Photography: Robin Schmiedebach.
What do you write on a customs form when your job involves hanging upside down 10 metres in the air, making people laugh and occasionally fooling the world’s most famous magicians?
Imogen Stone, 30, says, “Sometimes I just put artist, circus performer or entertainer.”
It was love at first trick when the Wellingtonian was introduced to circus performing at a holiday programme when she was 11.
“My previous interests of dance and gymnastics faded into the background. Circus just ticked everything for me – I loved that it was physical, creative and expressive.”
The Wellington Circus Hub became her second home.
“My parents could see how much joy it gave me,” she recalls.
“And they also liked that it absolutely tired me out! But more than that, they saw the older teens and amazing adults around me, and thought, ‘We may not see her as much, but at least she’s with good people.’”
By 17, Imogen was so sure performing was what she wanted to do with her life, she left school to “literally join the circus”.
Love on the road
She even convinced her boyfriend Zane Jarvie, now 34, to come with her! The couple had been dating for six months after meeting through circus and he’d just completed architecture studies at university.
“He’s an amazing juggler, so I asked if he’d be up for it. I distinctly remember sitting in our travelling caravan together and talking about how it was quite intense that we were living together, but it was
just so easy and so right.”
During that first tour, the couple spent eight months travelling the North Island with a small crew and helped do everything from building the tent to selling the popcorn.
Performing for small communities
“It was a hard slog, but it taught us so much. The show went into small communities and rural Aotearoa. It was so cool to perform to four generations and bring joy.”
Thirteen years on and Imogen – who has gone on to build an international career, mainly as an aerialist specialising in rope – still gets a kick from performing.
“Rope is similar to silks, but I like that it’s raw and modern,” she explains.
“It doesn’t come with too much aesthetic expectation from the audience – I like wearing pants and baggy clothes, keeping it a bit gritty. “It’s a fun apparatus and the tricks are very technical.
I love how long it takes to achieve such physically challenging skills.”
A global career on stage
Her talent has taken her all over the world – she’s performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Glastonbury, and been part of major creative projects closer to home with Wētā Workshop and World of Wearable Art.
But late last year, Imogen’s aerial act almost came to an end. She was in Germany for a dream contract – a six-month residency in Hamburg, five nights a week in a glittering dinner-variety show inside a Spiegeltent (Dutch for mirror tent). But during a routine warm-up, she injured two discs in her lower back.
When everything changed
“At first, I could still perform, but I was in pain,” she says.
“Then I had relapses. The third time, I couldn’t walk.”
Ending up in hospital, Imogen was unable to feed herself or move independently.
“It was terrifying. My whole identity was my body and suddenly I couldn’t trust it any more.”
Six weeks off the air
For six weeks, Imogen was unable to do aerial work. While she continued with other roles in the show – including hosting, comedy acts and interacting with the audience – she felt like a shell of herself.
“The audience didn’t know what they were missing out on, but I did!” she shares.
“I don’t take sick days and there’s so much work that goes into a show before the curtain even goes up. To suddenly not be able to do it was really hard.”
As friends brought groceries and hot-water bottles, she was forced to be cared for.
“It was a lesson in receiving kindness,” she reflects.
“And in realising I wasn’t letting anyone down by stopping. I had to heal. Now I have a Spidey sense of awareness of that part of my body – I can’t take anything in my back for granted.”
A turning point in recovery
Thankfully, she’s now made her return to the air with Laser Kiwi, the surreal sketch circus trio she co-founded with Zane and his brother Degge Jarvie, 32. The talented troupe has toured globally, won Best Circus at Perth’s Fringe World Festival, been nominated for an award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and have even managed to trick world-famous magicians Penn & Teller when they competed on their series Fool Us.
Now their new show Everybody Knows is premiering at the NZ International Comedy Festival.
Imogen says, “Rest assured, we’ve had the nod of approval from circus and comedy!”
Laser Kiwi’s Everybody Knows opens Tuesday at Auckland’s Aotea Centre. For tickets, visit comedyfestival.co.nz.
