Artists

  • Amy Bertucci has worked extensively with Wise Fool since 1995, teaching puppetry, stilts, trapeze and aerial arts to youth and adults, conducting outreach, directing projects and performing in productions. Amy earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where she studied language, art, history and dance including the classical East Indian Dance of Orissi with Ratna Roy. After graduating Amy earned her license as a Massage Practioner at the East West College in Portland, Oregon. While developing a practice, Amy began studying trapeze and partner acrobatics with 'Do Jump' Physical Theatre company in Portland. It was here that Amy developed her passion for the circus arts. In 1999, she relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico and began to work with Alessandra Ogren with whom she developed Sorelle Sora, an aerial arts performance troupe, and The One Railroad Circus. Amy also became a part of the Nationally touring band, The Dolly Ranchers, with whom she sang, toured and recorded over the span of four years. Amy has received instruction in the aerial arts from a variety of trainers including Elsie and Serenity Smith of Cirque Du Soleil, Aerial Fabric originator Fred, and Carrie Heller, a nationally recognized trapeze instructor who has pioneered the use of trapeze and circus arts in therapeutic applications.
  • JD Carmona
  • Amy Christian
  • Amanda Crockett has been performing since she was small. Her father is a clown, and at age 8 she joined him in the delicate art of making people laugh. All these years later, she still can't imagine doing anything else. She is incredibly inspired by the clown's brilliance and all the ways a body can move through space to tell a story, to communicate through movement. Her pursuit of the perfect blend of physical theatre and high level circus skill has taken around the world to perform, teach and learn. Some performing highlights include: the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, Midnight Circus, Moscow International Circus, Kimtom International Clown Festival, the Phyzgig Festival of Physical Comedy and La Bauta at Carnivale in Venice, Italy. Amanda has worked with Wise Fool New Mexico for the past 7 years as a performer, teacher, and many other odds and ends.
  • Cohdi Harrell was born and raised somewhere between the Pecos wilderness and the sandy dunes of Cairo Egypt. Committed to the experiment of humans and objects, movement and sound, ground and air; his work has taken him across the globe in an exploration of humanism by means of circus and movement arts. As a performer, teacher, student, and dreamer, Cohdi has found himself in a myriad of projects and shows, ranging from nightclubs to operas, and has been featured in various publications and television shows. He is dedicated to the fusion of traditional movement forms with circus and performance art innovation.
  • Rosie Jablonsky
  • Corinna MacNeice is of Irish extraction, and grew up in postwar London, England. She holds a BA from the Slade School, UCL, and a Post-graduate year. Corinna has exhibited in London; Oxford; Belfast and Dublin in Ireland; Kathmandu,Nepal; Berlin, Germany; Fort Worth,Texas and Santa Fe NM in the US. After 45 years as a Londoner, Corinna travelled extensively in the 1980's and has lived permanently in New Mexico working at painting, video and theatre since the start of the 1990's. www.corinnamacneice.com
  • Indi McCasey is a prevention educator, performer, and outdoor enthusiast. Two years ago, Indi moved 1,500 miles to study with Wise Fool New Mexico which attests to the uniqueness of this company. Indi has 13 years of experience working with youth ranging from teaching swim lessons, to leading trail crews, to presenting in schools, and looks forward to sharing the magic of circus arts with people of all ages.
  • Colleen McKeown Originally hailing from upstate New York, Colleen has been living in the "Land of Entrapment" since 1996. She discovered Wise Fool and circus classes in 2003 and her appetite for mad skills has increased exponentially ever since. She began her circus obsession with partner acrobatics and that is still her favorite. Colleen has found that circus training also enriches her career as a Licensed Massage Therapist. In addition to producing the biannual cabaret, Femme-O-Lition Derby, featuring the talents of queer femmes, Colleen also performs as her burlesque alter ego, September Smith, and has charmed audiences with aerial and stage burlesque from NYC to San Francisco.
  • Sarah-Jane Moody has been performing clown and physical comedy since 1997. She believes in the innocent and simple beauty of the clown, and relishes in the exploration of this world. She is co-founder and artistic director of the One Railroad Circus. She studied Performance Art and Women's Studies at San Francisco State University and is a graduate from the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre. Sarah-Jane is also an activist, writer, and musician who toured with her band, the Dolly Ranchers, for many years. She has had the great opportunity to work all over the world with her comedic and musical talents.
  • Deirdre Morris Deirdre's involvement with Wise Fool over the years has included principal performer, teacher, choreographer, Production and Booking Agent, Studio Manager, producer of the Women’s Summer Circus Workshop Intensive, and key creator of Ashes: the Alchemy of Hope. Deirdre has also been a member of the Production team for the “Walking Tall Circus” project in Miami.
  • Kayo Muller has studied theatre and dance for 7 years and participated in numerous professional plays in Brazil, where she was born and raised. She worked with Wise Fool NM from summer of 2003 through 2008, developing new skills in the circus and puppetry arts. Her training includes instruction from Wise Fool teachers as well as intensive workshops in the aerial arts with Elsie and Serenity Smith of Cirque Du Soleil, Aerial Fabric originator and master Fred Deb and Carrie Heller, a nationally recognized pioneer in therapeutic applications of circus arts. Kayo has also studied with Master Clown, Moshe Cohen. Kayo has performed in major Wise Fool productions such as Circus Luminous 2004 and 2005, and Baggage 2005. She is also a children's trapeze teacher in the Studio Teachers' Collective and has taught in such educational programs as the Miami Performing Arts Center's "Walking Tall Circus" 2005 and 2006 and the "Wise Fool Kids Circus Camp" 2005 in Penasco and Santa Fe, NM.
  • Alessandra Ogren
  • Chioma "Journey Woman" Oruh is an artivist (artist + activist) scholar based primarily out of Washington, DC. A native Igbo (located in eastern Nigeria), she was raised in the US and has been privileged to travel widely to visit and be of service in many regions of the world. Chioma became a member of Wise Fool in 2006 after a 10 show run of Baggage and, although she no longer resides in Santa Fe, she is dedicated to promoting the arts as a tool for healing and restoration. As a poet she has published and recorded her works both individuall and with Tribe Phoenix poetry collective. In addition to her poetic and musical life, Chioma is also an activist organizing around core issues like AFRICOM, the prison industrial complex and global economic justice through the promotion of fair trade. She has published poetry and academic works to reflect these passions. Chioma currently pursing a joint Masters and PhD in African Studies at Howard University with a focus on music and its effects on liberation movements. www.journeywomanchi.com
  • Jasmine Quinsier is a performance artist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her experience ranges from Middle Eastern dance, clowning, and fire performance to visual arts, media arts, choreography, and stage managing. She is an associate member of Wise Fool New Mexico and a collaborative member of Masnavi Dance Collective.
  • Cynthia Ruffin is a theatre activist, writer and educator from Montreal, Canada. She has been doing social justice work, creating theatre with performers and non-performers of all ages for over 10 years. Her specialty is in adapting personal stories into healing theatrical performances as she believes strongly in the power of art to heal. She is published in the anthology Cootie Shots: Theatrical Inoculations against Bigotry and her plays have toured middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities across the US. She is currently working on a young adult fiction series called the Social Justice League that deals with the power of young people to be activists and make change in the world.
  • Kate Russell
  • Christina Sporrong is an artist, blacksmith and teacher. Originally from Stockholm Sweden, she currently lives in Taos NM where she runs her own metal shop and forge, Spitfire Forge. To de-mystify metal and empower other women in this medium she teaches locan and national women’s welding workshops. Visit http://www.spitfireforge.com for lots more info!
  • Rebekah Tarin is a self-taught artist and thinker who believes creative expression is a human right. She teaches visual and circus arts to young people in Taos, Peñasco, Santa Fe and other places.