Circus Wanted!

Circus Wanted!¶

A Report from Two Clowns Who Were Tired of Living in the GDR
Circus Wanted!

By Streuselschnecke...¶

How did the whole circus start? Well, that's almost an endless story....

Uli loved the smell of fresh wood, became a carpenter, joined the circus as a craftsman, and started juggling. Kattrin didn't know any better and studied acting. Uli came back to Berlin and wanted to show his skills at a festival. However, he drank too much out of nervousness, and the balls did whatever they pleased with him. That's how we met, and Uli became Kattrin's juggling teacher.

That was in February 1980, and we soon discovered our shared knack for comedy. By autumn, we had our first performance under the name ULK (the first letters of Uli and Kattrin).

But it wasn't funny at all, more like embarrassing. But every beginning is difficult; we kept practicing: tap dancing, juggling, mime... Since there were no workshops in the GDR, we relied on private support.

In the summer of 1981, Kattrin finished her studies and had to go to a theater for three years as a graduate. That's what the law required; otherwise, she wouldn't have received her degree. And without a degree, you were nothing in the GDR. This meant: no matter how good someone was or what they could do, without a state-issued degree, they weren't allowed to perform, meaning they couldn't work in their field. And those who didn't work were considered anti-social, and those who were anti-social were thrown in jail.

But you shouldn't think that this meant there was no more initiative: on the contrary, necessity is the mother of invention. Readings, exhibitions, concerts, and theater programs took place in studios, attics, and apartments. Performing simply on the street was forbidden, but some still did it, even though they faced hefty fines.

But back to us. Kattrin went to the theater, but after six months, the graduate contract had to be terminated for health reasons. She returned to Berlin, and we tried out a clown program for children, built props, and our stage.

While Kattrin was working at the theater, Uli had trained our dog Cato (a purebred English Pointer). Cato became our circus lion.

Kattrin applied for her performance permit from the city council, which she received without problems due to her completed acting studies. Since Uli had no equivalent qualifications, he technically shouldn't have been allowed to perform. So, he became Kattrin's "assistant." Due to the over-bureaucratization of the permit system, this went unnoticed.

The same applied to Clemens, who became our technician. (Unfortunately, he is still waiting for his emigration permit.) Clemens had a car; well, "car" is probably an exaggeration: it was called Herbert, was older than we were, and was essentially a total wreck. But, thank God, it only broke down on the return trips. A faithful vehicle. We kept the tandem bike with us for all emergencies until it was stolen.

Now we wanted to advertise our program. For this, you need to know that there were no photocopiers in the GDR. You also couldn't just get things printed. We would have first had to get our name "Kinderzirkus Streuselschnecke" (Children's Circus Streusel Snail) officially approved. We didn't feel like doing that either. So, we wrote everything by hand and decorated the cards with a colorful paper clown. It was tedious, but it was fun.

We received many offers because we were unique in our kind of performance in the GDR, and because our simplicity, humor, and joy of playing offered an alternative to the state-sponsored offerings.

... to Pusteblume¶

A year later, when we presented our program to the state concert and guest performance agency to get group classification so that Uli would be recognized as Kattrin's partner, the commission said our program had no educational value.

So, we received nothing and continued to muddle through, always knowing that it could be discovered that Uli wasn't actually allowed to perform. (It came out two weeks before we emigrated.)

In the summer of '83, when we wanted to perform at a church peace festival, a cultural official advised us against it, warning that otherwise, we would receive a performance ban for the entire GDR.

Incidents of this nature made it increasingly clear to us that we were reaching the limits of what was possible for our work and plans. Therefore, we had to and wanted to leave the GDR sooner rather than later.

We have been living here since March. We are in the process of building up a new program for children. We are no longer called Streuselschnecke because this pastry isn't known here; instead, we are now "Kinderzirkus Pusteblume" (Children's Circus Dandelion).

Our deep dream is to found a circus in a few years where loving and fun people will participate. But unfortunately, the money for this dream is lacking. It would be a shame if it failed because of that.

Therefore, it would be wonderful if you could help make this dream come true by transferring a little money to our specially set-up account:

Bank code: 42060021
Volksbank Gelsenkirchen)
Account number: 518.503.240
Even if it's just one Mark, because every little bit counts.

Thank you very much, and if you are more interested in this project or want to know something about Kinderzirkus Pusteblume, please write to:

Kattrin Kupke & Uli Zschau
Arminstr.10
4650 Gelsenkirchen
Tel.:0209/27 16 42

So, see you soon, or maybe not.
*Kattrin & Uli