In conjunction with the Cirque du Soleil performances of Delirium at the Qwest Center on October 24 and 25, Nebraska Shakespeare sponsored 3 workshops led by NSF and UNO alumnus Karen Coover Gay, the Director of Public, Social and Cultural Affairs for Cirque’s Resident Show Divisions and her colleague, Joe Walsh, General Stage Manager for Cirque du Soleil’s “O.” The workshops were held in the UNO Theatre in the lower level of the Weber Fine Arts Building on Thursday, October 26.
Session 1: 10:00 – 11:15 am. The History, Philosophy, and Mission of Cirque du Soleil This session included a general overview of the history and philosophy of Cirque, its mission, artistic vision and social consciousness, as well as the roles Karen and Joe play in the organization.
Session 2: 1:00 – 2:15 pm. Creative Processes This session discussed the Creative Process of Developing new material with an international company, including the generation of ideas, casting, training, reworking material, and cultural challenges. Resident Shows and Touring Productions were discussed.
Session 3: 2:30 – 3:30 pm. Directing, Design, and Technical Challenges The focus of this session was on directing, design, and technical challenges for productions that combine circus, theatre, street performance, original music, and elements such as water, fire, and massive rigging. This session also discussed how Cirque builds a new theatre for the particular needs of each resident show.
Cirque video clips and a question-and-answer session were included in all sessions.
If you would like more information about our educational programming, please contact Nebraska Shakespeare at or (402) 554-3072.
KAREN COOVER GAY Karen is the Director of Public, Social and Cultural Affairs, responsible for implementing Cirque du Soleil’s public, social and cultural affairs policies and programs for their Resident Shows Division in Las Vegas and Orlando. Prior to her current position, she was the Company Manager/Director of Operations for Cirque’s Mystère. With the Troika Organization, she served as Company Manager for Starlight Express at the Las Vegas Hilton and for the 42nd Street National Tour for which she also served as a Producing Associate. An alumna of the Graduate Program in Theatre at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Karen has been Company Manager and Road Manager for the Nebraska Theatre Caravan and Company Manager and Assistant to the Artistic Director for Opera Omaha. She also served as the Site/Company Manager for the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival from 1988-1993, and served for two seasons as NSF’s Marketing Director.
JOE WALSH Joe Walsh received his Bachelor’s Degree in Theater from Temple University in Philadelphia. He was fortunate to go on his 1st National Tour 10 days later for the Troika Organization’s production of Singin’ in the Rain. He continued touring for the next 6 years with The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Me and My Girl, Ziegfeld, Meet Me in St. Louis, and Ken Hill’s Phantom of the Opera. Because of his time on tour, he can gratefully say that he has worked in every one of the “lower 48” states of America, Canada, Mexico and Singapore. Joe then roller skated into Las Vegas with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express at the Las Vegas Hilton. After its successful run, Joe decided to run away and join the circus, becoming General Stage Manager of Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère. After 7 years at the helm of Cirque’s longest running show in Vegas, he decided it was time for a change and moved to the Bellagio, where you can currently find him as the General Stage Manager of Cirque Du Soleil’s O.
