Golfing Under Blacklight

        Technomania Circus held a blacklight theater at their usual in Barrio Logan venue, The Center for Performing Arts last night and I was there, right in the front row, which I think are the best seats in the house. For those of you that don’t know, San Diego has a regularly performing circus troupe that happen to be an amazing group of people we all know as Technomania Circus. Dr. Techno is the lead Technomaniac as well as the man that keeps the bacon sizzling. Yes, bacon was served during the show, cotton candy was available and there is a fine art gallery in the foyer of the bathroom. Awesome!

Technomania Circus Art Gallery

        This month’s theme was, “Blaaack Liiiight,” always spoken in a deep, menacing voice. Blacklight theater is a lot of fun because it’s like a real life special effect; you don’t get to see everything and that’s what makes it special. The show started at 8pm but thanks to our perfect San Diego weather and long summer days it wasn’t dark yet so we were treated to some music, comedy, juggling and balancing as the sun slowly drifted away.

Balancing On Ladders

        This summer will make it two years that I’ve been going to shows at Technomania Circus. It was way back in July of 2009 that I first went to, photographed and wrote about their show and I haven’t looked back since. The address of the circus is 2438 Commercial St. San Diego, CA 92102, right next to the 25th & Commercial St. trolley station. You are certainly welcome to bring food, drinks and cameras into the show and the venue is in an area heavy with taco shops and corner stores so you can get everything you need for the show when you arrive.

Willy Bologna About To Play The Harp

        Once we got past twilight it was time for, “Blaaack Liiiight!” This is what we’d all been waiting for and it did not disappoint. They took us all over the place, as you’ll see in the photos and in the video at the bottom of the post. For you photographers out there, the sharp photos were taken at 1/45th, f/3.5, ISO 3200 while the photos that show a lot of motion blur were exposed for 1 second, f/3.5, ISO 800. Ya done good Technomaniacs, ya done real good. See you next time.

1 Second Of Time At Technomania Circus

A Blacklight Creature

Pleasing The Blacklight Gods

Technomania Circus Blacklight Theater

That’s Ridiculous!

        There was so much going on at the most recent Technomania Circus show last Saturday night you could say it was absurd… And ridiculous! There was mind reading, children playing with fire, music, juggling and A LOT of laughing. So, enjoy these photos from the evening of Technomania Circus’s Absurd & Ridiculous Show!

        Dr. Techno (above) read the mind of an audience member, Sky Frank twirled fire and Anton juggled bowling pins as part of the pre-show warm up.

        Valerie Power once again entertained us with her singing saw while Paul and Mary Moeller sang and danced a song that I would guess has a title that is something along the lines of, “Poisoning The Pigeons In The Park.” Attending a Technomania Circus show is a rite of passage for live theater goers and it’s right here in San Diego, right next to the 25th & Imperial orange line trolley stop. Don’t be scared to come to a show or to take the trolley and if you drive there is plenty of on street parking.

Blacklight Theater At Technomania Circus

Sky With Fire

        Technomania Circus will be performing a western themed show in two weeks so those of you that would like to go for the first time won’t have long to wait. Until that time, you can wet your appetite by looking at some more photos from many previous shows by looking through my Technomania Circus tagged posts. Cheers Technomaniacs!

Mary Christmas At The Door Of Technomania Circus

        The Christmas season is upon us and Technomania Circus is upon Christmas. I’ve never been able to actually say what Technomania Circus is, I’ve only been able to to show photos and write words about what I see when I’m there. So, what is it, why do I go, what do I see and who’s there? Let me put it this way: If I were to blog about the show without the added benefit of the photos I take, no one would believe me. Hell, there are photos taken of men on the moon and I barely believe that happened. So, with that being said, if you care to acquaint yourself with the circus a little bit before delving into the rest of this post, I have several videos that can be seen here. The photo above shows the front foyer of the circus with the lovely Mary Moeller on the right, informing circus goers that in addition to the show, the price of admission also includes homemade Christmas sugar cookies and hot cider. Yes, the ticket booth for this live theater venue is located under an icicle-light adorned UFO and just to the right of an alien sarcophagus.

Technomania Circus’s Stage Decorated For Christmas

        With cookies and cider in hand, I made my way to the stage and up into the stadium seating. I have been to many Technomania shows over the last year and I always have my camera in hand. This ultimately presents a challenge for me as a photographer. You might think it would get easier each time, but that really isn’t the case because at this venue it will be apples one day and sailboats the next. The challenge for me is to ensure that I do the circus justice by keeping the photos fresh and capturing the spontaneity of the show. It sounds easy but believe me, it’s not. It’s like saying all you have to do is blow and wiggle your fingers to play the tuba.

The Audience Eagerly Awaits The Start Of The Show

        To the left is the entrance and vanity in the bathroom of Technomania Circus. I bet you’re wondering what’s around the corner to the left aren’t you? I took a few photos of the interior but I’m not going to include them because there are some things you just have to see in person to appreciate, so make a specific trip to Barrio Logan just to get a look at an eclectic bathroom. Above we see Dr. Techno on his rola-bola, which is, as far as I’m concerned, the official start of every Technomania Circus show.

The Elves Arrive And The Show Begins

        What’s that you say? You’d like me to show some more photos without having to read my editorial after each and every one? OK, I can do that, but don’t say I never did anything for you. Stick with the post all the way to the end for a video synopsis of the show.

        I will say a little bit about the photos, but it’s really just to fill up space to make sure they align properly. In all seriousness, check Technomania Circus’s website for the next show and make sure you make it down there.

        We, the audience were treated to three different Santas, Jesus Christ, jugglers, The Weldermen, Dr. Techno, Hugh Hefner and LOTS of blacklight theater. The circus is also blessed to have a damn fine band with Paul Moeller at the helm.

A Christmas Miracle, Then Grandpa Chopped Down The Tree

The Weldermen Ominously Appear On Stage

Blacklight Theater And Techno Santa

Highlights From Technomania Circus’s Christmas Show 2010

        The video above is a brief synopsis of the show. A great rendition of “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon played on the harp, Valerie Power mystically and beautifully playing “Silent Night” with her singing saw, extreme rola-bola balancing and music are in the video yet represent only a small portion of the entire show. The beginning and end of the video are dark, but for those portions it’s all about the music anyway so there’s no need to adjust your television set. Anyway, bravo once again to the cast of Technomania Circus for being such gracious hosts and for putting on a great show that will give me one more reason to look forward to Christmas next year. Cheers!

Zombies At Technomania Circus

        Technomania Circus entertained us last night with a performance of the 2nd annual ZOMBIE SHOW!! This show is perfectly timed for Halloween with fire and an entire cast of zombies. For those of you that have never been, Technomania Circus lives right next to the west-bound orange line trolley station at 25th & Commercial.

        This was my first Zombie Show, so I wondered what the Technomaniacs would have in store, beyond a zombified theme. It turned out the entire cast performed the entire show as zombies… Brilliant. We got to see zombies dance, match wits on a game show, play musical instruments, juggle and play with fire.

(Above) The Newlydead Game

Dr. Techno Performs

        Dr. Techno is the guy and the guy behind the guy at the home of Technomania Circus. He is the magnetic force that attracts and holds the circus together, working tirelessly and guess what? Today, (October 24, 2010) is Dr. Techno’s 65th birthday! Happy Birthday Dr. Techno! The world thanks you for all the laughter & joy you’ve brought us.

        Not to be out-done, Willy Bologna played the harp, rocking us out to a zombified version of The Cranberries song, “Zombie.” Anton the zombie juggled for us, which was amazing considering that he was after all, a zombie.

        There was a smattering of fire and blacklight at Technomania Circus during the Zombie Show, as well as an appearance by The Welderman. The zombie above sang to us while slowly ripping off pieces of his own flesh and throwing them into the audience. Halloween is a great time of year!

Blacklight Theater At Technomania Circus

The Welderman At Technomania Circus

        And that’s a wrap! Once again I had a great Saturday night adventure at Technomania Circus, and this show took place under a full moon, which helped to make the night night extra scary and extra lively. Check the Technomania website for future shows and special events. There’s at least one show per month, and sometimes even more so you are never too far away if you happen to be in need of a fix from the circus. Above is a video that shows a minute or so of intros and Dr’ Techno’s famous balancing act and wraps up with zombies rocking out to the L7 song, “Pretend That We’re Dead.”

Welcome To Technomania Circus

        Technomania Circus is a law unto itself. Before the show started, Dr. Techno read our minds, entertained us and most important of all, made us laugh. We all knew from the title of the show that we would be traveling through time, but when you are at Technomania Circus, most things are not always as they seem.

        That being said, I once again I found myself in the audience of Technomania Circus and once again I was amazed by what I saw. For this performance of the Technomaniacs, we took a journey through time, a journey that went through millions of years of history, and we laughed the entire time. We, as Americans do not have a sense of history that that goes beyond 1776, when we became a country. Most of us have no idea what the world was doing before that, but Technomania Circus does, so they educated and entertained us by reminding us what happened before, during and after the mighty United States of America was an idea, a reality and a ghost.

Dr. Techno At Technomania Circus

        Something I’ve never mentioned before is the personal guarantee that Dr. Techno gives each and every member of the audience: “You will enjoy the show or I will clean your house.” There are never any takers because everyone always loves the show.

When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth

        Our journey begins somewhere around 25,000,000 BC, when dinosaurs and talking Tyrannosaurus Rex’s where a force to be reckoned with. Just look at his tiny little hands!

Cavemen

        Depending on who you ask and what part of the United States you are standing in when you ask, dinosaurs and people either co-existed OR where separated by millions of years of evolution. This particular dinosaur spoken fluent English, so right now I’m thinking that people and thunder lizards were contemporaries of one another. Of course, biblical scholars would disagree, but they disagree with everyone.

        As we continued to move forward through time at Technomania Circus, we met some familiar faces. Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble demonstrated the the first automobile and the need to invent a back seat for a car. Wasn’t the Flintstones an awesome cartoon? What a great concept. The cartoon came out in the 1960′s and applied 1960′s technology to the stone age. I would be very interested to watch a remake of the show that is updated to for 2010 technology. I think watching the the Flintstones deal with stone age computers, social networks and coffee shops would be incredibly funny. Anyways, after the Flintstones came the Egyptians, and King Ramses. As you can see from the photo above, Ramses was very pleased with his volunteer on his blue ball.

The Pharaoh Ramses Balances On His Big Blue Ball

        As we progressed through time we learned that even pharaohs like to have fun. Time travel aside, this really was quite a feat of balance and concentration. Walking on top of a giant rubber ball back and forth across a see-saw is a very exciting thing to watch!

Jesus Hubert Christ!

        Jesus Christ arrived 2000 years or so after the the golden age of Egypt, and when he did arrive, he rocked the house. What was his first number 1 single? Stairway To Heaven, of course.

Henry VIII Is Entertained At The Palace

        Henry VIII had 6 wives, two of whom were beheaded, so it is easy to understand why the court musician would try very, VERY hard to keep the King of England entertained. After all, if Henry would lop off the heads of his wives, what would he lop off a lowly court musician?

The Wild West

        After Henry VIII came an American gunfighter. This particular gunfighter chose to balance on a ladder and shoot balloons from a hand-held target. He had a very steady hand and never missed.

        The photo above, on the left reminded me of a line from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, spoken by Chevy Chase, “That’s a great place for a pearl necklace.” Ahem, as we continued forward through time we got to hear a remarkable song by Albert Einstein that ran through every element on the periodic table. It reminded me of the Nations Of The World song performed by Yakko Warner of the Animaniacs.

Space Pirates!

        Dr. Techno, the leader of the Technomaniacs was the operator of the time machine throughout the show. The time machine was a gigantic, mechanical contraption that only had enough juice to take us BACK in time. However, Albert Einstein produced an unspecified quantity of OBTAINIUM, which allowed the good Dr. Techno to take us into the FUTURE with his time machine. The first thing we encountered where space pirates.

At Some Point In History We Discovered Fire

        I began to lose track of where I was and WHEN I was, but The Welderman jumped out on stage to show me the light. I was at Technomania Circus, and I was in the very distant future. I have mentioned many times in previous posts that fire is my favorite part of the show, so I like to think they closed out the show with fire just for me. I know that’s not the reason, but it could be. It could be!

Technomania Circus Presents The Time Travel Show

Fire…

        My introduction to Technomania Circus was less than a year ago, and I will say now in plain sight of God and man that it has been an amazing and colorful year. Right here, in San Diego is a performing troupe of circus players that make their living as actors while providing entertainment on a monthly basis to the citizens of San Diego.

Blacklight…

        The show they performed on May 1, 2010 was aptly titled, “Variety And Blacklight Show” and it was a stellar, hilarious, fiery and musical ordeal. There was just so much happening during this show… There was an incredible amount of variety (go figure) but there was also a healthy dose of fire, that I don’t think the audience expecting, yet immediately embraced.

Variety

        The technomaniacs have been busy since I attended their last show, “Invasion of the Oojaians: A Blacklight and Fire Intergalactic Adventure.” They have a newly constructed and much larger stage, what seemed to me to be better lighting (regular & blacklight), and a great audio system that does double duty by playing show music as well as serving as a P.A. for the actors.

        Of course, before the show started, I had to make my way through the entrance to the ticket desk. It was while I was at the desk that I saw Paul Moeller, one of the resident technomaniacs getting ready for the show. He came right up to me and informed me that not only was I “on the list” for entry into the show, but I have also been given the title, “Official Photographer” for Technomania Circus, and he produced an official badge for me to wear! How cool is that? These guys are just so gracious and welcoming no matter who walks into their yard, but this gesture really is more than going the extra mile for a fan of the show. Thanks guys!

Technomania Circus Is Where We Dance

        This show was all over the map, all over the stage and even off the stage into the audience. What makes Technomania Circus better than a movie or other live theater venues is that they bring their energy right into your lap, and you as the audience are able to throw your energy right onto the stage. There is a perfect harmony between the performers and the audience that you won’t find anywhere else.

        Every time you go to a Technomania Circus show, you will see something you have never seen before. I have personally been around the world and back again, and I used to say I’d seen everything, but then I started going to these shows. The Devil himself walked out on stage, acknowledged us mere mortals, announced that he’s a drinker and a smoker, had one of his underworld minions give him a light, and then held a Q&A with the audience. After that, the Pope, God’s human representative on Earth joined the fallen angel on stage, answered a few questions and then broke out into song. Yep, that is just a small portion of my Saturday night, spending time watching things I have never seen before. Now, let me just say now that I am a photographer, so video and video editing are pretty much a foreign languages to me. So, with that in mind, the two video clips I’m including with this post are short & sweet… Because, uh… I don’t know how to mix and edit video yet. I’m learning, but until I’m ready to go prime-time with all of it, you will have to settle for erratic clips and shoddy editing. Please don’t blame my D5000 or Technomania Circus, just blame me! At least we can now say with certainty that the Pope does indeed wear a funny hat.

Masochist Tango

        Paul and Mary Moeller, pictured above are two of the best reasons to embrace music, performing arts, and Technomania Circus. They are two of the coolest cats I have ever met. They create and perform music, they dance, sing and entertain. On this particular night, they performed the “Masochist Tango” which had some hilarious lyrics, but I just don’t remember any of those lyrics now. The premise was eloquently simple and familiar: A woman sits inside a Starbucks, writing (a screenplay) on her Mac, when a man enters and lures her into an amazingly choreographed tango. It was a sexy and provocative dance, and we audience members were enthralled. What made this situation uniquely Technomania was that they both held their coffees while dancing with each other. It was hilarious because they both danced the tango while spilling coffee all over themselves, but remained oblivious to it the entire time. Looks of passion, wanting and desire were subverted by the roaring laughter of the audience.

How About A Little Fire, Scarecrow?

        I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… Fire is my favorite part of Technomania Circus. I could fill an entire blog, from beginning to end with photos of the technomaniacs flinging fire around the stage. When they were kids and their folks told them not to play with matches, I wonder what their collective response was. Do you remember all those things we were forbidden to do as kids? These guys make a living by doing all of those things!

        One of the regular acts at Technomania Circus is The Welderman. These are people that don fireproof clothing, throw fire around wherever and however they please while performing music for the masses. They will be competing at the 2010 World Telekinesis Competition next month. This is a competition for people that can control fire by using only the power of their minds. It’s great to know that a hometown San Diego hero will be tearing it up in a competition of people with kinetic abilities that far surpass my own.

Jon Juggles Fire

        For some reason the word “fire” was not included in the title of this show’s performance. So, that meant that all of us audience members didn’t expect a lot, or ANY fire as we walked in. Ha! There was fire at this show, and we loved it!

        Dr. Techno is the technomaniac that generally warms up the crowd, greets theater goers and owns a very loyal dog. Right here and now, I will give him credit for aligning the pieces that comprise the Technomania Circus… Everything from the venue, the talent, the bleacher seating and the very, very crazy bathroom. This guy actually has space pirates (and a space pirates theme song) perform at his theater! I will go out on a limb and say that NO ONE has ever been able to make that claim before.

        As mentioned earlier, there will be something at EVERY Technomania Circus show that you have never seen before. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I had no idea that later that night I would see a robot, dressed in Victoria’s Secret lingerie get fondled by another (presumably male) robot. That and the earlier mentioned appearance by The Devil & pope are just two of the MANY things I had never seen before this show. Besides being a very convenient location for those of us that take the trolley, Technomania Circus is just something that you find yourself wanting to go to and looking forward to. The circus lives at 2438 Commercial St. San Diego, in Logan Heights, right across from the 25th & Commercial Orange Line trolley stop. It is literally 15 feet away from the trolley stop, so there is no reason to think you can’t take public transportation there and back. They offer drinks, snacks t-shirts and buttons for sale, and they are all reasonably priced. Feel free to bring your own snacks or drinks, but be sure to keep your drinks in a brown paper bag *wink*. Anyway, I’ll wrap up this post with one more quick (and poorly shot) video of a break dancing alien as well as with my two favorite shots of the evening. Their next show is on June 5th, 2010 and it is called, “The Wild Wild REALLY Wild Western Circus.” I’ll see everyone there. Cheers!

Jon Blows Fire At Technomania Circus

Technomania Circus Is The Greatest Show On Earth

Everyone Is Welcome At Technomania Circus!

        The Blacklight & Fire Show @ Technomania Circus is the natural result of our high-tech and brightly lit world. Welding masks hide the faces of musicians playing fire dancing instruments; a beautiful woman tames reluctant flames, men breath fire as if they were dragons from thousand year old European lore. Leave planet Earth on an interstellar chase through a galaxy of bold colors and infinite black with the 3D optical illusions of blacklight.

Kidnapping, Magic, Galactic Travel & Dancing Reunions

All are welcome, with 21 & up encouraged.

Arrive 30 minutes early and you can sit anywhere you want.

If you bring snacks, reusable containers are better than foil & plastic bags.

Take the trolley to 25th & Commercial – It’s a piece of cake, don’t be scared.

Bottled water is free and the bathroom would make Louie XIV jealous.

The more you cheer, the better the show.

These Fire Gods Make Their Creations Sing & Dance

        The metal strings, brass buttons, horsehair strung bows and hide covered drums we know as the only way to make music are volcanically replaced with fire and gas by these blind, carbon based beings.  They are obviously minions from the center of a superheated star, with fire itself ready to leap at the flick of a wrist.

This Is The Fire Show!

        Believe it or not, you don’t need a tripod because the fire gives you arches of instant, one of a kind light, so bring a camera because every shot is gold!  Fire, an element, a realm of the gods, a WEAPON of the gods is flung before your very eyes and then recalled and made to dance.  It is an unbelievable site to watch fire as a slave to a flesh & blood mortal.

You have got to see the music filled world of the Techno-Gods and their amazingly colored world.

Find out what is going on with Technomania Circus for yourself.

Just walk around to the back.  Go ahead!