Couch Potatoes

Overview

Couch Potatoes is an original devised show utilizing circus and interdisciplinary theater to examine the relationships and family structures that occur within a shared living space as represented by its most common feature: the couch. In 2020 we all experienced drastic changes to our living spaces; whether it be moving home, moving out of the city, inviting family to stay on your couch or even just being stuck at home on your couch for far longer than you ever anticipated. We were all couch potatoes at some point during that ill-fated year. And now we humbly invite you to get up off your couch to come watch us sit (and stand and jump and tumble) on ours as we explore the couch’s impact on familial relationships, childhood memories and seemingly normal household activities. No couch is the same—they hold different memories, relationships and stories. What happens when things are turned upside down and life isn’t as normal as it seems? 

The Leftovers

The Leftovers is a Circus Dance Theater company composed of four friends who met while training circus arts in Chicago, IL. They collaborate and approach performance from a highly interdisciplinary lens, with members coming from theatrical, musical, dance and gymnastic backgrounds. Their engaging physical work is shared to expand audiences expectations of everyday life onstage. Even the tiniest parts of life are explored, nothing is leftover.

Members:
Julia deGruchy - Brittany Royce - Ryan Huemmer - Saydi Ogden

Credits

The Leftovers is a Circus Dance Theater company composed of four friends who met while training circus arts in Chicago, IL. They collaborate and approach performance from a highly interdisciplinary lens, with members coming from theatrical, musical, dance and gymnastic backgrounds. Their engaging physical work is shared to expand audiences’ expectations of everyday life onstage. Even the tiniest parts of life are explored, nothing is leftover. 

Julia deGruchy (she/her)
Julia is an actor, vocalist and circus artist who enjoys creating through play. She believes in art that starts conversations and holds the power to heal, reform and rebuild our society. Originally from Philadelphia, she attended The University of the Arts for Musical Theater and worked in and around the area for a few years at The Media Theatre, The Montgomery Theatre and trained with The Wilma summer intensive. Meanwhile, she was discovering her passion for the physically daring world of circus arts. She moved to Chicago in 2019 to join the Actors Gymnasium professional training program, and has loved exploring the connections between circus arts, vocal athleticism and character work. She joins her collaborators in this process with continuous curiosity, compassion and gratitude. www.juliadegruchy.com

Saydi Ogden (she/her)
Saydi is a dancer and circus artist/ performer from Joplin, Missouri. She began her dance training at age four, and was introduced to aerial arts in 2013, training with Midwest regional ballet company. There, she performed in many high intensity performances and attended a variety of workshops including those by William Henry, Cat Cogliandro, Caleb Brauner, The Legacy Dance Project, Mia Michaels, and Momix. She attended the intensive, Step It Up, in Los Angeles where she attended acting and theater workshops as well as a variety of dance workshops all over the city. She