Artful swarm
Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Ovo’ features colorful insect world
One has come to expect amazing costumes and performances from Cirque du Soleil. With shows traveling around the world, the company always ups the ante with performances.
But there’s also a message with each show.
Take “Ovo,” which begins its run in Rio Rancho on Wednesday, March 1.
“Ovo,” meaning “egg” in Portuguese, is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a nonstop riot of energy and movement.
It tells the story of when a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives.
It is love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye — and the feeling is mutual.
The cast features 50 performing artists from 12 countries specializing in many acrobatic acts.
Canadian Nate Drydak plays one of the crickets in the performance.
This was an opportunity for him to extend his career as an athlete.
Drydak began gymnastics at 5 years old. He took to the trampoline and began competing with the Canadian National Team.
Over the six years on the team, he was the Indo Pacific champion. Cirque du Soleil approached him.
“It’s still a bit unreal for me and it’s been a dream come true,” he says. “I was offered a chance to sign with the show a couple years ago, and I told myself to give it a go.”
Drydak has been with “Ovo” for just over a year, and he enjoys every aspect of working on the show. He’ll also work with the show for another year; his contract was just extended.
“We’re trying to make the number tighter,” he says. “I ended up being involved in the creation of this show, and it’s really special. I got to perform under the big tent, where shows are premiered before being taken out on the road.”
Drydak says working on a show this diverse has helped him understand how to overcome the language barrier.
He’s also a little starstruck with some of the performers.
“We’re all from different parts of the world,” he says. “Adding to that, there are real vets from the trampoline and tumbling world. I’ve looked up to so many of them, and now they are my peers. They help me grow as a performer and as an athlete.”
While not everyone in the cast bends or flies through the air, each job is important.
Enter Nathan Lerohl, who helps provide the live music for the show.
He comes out on stage with a group of cockroaches.
“I’m the cockroach that stays more in the back,” he says in a phone interview from Tulsa, Okla. “While we’re on stage, we get the opportunity to showcase our skills.”
Lerohl started with “Ovo” about nine months ago.
But this isn’t his first time working on a Cirque du Soleil production. He worked on “Corteo” before moving to “Ovo.”
Like many others in the cast, Lerohl enjoys traveling around the world.
But his travels are a little different, because he travels with his wife and son.
“It’s a lot to take on, because I pay the way for both of them,” he says. “But I want the family to be together so we can enjoy exploring together. We’re at the point of where we do video blogs about the trips.”
Lerohl began playing music at 6, and as he got older, he evolved into writing his own songs and performing around Chicago.
He got a master’s degree in Prague, and when he returned to Chicago, he was contacted by Cirque du Soleil.
In 2008, he was offered a contract with “Corteo” in Japan.
Between “Corteo” and “Ovo,” he moved to Panama and started building a cabin for his family.
“Everything kind of fell into place with this show,” he says. “It’s like the show where everything comes full circle and you learn that there is a purpose for everything.”