred discipline . Today, our work has evolved a little towards the manipulation of objects and more specifically towards the diversion of everyday objects. Now, we are lucky to tour our shows very well (more than 60 dates per year) and to be recognized and supported by the main institutions (department, region, DRAC ).

Saturday at the market at 10:43 a.m.: o as in... Peanut

What has changed compared to previous editions?

This year, our festival is seeing a lot of changes. Already the name is evolving , as it goes from " la Charente fait son Cirque " to " Hep Hep Hep ". Historically, the festival took place in a village hall in November because it was a slightly less busy period for us. We decided to shake everything up and relocate the event outdoors to a beautiful site on the banks of the river and change the date to June 10 and 11. We are therefore clearly orienting the program towards the discipline we know best, that is to say street arts. Without going into details, the budget is also changing a lot, as it is multiplied by 5...

How do you choose the artists who participate in the festival?

This is clearly the easiest part for us! We are lucky enough to tour our shows all over France and abroad in the main street theater festivals and as a result we regularly come across other companies. Sometimes we have favorite shows, and in this case we want to share these favorites here in Charente.

At the Market at 11:36 a.m.: The Tribarders & the Locomobile

What challenges did you face while organizing this festival?

It's a brand new organization, in a brand new location, so we're starting from scratch. The biggest challenge, despite everything, and it remains the crux of the matter, is finding funding. We're still lucky to have a lot of people around us who believe in this project and support us strongly, and we thank them for that.

How did you manage to overcome them?

Not counting all our volunteer time, we have two employees at the company's office, and one of them is assigned part-time to the festival. This work, and everything else, therefore requires a lot of time.

Continuously from Saturday to Sunday

How do you hope this festival will contribute to the promotion of circus arts in Charente and beyond?

We hope that through the shows we want to introduce to spectators, they will realize the diversity and variety of artistic offerings in this field. Street arts and circus arts are certainly the two most innovative disciplines at the moment, and we want to demonstrate this through the festival.

What are the highlights of the festival this year?

There will be lots of very different shows and these are only some of our favorites that are programmed so it's difficult to pick one out from the rest... Perhaps D'irque & Fien , a circus show with many disciplines, around a magnificent scenography where 2 cranes superimpose several pianos, a real treat!

How do you see the future of the festival?

The festival will be biannual , so it will take place every odd-numbered year . This gives us time to rest a little and prepare even more for the next edition. We believe that this festival will be able to find an important place in the current cultural landscape because we have the support of other major festivals in Charente and the main institutions for this.

What would you like to say to people who are still hesitant about coming to the festival this year?

We strive to create a truly friendly festival at a very affordable price. Regarding the lineup, we're confident in ourselves, or rather, in the artists we invite. So this festival is truly an opportunity to have a great time enjoying live performance!

Saturday at Hep Hep Hep

How can people get tickets to the festival?

There are several options, including online access directly on the festival website: www.hephephep.com. We've included the link at the bottom of the article :-)

Colin, we've talked a lot about the festival, but you're a professional juggler. You're part of the Tout Par Terre performance company. A recurring question in our interviews comes up: during performances, how do you handle drops?

The drop in show , at the beginning it was my phobia even if unfortunately it is inevitable. Today I learned to accept it and above all I do not try to hide it. As a spectator I do not like at all to see an artist panic on stage, I project myself and I believe that it also makes me panic. I prefer to see an artist fail and smile at his failure . So I try to do the same thing when I am on stage even if deep down, as a juggler, I still cannot stand drops?

Playing outdoors in the wind: some anecdotes and advice?

Our worst memory was in Belgium, near the North Sea, along a kite-surfing beach where the wind even blew our juggling bottles off course. Our advice in those moments? Pray for some respite during the most technical moments!!!

Sunday's program

Any advice for young jugglers, musicians, and circus artists starting out in the profession?

A lot of work and perseverance, but it's worth it!

Thanks, Colin, for taking the time to give us all these details about the festival. See you there, as we'll likely be setting up our NetJuggler mobile booth at the festival! Thanks for the invite.