A Fool's Journey - Justin Hayford, Chicago Reader 07/24/17. "The hey, hipster friends, let's put on a show vibe throughout Misfit Circus's 90-minute cabaret is both its greatest weakness and its most notable strength. While the general lack of aesthetic rigor turns the opening and closing dance numbers into mush and repeatedly strands a ragged three-piece band in limbo, it also gives the evening a relaxed, welcoming air that makes occasional sloppiness feel positively homey. Each of the dozen circus acts is nominally inspired by a tarot card, cursorily explicated by the show's cunningly naive hostess, Divinity Price. The relationship between card and act ranges from tenuous to nonexistent, but once a few performers have done their beguiling routines-and none more beguiling than Brian P. Dailey's elegant work with Indian clubs-the question of thematic coherence becomes a niggling distraction" .

A Fools Journey: A Misfits Cabaret begins in Chicago - Kim Campbell, Third Coast Reviews. - "A new kind of show will premiere at Chopin Theatre on Thursday, July 20. The kind of show that delves in to the physical world of circus and the mystical world of the Tarot card. A Fool's Journey is a new experimental contemporary circus cabaret featuring live music by Bret Koontz. This premiere Misfit Circus production is a circus collaborative founded by circus artists Molly Plunk (clown, wire walker) and Natalie Abell (hand balancing, aerial rope). Misfit Circus is itself a new circus company that Plunk and Abell decided to form after a summer of coaching together at a children's circus summer camp called Cirkus Smirkus in Vermont.

Plunk and Abell see parallels between the realms of circus and mysticism. Whether it's in the anticipation of a Tarot reading, or the nervous excitement of standing at the precipice of a tightwire platform; Tarot and circus function as mediums to the unconscious world, drawing up raw emotion and secret desires. To that end, each of the acts in the show will represent aspects of Tarot's major arcana, or allegories for the rite of passage one must experience if they are to realize wholeness.

But they assure us that we will not be alone on this journey: "At some point, everyone plays the part of the Fool and we must all confront our hidden selves," says Abell. Plunk follows up, "The Fool is the part of ourselves that is distinctly us, and unadulterated."

To find out more about Misfit Circus, follow them on Facebook and Instagram. This project is partially supported by a Cultural Outreach Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events and a grant from the Wicker Park-Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.

A Fool's Journey will be playing at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. Shows are Thursday thru Sunday from July 20 through August 13. Tickets are $36 for cabaret table seating; $27 general admission."

From Misfit Circus:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 6, 2017
Contact: Laura Torres
857-222-8236
misfitcircusPR@gmail.com

A Fool's Journey, a Misfit Circus Cabaret !

Beginning with the fool's card in the tarot deck, this circus cabaret style show exposes our unconscious thoughts and desires.

A Fool's Journey is a new experimental contemporary circus cabaret that digs into the symbolism and revelatory nature of the tarot deck. Featuring live music by Bret Koontz, the show takes the viewer though a wide variety of acts (tightwire, acrobatics, hand balancing, juggling and more) that investigate the tarot's major symbols and themes. A Fool's Journey is a premiere Misfit Circus production, a circus collaborative founded by Molly Plunk (clown, wire walker) and Natalie Abell (hand balancing, aerial rope). A Fool's Journey will be playing at the Chopin Theatre in Wicker Park July 20th through August 13th. Tickets are $36 for Cabaret Table Seating; $27 General Admission. Be whisked away to a world where the fool is king and magic is real!

Whether it's in the anticipation of a tarot reading, or the nervous excitement of standing at the precipice of a tightwire platform; tarot and circus function as mediums to the unconscious world, drawing up raw emotion and secret desires. Each of the acts in the show represent aspects of tarot's major arcana, or allegories for the rite of passage one must experience if they are to realize wholeness.

Misfit founders, Molly Plunk and Natalie Abell, assure us that we're not alone on this journey: "At some point, everyone plays the part of the fool and we must all confront our hidden selves," says Abell. Plunk follows up, "The Fool is the part of ourselves that is distinctly us, and unadulterated."

This project is partially supported by a Cultural Outreach Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events and a grant from the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.

Misfit Circus is a new circus company founded by Natalie Abell and Molly Plunk. After a summer of coaching at Cirkus Smirkus together, Abell and Plunk decided to set their sights on a circus company that embraces a fresh, irreverent, and weird take on traditional circus shows.

Natalie Abell has over two decades of experience as a creative nomad. Her roles have run the gamut from vocal lead in rock bands, to patent holding engineer. She is currently a circus professional, whose recent performances include an original collaboration with beat boxer Yuri Lane, an aerial rope battle with renowned rope artists Emiliano Ron and Terry Crane, and a starring role in Dinner of Our Discontent, a show featured in Circus Now: International Circus Exposure showcase in NYC. She is a regularly featured artist for Acrobatica Infiniti: Nerd Circus, cos-playing as Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman for conventions such as C2E2. Abell has coached and performed for Aloft Circus Arts, Acrobatica Infiniti, MSA & Circus Arts, The Actor's Gymnasium, Circus Smirkus, and Flying Gravity Circus.

Molly Plunk grew up playing make-believe down a dusty, gravel road on farm in the middle of the great state of Illinois. She has been active member of and contributor to Chicago's Neo-Futurists for many years, and is currently Artistic Associate of the company. Plunk is best known for her role of Faerie Queen in Jay Torrence's local winter staple, Burning Bluebeard. In addition to her theater work, she is an accomplished tightwire performer, and clown, having performed for Aloft Circus Arts, Redmoon Theater, The Actor's Gymnasium, Zoppé Family Circus, The Ruffians, and Bindlestiff Family Cirkus. Plunk is a graduate of Columbia College.