Melbourne Airport - Emerging Talent program - Profiles

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Daniel Rabin

Melbourne Airport "I'm off to Edinburgh" Award for Outstanding Melbourne Newcomer
Melbourne Fringe, 2007

Q: You won the Melbourne Airport Emerging Talent Award for your work as a producer as part of the Melbourne Fringe. What does a circus producer actually do?

DR: I’d been performing a lot; I’d done 120 performances on tour and needed a break from it. I found that the Northcote Town Hall had a lot going for it, because circus requires a space that is bigger than a theatre. My role as producer at the Northcote Town Hall was to set a budget and then curate who would be involved. I scheduled the season, made decisions about time slots and who would work best when. Then I organized publicity and ran the box office. I also stage managed the whole season. I learnt that next time I will delegate some of the roles.

I have much more respect for producers now that I have been one. I learned a lot about communication.

Q: What do you hope to achieve when you head off to the Edinburgh Fringe?

DR: I want to observe logistics in large venues at a huge festival. I’m also hoping to weigh up the work I’ve seen and been involved in, against work made overseas. I haven’t been out of the country much, so the whole thing will be a new experience regardless!

And of course I will also take my street show to test my busking skills. I couldn’t go all the way to Edinburgh and not perform.

Q: What is so special about the Melbourne Fringe?

DR: Well… it’s in Melbourne! The thing that makes it special is Melbourne is so alive, and it’s possible to live here and to make work – unlike Sydney. I think there are so many companies and individuals that are fuelled by the fact that the Fringe offers so many opportunities. There are venues available and it’s a great way to test a new work.

Q: What’s your most exciting circus experience?

DR: I loved Acrobat, they are really inspiring, like a traditional circus in some ways – and I love that feel. Candy Butchers are really exciting – they have a great aesthetic, everyone in the group has their purpose, and if you took one person out of a show they just wouldn’t be the same. I’m interested in performer-driven work, which is the way both these groups make their shows.

Q: Why the circus? When did you get the bug?

DR: I got the bug over a few years; I was a dead hopeless catch at school. When I finished high school I went on a whim to the Circus Festival in Tasmania. By the end of that week I was hooked, I wanted to live this thing. I observed a lot and then eventually did a lot of clowning which led me to circus. I love that circus is accessible; it treads a middle ground between art and entertainment. It’s like rock n roll it has broad appeal and relates to people from all walks of life.

Q: What other interests do you have apart from circus?

DR: Well I do have a girlfriend… I played guitar badly (although I still love it). Circus is all encompassing, I’m obsessive always thinking through ideas and storing them for a show. That’s how I like it.

Daniel Rabin is a multi-skilled circus performer and producer. He is the winner of the Melbourne Airport ”I’m off to Edinburgh” Award for Outstanding Melbourne Newcomer at the 2007 Melbourne Fringe.

His award-winning project was as the producer of ‘The Divine Carnival’ at Northcote Town Hall, a wholly circus-focused venue. He also directed a late night cabaret for the 2007 Fringe, A Smorgasbord of Circus which showcased the talents of some of Melbourne’s best circus performers.

A graduate for the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) in Melbourne, Daniel has toured extensively with Circus Quirkus and with his own progressive circus company Throw Down. Daniel’s varied performance experience includes the traditional family oriented Circus Royale, the side show venue The Tiny Top and supporting indie band the Dresden Dolls.

As a performer, Daniel’s solo skill area is the ‘slack rope’, which includes particular emphasis on manipulation and clowning. He is a rigger, and circus trainer and has a strong background in high level group acrobatics specifically Russian Bar and Pitching.

As a rigger Daniel has worked with the ground breaking Dislocate, as well as with the Melbourne International Arts Festival, NICA, and as part of the 2006 Commonwealth Games Opening and Closing ceremonies.

Daniel’s interest in social circus has taken him to Alice Springs to teach as part of the Tangengyre Indigenous Youth Circus Project, as well as teaching with Blackrobats, Spaghetti Circus, Circus Oz and the NICA Community Classes.

Be sure to check out the following article from The Age to find out more about Dan Rabin’s Melbourne Airport Award win.

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