Book Kennison (co-creator/producer/performer) is a performance artist who uses juggling, movement, sound, and text. With no formal training, he’s achieved great proficiency as a circus performer, writer, and music producer, and he combines his talents into spellbinding, seemingly effortless work. As a writer and musician, he’s created work for companies like Midnight Circus, Circus Flora, and Hideaway Circus, and in his long career on stage he’s appeared with companies as diverse as The 7 Fingers and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. With an uncompromising commitment to the artist’s life and the pursuit of new ideas and techniques, his career, after more than 20 years, is just beginning. Book first moved to Astoria in 2012.
NB: Other than the amazing diversity, what do/did you love most about living in Queens (or Queens in general)? How has Queens changed over the years?
BK: I love getting off the train in Queens after being in the city and taking a big exhale. It’s a place you can truly relax, reflect, be yourself, and be at your own pace. To me, it’s like living in an idyllic small town. We love our café, our bodega, our laundromat, and all the little quirks of our neighborhood that make it feel like home. The small businesses here are all so warm and generous, and it truly feels like we’re maintaining something special here.
NB: How does Queens inspire you? What are some of your favorite places to be inspired in Queens?
BK: Socrates Park and the newly re-opened Rainey Park have great views of the river and the city, and in the summer they’re great places to hang out, think, read, and maybe do a little movement session. I’m also a big fan of the Noguchi Museum, his work and his space is always inspiring. The fact that all these places are so close together in our little pocket of Queens is an incredible blessing.
NB: What advice do you have for readers who are hoping to develop their creative or artistic practice? Is artistic talent innate and/or can it be taught/developed? How important is daily practice? Do you ever get stage fright/camera shy/performance anxiety or have advice about overcoming it?
BK: Having an artistic practice is inseparable from the fact of being an artist. Whether or not talent is innate, the artist must develop themselves by developing a practice. What you see on the stage is the result of a lifetime of research, refinement, and devotion. At 3AM, our team all started as circus artists or dancers; the movement arts in particular require a dedication to the body and mind in order to work day-in and day-out and over the course of a career.
NB: How important is personal connection and communication (networking?) in your industry?
BK: Personal connections are everything in the circus and theater industry–– I’m always amazed at how often I work with someone I met twenty years ago, who’s now in a completely new role. To run our space, we rely completely on our network in New York and beyond.
NB: What are your favorite restaurants, cafes, theaters, bookstores, exhibits, museums, communities, and venues in Queens? Favorite places to perform in Queens?
BK: There’s the aforementioned Noguchi Museum, and of course PS1 and The Museum of the Moving Image. Everyone at 3AM is a big fan of Hidalgo Mexican Food, Café 9, and Il Miglio Pizzeria. Our favorite place to perform is our own venue: 3AM Theatre! But we’d love to work with Socrates Park on an outdoor installation sometime in the future.
NB: Do you have any events or projects coming up that you’d like to promote? Your answer to this question helps with our production schedule. Can you tell us more about your W3AM show?
BK: Yes! Our variety show is called W3AM, and in April we’ll be playing it all month on Wednesdays and Saturdays. There’s no better place to see circus in New York––our company members and friends are all true artists and so good at their disciplines. And it’s not just circus! Every show features dance, live music, readings, and a DJ set post-show. Somehow, it all fits together perfectly, and everyone always has a great time. It’s a special night, and truly a hidden gem in Queens. (For ticket): https://ticketstripe.com/events/3998108727886878)
NB: How do you know when something you’re working on (or piece, or any type of art) is “done” (finished editing, complete)?
BK: For live performance pieces, it’s hard to say; the piece will naturally continue to evolve over the course of its life on stage. The way we work at 3AM, there’s often a deadline to present the piece, even if it doesn’t exist in any form yet, and by presenting it to an audience, we learn a lot about how we want to evolve it.
NB: Can you tell us more about how your “work explores the intersection of contemporary circus and physical theatre, blending high technical skill with immersive narratives and experimental stage design”?
BK: Our work is always big on visual spectacle––lights and set pieces. What is revealed and obstructed by lights, shadows, and objects. Even in our relatively small space in Astoria, we manage to create a striking visual world that the audience can get lost in. We believe there’s nothing more magical than high-level movement technique combined with iconic visual propositions; when those two elements are in service of a compelling narrative, what you have is an unforgettable show. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish in our little corner of Queens.
—Nicollette Barsamian
The Local-Express interview series was originated on July 3, 2013 by Nicollette Barsamian.