The Medicine Circus

In a remote town in Northern Thailand, 3 hours from any major city, a sleepy town called Pai has given birth to a project called Medicine Circus. What started almost 2 years ago as a group of traveling fire artists passing through town has evolved into a full-scale international collective of multi-talented circus artists, with members hailing from more than 14 countries spread out over 4 continents.

The performers of Medicine Circus believe that movement and circus arts can act as healing medicine both for themselves and their audiences. They believe that community, skill-building, and artistic expression are all necessary parts of the human experience, and through their work in Pai they strive to create spaces for artists to explore their full potential. They value accessibility and sustainability as core to their operation and are building an organization that allows artists to share their art through performances, teaching, and social circus missions.

Have you ever dreamed about running away with the circus, but weren’t sure how to make that dream a reality? Medicine Circus strives to make that process easier by providing community,  and spaces for learning and participation all over the world. Daily workshops for beginners make circus arts both an accessible and affordable option for thousands of backpackers traveling through Southeast Asia, and they are developing “social circus” programming to provide free training to at-risk youth around Thailand. It is truly a collection of people who believe that movement can heal, and these art-forms should be shared with everyone.

Every Thursday and Sunday is normally when you would catch a Medicine Circus show at Pai Backpackers Paradise. For a full hour guests are transported into a world of fire, clowns, acrobatics, and pyrotechnics. Students who had been taking workshops during the day are often stepping out onto a stage of 350+ audience members for the first time, and getting to showcase their creativity and artistry in an encouraging space for learning and growth. This is an extremely rare thing to find in the world, a performance stage that is friendly to both beginners and professionals alike. Through holding space for new performers, they’ve discovered just how much someone can learn about themselves by pushing their creative limits and facing their fears within the structure of a supportive community.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, the weekly shows were shut down and our members are exploring brand new ways of sharing their art with the world. Online circus is a totally unexplored medium, one that presents new challenges, but also new opportunities, to create a delightful experience for an audience looking for a form of escape. Whether it’s providing entertainment for virtual events (birthdays, anniversaries, work celebrations, etc.) or continuing their goal of collaborative learning through hosting online workshops and tutorials, Medicine Circus has proven that adaptability, above all else, is one of the most useful skills one can develop. They hope that by providing a container for learning, self-growth, and exploration, artists will discover additional talents and creative outlets to share their voice and provide entertainment to the masses.

Transitioning in-person entertainment to an online format is not easy, and a lot of ideas need to be explored before refining a show into something audiences would love to support. Production value and proper AV equipment has become a clear differentiator in building a quality show online, and this is the biggest struggle the Medicine Circus team now faces. For the last year, Medicine Circus has been growing from an informal meetup of fire artists into a sustainable hub for artists to live from their art as well as a supportive, inclusive community that encourages personal and collective growth through play. They want to extend the invite to anyone willing to experience circus and it's worldwide family through a new online platform which can be used to teach, learn, share and explore.

Pai is often described as a magical place, and one can truly see that in this coalition of artists who collectively believe that movement and laughter is a necessary medicine for our society. In this time of isolation, they seek to share their gifts and knowledge with as many people as possible, and create a global connected community of artists and creators. For anyone who wants to support them on their mission of bringing the healing power of circus arts to the world, they encourage you to follow them on social media (@medicinecircusproductions) and share their content. If you’d like to provide any financial support, donations can be made to their PayPal via [email protected]. Funds will go towards improving their streaming setup to provide better quality shows and online entertainment. 

Medicine Circus has proven to all of its members that the best way to get love, is to give love.