Ingrid Hansen’s Epidermis Circus is making headlines at Edmonton Fringe Festival 2022! We caught up with her to learn more about her artistic process and how she got her start puppeteering.
What was the development process like for Epidermis Circus? Tell us more about why you chose to puppeteer your body for this show rather than using more traditional puppet materials.
It came about through experimentation. I don’t sit at a computer and write words and then make that into a show.
I grew up with Danish immigrants as parents and, in our household, your body was just there. It’s hilarious and functional and wonderful and strong. It was never something that was shameful. The Danes are very comfortable with nudity and, as I got older, I had peers where that was not the case. So, I’m always kind of pushing that bodies are amazing as a concept, including all the weird, gross, and bizarre things. It’s kind of just truly amazing that we’re alive and that we function and digest vegetables. So that’s part of it.
Another part of it is I started off as a dancer, so I come from that place creatively.
And the third thing is that I’m not good at building puppets! That’s a lifelong art form and it’s very, very intricate. So, all my work, I use a lot of objects, found objects, things like that.
What’s something audiences might not know about your show?
We first did the show as a drive-in, we performed it in Victoria in the backyard of a brewery in January. This was at the height of BC’s event restrictions; we were not allowed to gather at all. But, because it was a drive-in and everyone was going to be in their cars, we were allowed to do it. And people were so rowdy. ‘We’re here! We’re together! I see other people!’ And people were honking and flashing their lights, making their windshield wipers dance. That’s the origin story.
How did you get your start puppeteering?
I trained as an actor and I always loved puppets. I was also always scouring the internet for auditions. So I saw an audition in Victoria, APTN was doing a children’s television series and they wanted to hire local puppeteers and part of the audition was a free training workshop with my now very good friend Tim Gosley, who had puppeteered on Sesame and Fraggle Rock. And I thought, ‘I want to meet this guy! I’m never gonna get the job, but I want to meet this guy.’ And then I got the job. So my first puppetry job was performing a lead character for four years of a children’s TV series.
What other shows at the Fringe are you looking forward to seeing?
St Kilda, Black Eye, A Grave Mistake, and Larry.
Catch Epidermis Circus at Edmonton Fringe 2022! Get your tickets here.
