Cirque Mechanics returns to the LMC Mendel Center with an all-new production

BENTON HARBOR, MICH. – Gravity-defying acrobatics meet theatrical ingenuity when Cirque Mechanics returns to the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center with their spectacular new production. On Saturday, Oct. 25, at 7:30 p.m., the Mendel Center Jenkins Theatre audience will be transported into the whimsical world of "Tilt! A Circus Thrill Ride" – an awe-inspiring celebration of mechanical marvels and human artistry that reimagines the thrills and wonder of an amusement park.

 

In Tilt!, Cirque Mechanics takes you on a journey to the backlot of their inventive theme park, where in the shadow of the roller coaster and under the lights of the Ferris wheel, you’ll meet the operators, carnies, and characters that keep the rides running and the thrills coming.

 

Cirque Mechanics was founded in 2004 by Boston native and German Wheel artist, Chris Lashua, after the success of a collaborative project with the Circus Center of San Francisco entitled Birdhouse Factory. Cirque Mechanics quickly established itself as a premier American circus, with its unique approach to performance, inspiring storytelling, and innovative mechanical staging. Spectacle Magazine hailed it as “the greatest contribution to the American circus since Cirque du Soleil.”

 

Cirque Mechanics, although inspired by modern circus, finds its roots in the mechanical and its heart in the stories of American ingenuity. The shows, rooted in realism, display a raw quality, rarely found in modern circus, that makes their message timeless and relevant. The stories are wrapped in circus acrobatics, mechanical wonders, and a bit of clowning around. The troupe has created six extraordinary productions; Birdhouse Factory, Boomtown, Pedal Punk, 42FT- A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels, Zephyr, and now Tilt: A Circus Thrill Ride.

 

Tickets will be available to the public at www.TheMendelCenter.com/events  beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, June 6.

 

In celebration of our community's love for the arts, generous underwriting from the Gast Young People's Performance Endowment and Premiere Partners allows the LMC Mendel Center to offer tickets starting at the special price of $10 plus service fee for this performance.

 

Cirque Mechanics: Tilt! A Circus Thrill Ride is part of the Mendel Center Discovery Series.

 

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Now in its thirteenth season, The Mendel Center’s Discovery Series provides family friendly performing arts events for audiences of all ages. The series delivers enriching experiences that introduce young people and their families to the excitement of professionally produced touring productions. The goal of the series is to inspire creativity, spark imagination, educate through the arts, and create opportunities to build cherished memories while having a lot of fun.

The Lake Michigan College Mendel Center raised the curtain on its first Mendel Center season performance in the fall of 1992. Since then, it has presented performances and guest speakers to more than half a million patrons in the 1,489-seat Mendel Center Jenkins Theatre. Grand Upton Hall, first opened in 1979 and fully renovated in 2019, is a 13,700-square-foot venue serving the community as the host site for meetings, banquets, trade shows, weddings, and other celebrations. The 229-seat Hanson Theatre, renovated in 2020, hosts numerous Lake Michigan College Visual & Performing Arts Department performances, as well as a variety of Mendel Center and community events.

 

The Mendel Center is 30 minutes from Niles and 40 minutes from the Kalamazoo and South Bend areas. It is located on the Lake Michigan College campus at 2755 E. Napier Avenue, Benton Harbor, Michigan, one mile east of I-94 (Exit 30) and one mile west of the US 31 Bypass (exit 24). Its GPS mapping address is 1100 Yore Avenue, Benton Harbor, MI.

 

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