Beau Brown

“Our director would always say, ‘Life is a disease with a 100 percent mortality rate; you’re either six feet under or six feet above,’” said Kristen Weibel, student choreographer of Cabaret Company’s opening show, “A Circus of Homo Sapiens.”

This week and upcoming weekend, the Cabaret Company at The University of Akron presents its new production “Cabaret Company 4: A Circus of Homo Sapiens.” The hour-long performance is a conglomerate act between the theater and dance departments at UA.

Directed by UA student Rosilyn Jentner and choreographed by Weibel, “A Circus of Homo Sapiens” wraps around the idea of social cohesion.

“The show is about those who are six feet above and how we, as humans, live our daily lives,” said Weibel. “Everything in the show, including the prop pieces, are enacted by the actors through using parts of their body.”

The performance includes five separate sideshows that each deal with a characteristic shared by all people, including concepts such as companionship, love and courage. The idea behind the show is that each person, although different, shares similar qualities that make
them human.

“We told the actors to convey a little bit of their real lives with their acting,” said Jentner. “This way, we could make the show as human as possible.”

The goal of the performers and directors, however, is to make the audience leave with their own interpretations of what occurred.

“The dancers that are portraying the human characteristics never say a word,” said Weibel. “The only words that are spoken are done so by the actors. We want the audience to talk to their friends about what they thought about the performance and debate the meaning behind the movements.”

“Cabaret Company 4: A Circus of Homo Sapiens” will be performed in Daum Theatre in Kolbe Hall on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. In addition, there are matinee performances at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free for all UA students.