A performer practices his diabolo routine backstage at the Sandman Centre on Oct. 24, 2018. It was opening night for the Kamloops production of Cirque du Soleil's Corteo. Shelby Thevenot

iN PHOTOS: Behind the scenes of Corteo in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS – Cirque du Soleil is in Kamloops this week, and the Sandman Centre is buzzing with clowns.

But not just clowns. Musicians, acrobats, and the technical crews who keep the gears oiled, and the seams sewed are in town for the production of Corteo.

Based off the Italian word "Cortéo" meaning "procession" this Cirque du Soleil spectacle tells the story of Mauro the clown's funeral.

"Yes it is about his funeral but it is a celebration of life," touring publicist Max Batista says. "When somebody is about to die they have flashbacks of everything that happened in their life. This is what you're going to see on stage."

While you can see the show in Kamloops until Sunday, Oct. 28, here are some parts of the show that you don't see.

Two acrobats practice stunts on the set of one of the last scenes in the production. An onlooker carries a crash mat that he will drape over one of the poles, creating a new obstacle. Shelby Thevenot

Marie-Christine Menard-Bergeron practices acrobatics on the set. She plays several parts in the show including a golf ball who tricks the golfer as he sets up to hit her across the green. Shelby Thevenot

Marie-Christine Mernard-Bergeron bursts into laugher after taking a tumble from the bar she was swinging on. Shelby Thevenot

Costume workers travel around with the Cirque du Soleil performers. Every day they must make sure costumes are show-ready, that means laundry, repairs and polishing scuff marks off of shoes. Michele Deshaes normally works out of Montreal, but is replacing the full time worker who is off due to surgery. Shelby Thevenot

Performers pull off incredible feats every night, and have to stay in shape. Shelby Thevenot

Unlike most Cirque du Soleil shows set in an arena stage, Corteo uses traverse staging, meaning there is audience seating on two opposing sides of the stage. The staging is not the only way Corteo deviates from other Cirque du Soleil shows. Mauro Mozzani, who plays the main character also named Mauro, does quite a bit of talking on stage, switching between multiple languages such as English, French, and Italian. Shelby Thevenot

To contact a reporter for this story, email Shelby Thevenot or call (250) 819-6089 or email the editor You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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Shelby Thevenot

Shelby has lived across Canada. She grew up near Winnipeg, Manitoba then obtained her B.F.A in Multidisciplinary Fine Arts at the University of Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Alberta. In 2014 she moved to Montreal, Quebec to study French and thrived in the Visual Journalism Graduate Diploma program at Concordia University. Now she works at iNFO News where she strives to get the stories that matter to the Okanagan Valley community.

Member of:

The Professional Writers Association of Canada

Quebec Writers Federation

English Language Arts Network

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