By Abbey Cannan
Born for life on stage, Ash McCready has travelled the globe as a creative director for Cirque Du Soleil, and now she’s bringing that world class entertainment to Noosa audiences with Cirque Bon Bon Encore.
Teaming up with world renowned director and choreographer Julieann Nugent, who also happens to be her childhood dance teacher, they’ll present a one-night-only boutique cirque, dance and comedy experience for Noosa Alive on 25 July at The J Theatre.
But how did this girl go from being a giant banana in a kid’s show to directing a premier circus act around the world?
“I think I just had the fire for performance as a kid,“ Ash said.
“I loved it. I loved being on stage. I loved dressing up. I loved becoming a different character each show. I loved acting, so I loved everything about performance.“
I guess her parents had to love everything about her performances too, while being forced to watch Ash perform shows in the lounge room.
“My poor parents. I was dressing up in tea towels and putting sand buckets on my head as a costume. So, they painfully had to watch this every single weekend, the poor things,“ she laughed.
She went to school in Brisbane and spent half her time in Noosa, overjoyed at landing her first paid job as a performer at the age of 14 at a theatre restaurant.
“You’ve got to start somewhere. It’s actually kind of a bit cheeky as we were supposed to be 18,“ she said.
“I got booked for this job in Brisbane and my mum would wait in the car park for us to do the show every Friday and Saturday night, and then she would go up to our boss and get the envelope of cash for us at the end.
“I guess I didn’t love anything else work-wise or passion-wise and I just knew that this is what I had to do. I think the older I got, the more I found people were getting joy out of what I was doing, whether it was me performing, making someone laugh or creating something that made someone feel good. And I just love that. I love making people feel good through our shows. And I think we tend to be pretty good at it now.“
Ash said her favourite thing about being on stage was watching the audience’s reaction.
“Going to the theatre is like an escape from your day to day,“ she said.
“So I kind of got most joy out of watching the audience’s reactions for the performances and their shock or their horror when they’re watching, you know, some crazy acrobat doing something that you can’t even imagine the body doing, these crazy contortion things. Now if you see me at my show, I’m normally watching the audience, not the show. That’s the best part for me.“
Her switch from being on the stage to working behind the scenes was a beautiful accident after keeping a close eye on the skills of a director.
“They [Neil and Simon] just knew everything about the production at any time, from the dances, to the lights, to the riggers, to the sound desk. I was thinking this is insane in how these guys know every single detail anytime throughout the show. So I watched it. I was just fascinated by it and I think they noticed that I was watching them,“ she said.
“And then they kind of started to call me as an assistant to help out with little bits and stuff and run around the production to help them.
“And then one day, we’d finished the tour and went home and then the producer Simon called me and said hey, the director can’t come to the next show because he’s doing another show for us. Can you direct it? And I said yes, of course, but I was like crap. I have no idea what I’m doing.
“The show was in Singapore and I thought well, if I fail then it’s not meant to be but if I do well, then it’s meant to be. I was only 24 at the time, and I guess I must have done OK.“
She said her wildest experience on tour was her first show as creative director for Cirque Du Soleil.
“I directed my first show in Columbia in an arena of about 10,000 people,” she said.
“The power got cut out in the venue all throughout rehearsals. The rehearsal time got shorter and shorter but I still had to deliver. We couldn’t set the lights, we couldn’t do anything.
“The pressure was so intense and then by the time opening night came, you could hear like the thunderous cheers of around 10,000 people for the show. And I just remember my heart exploded at the same time from relief, but so much excitement that I did it. And so that was probably the biggest audience I’ve directed for.”
When Covid hit, Ash was living in America in LA, working for Cirque Du Soleil, when the entertainment industry came crashing down.
“So I moved back to Noosa and I sort of set myself up and I ended up getting my Pilates instructor’s license and I taught at Aloha Active and Downward Dog Hot Yoga in Noosa,“ she said.
“I was teaching Pilates and living in Noosa, kind of living my dream life really throughout Covid. But obviously, as I created and produced shows and performed, my passion was always entertainment.
“I have toured around the world for like 10, 13 years. And then the last part of that decade was with Cirque Du Soleil, so I learnt so much about different cultures and how to put on shows and how to entertain people, and that was something that I wanted to give back to Noosa.“
Partnering up with the person who helped create the artist that Ash is today, together with Julieann Nugent, they birthed Cirque Bon Bon.
“Julianne was my dance teacher as a kid. It’s beautiful. She was a mentor for me artistically, she taught me how to dance, taught me how to perform,“ Ash said.
“I went off around the world, and I would always call her and ask for her thoughts and advice. She owns her own dance school in Brisbane and when I came back, she called me and was like ’Hey, I’m looking at putting on a show in Noosa and before thinking I said, of course, I’d love to’.
“She raised me artistically since I was probably seven years old. So it’s kind of it’s just so natural for us to create together because we’re really cut from the same cloth. We have a great show coming back for Noosa.”
Bon Bon is back by popular demand featuring new acts sprinkled with some original favourites jam packed into one 70-minute spectacular that is guaranteed to entertain and astonish.
Cirque Bon Bon Encore fuses mind-bending contortion, aerial artistry, sensational dancers, and death-defying feats of acrobatics all in one performance of Unexpected Wonder.
“We have the original favourites and then we have an all new circus and dance for the people of Noosa this time. So new death-defying acts, new contortionists and new acrobatic surprises for people to really be on the edge of their seats. We can’t wait to see you at the show,“ Ash said.
Book your seat now for 25 July at The J Theatre online at noosaalive.com.au/whats-on-noosaalive/cirque-bon-bon-encore/
