Best of CASE District VII Award
 

Institution: California State University, Fullerton

Title of entry: Under the Big Top

About this entry: Two Cal State Fullerton theatre arts alumni were among the Cirque du Soleil employees sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic. Growing from a troupe of 20 street performers in the 1980s to the largest contemporary circus producer in the world, Cirque du Soleil boasted 44 active shows, nearly 5,000 employees and a total audience of more than 100 million people worldwide before the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined most of the live entertainment industry in March 2020. Today, the sound and automation technicians are back behind the scenes of two new shows, “Drawn to Life” in Orlando, Florida, and “Mad Apple” in Las Vegas, Nevada. The story, which features journalistic interviews with the two alumni, examines the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic on theater professionals from the perspective of one of the hardest hit industries and demonstrates the resilience and perseverance of students educated in Cal State Fullerton’s College of the Arts.