August 13, 2018
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Laura Rennegade performs with fire fans at The Ghostly Circus: Dante's Inferno, Friday, Aug. 10, 2018.
For the fifth consecutive year, professional aerialists, circus artists and fire performers lit up Laurel Hill Cemetery with a powerful performance of "The Ghostly Circus." Set amongst mausoleums, tombs and gravestones, this year's show brought guests on a journey to hell, in "Dante's Inferno."
The show was created and produced by Lauren Raske and Britt Killeen of 7Textures, a contemporary event design and set building company that specializes in community celebrations, weddings, and the performing arts. Custom video projections accompanying each act were created by BRDG Studios and Mambisa provided live music and the "Dance-with-the-Dead After-Party" that followed.
The next performance will be held this Saturday, Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. as the previously-scheduled second performance was cancelled due to rain. More information can be found here.
Below is a collection of photos from Friday's spectacle.
Circus performers and aerialists, Wei Wei and Rae Mae, pose for a photo amongst the gravestones before the start of Friday's performance in Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Anthony Crosby, who plays the character “Dante” and Christine Morano who plays “In Limbo,” pose as statues shortly before the beginning of Friday's show.
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Britt Killeen, co-owner of 7Textures, co-produced The Ghostly Circus with Lauren Raske.
Gerald Bergen, or, “The Gates of Hell” character, poses for a photo before Friday's performance.
As dusk draws the day to a close, spectators watch the first act of The Ghostly Circus in Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Aerialists, Wei Wei and Rae Mae, perform on an aerial hoop at Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Hundreds attended Friday evening's unique performance set amongst the gravestones of Philadelphia's Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Erin Flanigan of Cotton Candy Circus Arts balances on an aerial hoop during Friday's performance.
Jilly Schwab spins a dragon staff during her act in The Ghostly Circus: Dante's Inferno.
Circus instructor and aerialist, Shannon Sexton, hangs from the aerial chains during her performance Friday, Aug. 10, 2018.
Cassandra Angelucci and Laura Rennegade perform with fire fans at The Ghostly Circus: Dante's Inferno.
Shannon Sexton hangs from aerial chains while a a track from the “extreme metal” band Celtic Frost blares from the speakers.
Scriptwriter of The Ghostly Circus: Dante's Inferno, Loretta Vasile, acts out a scene along with Gerald Bergen and Anthony Crosby near a mausoleum in Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Eric Geoffrey, a wire walker of the Funicuar Circus performs in Laurel hill Cemetery, Friday, Aug. 10, 2018.
Shannon Sexton, Laura Rennegade, Erin Flanigan and Madeleine Belle perform in front of a mausoleum in Laurel Hill Cemetery.
