the vivarium

Choreography and Performance: Esther de Monteflores and Ariel Schmidtke (collectively A Frayed Knot Circus)

Premiere: Arcadia (Seattle, WA). 2019.
Duration: 45 minutes


Inspired by Haley Heynderickx's album I Need to Start A Garden, The Vivarium is the story of a young person coping with the loss of a close friend by turning to a hobby of collecting and researching insects. However, these complex creatures can’t flourish in the captivity of a glass jar and the young bug collector struggles to accept that keeping them isn’t the same as keeping them safe.

The Vivarium continues A Frayed Knot Circus' (de Monteflores and Schmidtke) exploration of integrated puppetry and circus arts.

This project was supported, in part, by an award from 4Culture (Seattle, WA).


Presentations: Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in Seattle, WA (2020), Arcadia in Seattle, WA (2019)

Warren Woo. 2019.