{"id":102400,"date":"2026-01-16T17:24:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/102400\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T17:24:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:24:23","slug":"once-a-circus-performer-now-a-bronx-playwright-victor-vauban-jr-finds-a-new-stage-bronx-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/102400\/","title":{"rendered":"Once a circus performer, now a Bronx playwright, Victor Vauban Jr. finds a new stage \u2013 Bronx Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t Search our comprehensive guide to things to do in the Bronx<\/a> for more local events \u2014 or submit your own<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Many people dream of the idea of joining the circus, seduced by the larger than life excitement and magic. Victor Vauban Junior, a longtime Bronx resident, did more than just dream, he made it happen.<\/p>\n

After joining a circus in his teens, and living the reality of that dream, traveling and performing in tents with long hours and long weeks, Vauban is now living his second dream, as a playwright in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t an easy life,\u201d Vauban said of his days as a trapeze artist in a circus that traveled across the United States. \u201cWe had 14 shows a week in the tent. We didn\u2019t have time to meet people. We just knew the people who worked with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

A dreamer and a doer who moved to the Bronx 22 years ago from Brazil, Vauban is finding that show business has many faces, going from circuses to theater, as a playwright, director and sometimes performer.<\/p>\n

His play \u201cLeaves\u201d is running at the New York Theater Festival<\/a>, at Teatro LATEA on the Lower East Side of Manhattan from Jan. 15 to Jan. 18.<\/p>\n

Vauban was born and raised in S\u00e3o Lu\u00eds, in the Northeast of Brazil, in the countryside near the city. \u201cWe were poor, but we had enough to eat,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was always food on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

He decided to move to Rio de Janeiro, a city with more opportunities at 15 years old, enrolling in a circus performance school.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to find a way of making a living. I didn\u2019t have an education or a profession,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was the way I found to improve my life.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Vauban studied and learned \u201ccircus arts\u201d such as acrobatics, trapeze and clowning, then auditioned for the UniverSoul Circus, based in Atlanta.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHe took 12 acrobats to America and I was one of them,\u201d Vauban said. \u201cThat\u2019s how I came to America.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Although he traveled all over the United States, he didn\u2019t have time to sightsee or get to know the places they were visiting. Performers came from around the globe, from Africa, Asia and Europe, rehearsing and doing shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of us did not speak English,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had to find a way to communicate.\u201d
\n\"\"Victor Vauban\u2019s play, \u201cLeaves\u201d follows a woman who dreamed of becoming a superstar in a singing group and then met a young man who plays baseball. Photo courtesy Victor Vauban Jr.\n<\/p>\n

Vauban performed with a number of international circus companies, including Gran Circus Norte-Americano, Beto Carrero Show, Gran Bartholo Circus and Circus Amok. He also taught in a program run by the Cirque du Soleil and Cirque du Monde.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cirque de Soleil has programs around the world for the most part in communities that are struggling,\u201d he said. \u201cWe teach classes two or three times a week to kids 7 to 21 for free.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

After traveling with circuses and teaching circus arts, Vauban sought to study at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), learning to read and write in English and then write plays, under the tutelage of Mario Giacalone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where I learned about play writing,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s how I got involved. I was very successful. I had no idea I could write, especially in a language that wasn\u2019t mine.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Rather than write about the circus, Vauban began writing plays about life in New York, including troubles and struggles.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cMe being a Black person, I was surprised how many people of color here are behind bars,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of the first pieces I wrote was about that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

He said he\u2019s very inspired by jazz singer Nina Simone and resonates with her statement that \u201cThe artist should reflect the time.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI see what\u2019s going on in the world and that inspires me to write stories people can relate to,\u201d Vauban said.\n<\/p>\n

His play, \u201cMartin\u2019s Truth,\u201d about three African American men at the \u201clowest point in their lives,\u201d was performed at the Strawberry Festival and won the festival\u2019s award for Best Actor.\n<\/p>\n

His newest play,\u00a0 \u201cLeaves,\u201d about a woman faced with the loss of loved ones, won Best Play.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cMy inspiration comes from what I see going on in the world,\u201d Vauban said. \u201cI see a lot of people struggling with mental health who go untreated. Especially in the Black community, it\u2019s a taboo. It\u2019s about family as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLeaves\u201d follows a woman who dreamed of becoming a superstar in a singing group and then met a young man who plays baseball. They marry, create a family, and move to Syracuse, but she loses her husband and children in a car accident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis loss affects her profoundly,\u201d Vauban said. \u201cShe lives in the memories she had when they were alive. Then her sister arrives and confronts her.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Alexis Braxton, Ben Rowe, Patricia Fields, Joy Foster, Obi Nwako and Sania Hyatt star in the play.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe primary themes of this play include assimilation, loyalty, colorism, the importance of family and mental health,\u201d Vauban said.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cLeaves,\u201d which ran twice in 2022 and 2024 at Theater for the New City\u00a0 is running as part of the New York Theater Festival, at\u00a0 Teatro LATEA at , 107 Suffolk St, on the Lower East Side.\n<\/p>\n

The play is being performed on Jan. 15, 2026 at 6:15 p.m.; Jan. 17, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. and Jan. 18 at 6:00 p.m.\n<\/p>\n

Tickets are $30 at the New York Theater Festival website<\/a> and at the door.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Search our comprehensive guide to things to do in the Bronx for more local events \u2014 or submit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[46851,46852,128,46853,7783,358,9,24,46854,63,46855,46856,129,131,130,46857],"class_list":["post-102400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-acrobat","tag-bmcc","tag-bronx","tag-bronx-playwright","tag-leaves","tag-lower-east-side","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-theater-festival","tag-nyc","tag-su00e3o-luu00eds","tag-teatro-latea","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-victor-vauban-junior"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}