Play Dead

Sereno Aguilar Izzo is a juggler born in New York City and raised in Guanajuato, Mexico. He has been juggling since he was 12, and grew up in a family surrounded by the performing arts. His mother, a musician and writer, and his father, a physical theater and clown professor, created a world that captivated Sereno and informed him from a young age about being onstage. Sereno graduated École Nationale de Cirque in 2018 and has since been working for Les 7 Doigts in their shows Passagers, Duel Reality, Dear San Francisco, and Water for Elephants. He fell in love with circus through juggling and has developed into a duo trapeze, banquine, and general group acrobatic porter. Sereno is still the most passionate about entertaining audiences by throwing balls in precisely predetermined ways.

Imogen is a British-born performer and visual artist based in Berlin. She’s a 2016 graduate of Stockholm University of the Arts, with a bachelor’s in circus. Her influences were competitive gymnastics, youth circus, nature photography, cringy dance, garden trampoline, and dress-up. Not much has changed over the years… She still shoots analogue, circus ate gymnastics, cringe is an ongoing balance and dress-up has never been more relevant. Now in ‘adult’ form, it’s led to a vibrant career with a determined focus on independent creation, mixing theatre, dance, live art, clowning and Double space between her circus practice. She’s toured extensively in over 35 countries. She is a co-founder and performer in Fauna Circus, Right Way Down and Based on Kimberly. She has a solo show directed by Ofir Yudilevitch and is a performer and co-director of the duo show Memoirs of Mud by Sisus Sirkus.

Ruben Ingwersen was born on a hot summer night in Australia. His journey into the world of circus, dance, and live performance began during his childhood. A natural mover who constantly tests his physical boundaries, he has always been interested in the fragile relationship between risk and reward. His formal training started at the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, where he immersed himself in the world of circus and toured nationally as a teenager. Ruben’s artistic evolution continued at L’École Nationale de Cirque de Montréal (Tiohtiá:ke), where he specialized in unicycle and teeterboard. It was there that he formed lasting connections with his peers, who would later become known as People Watching. Ruben’s career includes working for prestigious companies such as Cirque du Soleil Events + Experiences, The 7 Fingers / Les Doigts de La Main, Cirque Éloize, and Machine du Cirque. Ruben Ingwersen continues to push the boundaries of live performance, blending his rich background in circus arts with a modern, abstract approach to storytelling.

Jérémi Lévesque is a multi-disciplinary circus artist based in Montréal (Tiohtiá:ke). Since his graduation from L’École Nationale de Cirque de Montréal (Tiohtiá:ke) in the Summer of 2016, Jérémi has focused his practice on the development of a distinctive approach to acrobatics, characterized by its fluidity and dynamic use of momentum. Combining his movement practice with the specialized training he received in Teeterboard, Chinese Hoops, and Group Acrobatics, the young artist performed in multiple productions over the years, lending his skills to the creative vision of world-renowned companies and directors. Building upon the abilities he gained from his early years of training; an adolescence spent in a small gymnasium, practicing Parkour, Tricking, and Tumbling, Jérémi continues to blend influences by approaching every project with an inquisitive eye and a desire for creative exchange.

Natasha Patterson (b. 1996, San Francisco) is a Montréal (Tiohtiá:ke) based performance artist specializing in contemporary circus and dance. Rooted in a multidisciplinary approach, her practice focuses on the physical and theatrical potentials of the body, exploring a visceral mode of storytelling in relation to objects and space. Her early exposure to circus was realized through the San Francisco Circus Center, which led to a lifelong career on the stage. At age 10 she joined Cirque du Soleil’s show KOOZA as a contortionist. After 5 years of touring with the company, she left to pursue juggling at the National Circus School of Montréal (Tiohtiá:ke), where she also completed a formation in hand to hand and floor acrobatics. Today, she is a Co-Director of Company People Watching and has had the pleasure of working and collaborating with leading international circus and dance companies including Les 7 Doigts de la Main, Cirque Eloize, Circus Monti, Nohbords and more.

Brin Schoellkopf is a queer performance and visual artist based in Montréal (Tiohtià:ke), with a focus in contemporary circus and dance. In 2018 they graduated from l’École National de Cirque, and pursued a career as a performer and creator, working with renowned companies such as The 7 Fingers, Cirque du Soleil, Jacob Jonas the Company, and Water for Elephants on Broadway. Brin is also a co-founding artistic director of People Watching. Alongside their career in the performing arts, Brin’s work has simultaneously filtered into filmmaking and photography, often using the body as a tool to focus on intimate forms of expression and abstract storytelling. The blending of these mediums has had a significant impact on their approach to creation and their ability to experiment with the essential dynamic between subject and viewer. Brin aspires to transition into more post-disciplinary work, and give focus to environments that are queering our culture.

Jarrod is an Australian raised, Montréal (Tiohtiá:ke) based circus artist, currently engaged as co-artistic director and ensemble member with Company People Watching. With a special passion for creating work through an interdisciplinary lens, he fuses physical theatre with movement and acrobatics to create a visceral new hybrid of contemporary circus. Jarrod cut his teeth at age six, joining Australia’s national youth circus ‘The Flying Fruit Fly Circus’ and embarking on a decade of training, performing and touring. He later honed his craft at l’École Nationale de Cirque de Montréal (Tiohtiá:ke) (2019) completing four years of higher education in Circus Arts. He has since worked with some of the leading contemporary circus and performance companies internationally (Circa, Gravity and Other Myths, Cirque Eloize, The Farm). Outside of his artistic pursuits, Jarrod spends the remainder of his time and energy in search of adequate coffee and avoiding the type of people who stand directly in front of the baggage train at airports.

Sabine Van Rensburg (b. 1996, South Africa) is a performance artist based in Montréal (Tiohtiá:ke), with a focus on aerial silks and acrobatic dance. Born into the world of Zip Zap Circus and a graduate of the National Circus School of Montréal (Tiohtiá:ke), Sabine’s journey has taken her across the globe, performing with renowned companies like Les 7 Doigts de la Main (The 7 Fingers). With an eccentric and fearless approach to art and life, Sabine is always pushing boundaries. She’s now expanding into roles as a movement director in both film and live performance. Besides being one of the founders of People Watching, her key projects include: MOYA: Acrobatic art film with Zip Zap Circus (2021), Director and artist in PLAY DEAD international tour (2023 – 2025), Tour Manager for Cirque Phenix X Zip Zap (2023) , Director of Creation Week for ENC (2023), Orsolina X Jacob Jonas: Performance collaboration (2024).