Cirque de Poulet returning to Frankfort

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FRANKFORT – Outside the chicken barn on David Allen’s farm in Frankfort, chicks and pullets peck quietly at the ground, their silence disturbed every so often by a cackle. Inside, the barn stands clean and empty, save for a few partitions, a stack of hay bales, and a few rusted feed conveyors that hang from the ceiling like a chandelier.

This will all change on Saturday, however, when the Cirque du Poulet (or circus of the chicken, for those of you who don’t speak French) rolls into town. Artists, musicians, independent filmmakers, dancers and circus acts will converge on the farm this weekend for the third incarnation of Allen’s multimedia arts festival.

“I think there’s a real stereotype of the artist as totally being on your own and being reclusive and creating art in solitude, but what this is all about is really becoming involved in something that’s larger than yourself,” said Allen, a painter and performance artist.

This spring, the Cirque takes on a more streamlined format, but the essence of the semiannual event hasn’t changed. Allen, his wife, Ruth Kermish-Allen, and a group of their friends started the festival two years ago to give creative people a chance to share their work “without going through mediators.” Though Allen has turned a few musicians away, there are no jurors to speak of, and few limitations.

“From the start, my expectations have been to create an environment where you have artists and musicians and people from all different creative fields coming together in a shared spotlight and producing something that’s our own event,” Allen said.

He had the space – two abandoned chicken barns that could be turned into galleries, and plenty of room for a stage and a circus ring. So he and his friends got to work building, cleaning and making the area safe.

The first Cirque, which took place in the fall of 2002, featured installations, a performance art piece, belly-dancing (Kermish-Allen is trained in Middle Eastern dance), juggling, tightrope-walking and music, didn’t attract as many people as Allen had hoped. But it got people talking, and when he held the event again in the spring of 2003, the crowd grew, and so did the conversation.

Allen was providing something that very few venues in the area were – an alternative to the mainstream. And the audience, artists, and performers have responded.

“The Cirque is a great opportunity for the experimentation of ideas and art that might not be shown anywhere else and received well by a general audience,” Allen said. “The evenings can get a little crazy. I definitely want to make an event that’s good for everyone, but I also want to have that edge of spontaneity and craziness involved.”

To that end, he has scheduled family-friendly events during the daytime hours – Titans of Film will screen their independent Western comedy, while Nicolle Littrell will share the folk tales of Molly Spotted Elk. Paul Szauter (aka Dr. Wilson) will walk the Path of Pain (a carpet of glass shards), and Kermish-Allen will give belly-dancing lessons. In the evening, Allen will do a performance art piece, Titans of Film will screen their latest film noir piece, “Tarawa Club,” and Dr. Wilson will perform the “Legacy of Houdini.”

For visitors who want to stay later, Allen recommends bringing bug spray, a flashlight and camping supplies. Food and water will be available on site, but outside food is allowed. Pets are welcome if they are kept under control, and Allen encourages people to bring exotic animals “that can perform amazing feats – because this is a circus, after all.”

What started as a way for friends to come together and show their art has grown, and through the Cirque, Allen has met people who share his vision of “turning a mess into a masterpiece.

“If somebody told you there was the Cirque du Poulet, the circus of the chicken, out in Frankfort, you might not think it would be very successful,” Allen said. “But I feel very successful.”

The Cirque du Poulet will take place from noon to midnight Saturday, June 19, at 49 West Hill Road in Frankfort. Admission is $5 for adults, free for children under 12, and camping is included. For information, call 223-4155 or visit www.codesponge.com/cirque. Kristen Andresen can be reached at 990-8287 and kandresen@bangordailynews.net.

Cirque du Poulet schedule

Performance stage

Noon: Wimp Comb

2 p.m. Laurie Schreiber

3: 30 p.m.: Hamm Family Band

5:15 p.m.: Orson Horchler

6:45 p.m.: Open mic

8 p.m.: Shanna McNair

9 p.m.: Pushing Zero

10:30: Dr. Wilson’s Legacy of Houdini

11 p.m.: Behind the Walls

midnight: Paul Bosse and Friends

Gallery

Noon: Open

1 p.m.: Screening of “Fort Savage,” produced by Titans of Film

3 p.m. “Northern Lights: The Folk Tales of Molly Spotted Elk” with Nicolle Littrell

6:15 p.m.: “Trap,” a film by Nicolle Littrell

8: 30 p.m.: “The Chicken Gallery,” a performance by David Allen

11 p.m.: Screening of “The Tarawa Club,” produced by Titans of Film

Circus ring

3 p.m.: Belly dance workshop by Ruth Kermish-Allen

4 p.m.: Dr. Wilson’s Path of Pain (walking on glass) 10 p.m.: T’ziporah, Middle Eastern dance