Aerial Arts Hawaii is taking Halloween to all new and eerie heights this year with “Creepshow — A Scare in the Air.”
Produced by Aerial Arts Hawaii, which was founded by aerialists Zoe Eisenberg and Bella O’Toole, this is the third aerial circus the group has brought to the Palace.
Eisenberg described the 15-act, 90-minute show as a Halloween-themed, “creepy, steampunk circus.”
The production will showcase 20 artists performing on aerial hoops, rope, fabric and trapeze.
Eisenberg said “Creepshow” also will feature two custom-made apparatuses made by local welder Gareth Callahan, specifically for the show.
The audience can expect “some amazing performances because there’s really not one act in this show that isn’t absolutely incredible,” O’Toole said.
Audiences should come ready to be entertained, Eisenberg said.
“Above all, aerial is a performance art, so we spend a lot of time training,” she said “… While that is fun, in the end, aerial is meant to be shared.”
O’Toole shared those sentiments.
“This is what we love, so we love producing these shows and showing these people this amazing art show (audiences) may not get to see on this island otherwise.”
Of the 20 performers in the show, Eisenberg said 18 are from the Big Island, one comes from Maui and one from San Francisco.
Aerial art is a niche interest, but growing in popularity, she said. But it’s “still small, so all the artists find each other and band together to put on shows.”
Eisenberg and O’Toole are both producing and directing “Creepshow.”
They direct “mostly from a curatorial standpoint,” Eisenberg said. “We work with each individual artist to collaborate with them and share our vision with them and bring that vision to stage.”
As directors, Eisenberg said they have a hand in the music choice and costuming, but “really like to give artists creative control over the choreography and characters.”
According to Eisenberg, “Creepshow” is PG-13. There is no nudity, she said, but “some acts include what I call sensual self-expression.”
Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, at the Palace Theater, 38 Haili Street in Hilo. Doors open one hour prior to the show’s start.
A silent auction will be hosted in the lobby before Friday’s performance, with proceeds going toward aerial equipment for future shows.
Tickets, available online at aerialartshawaii.com and the Palace box office, are $25 general admission and $35 reserve seating in advance, and $5 more the day of the show.
Eisenberg encouraged those who plan to attend to purchase tickets ahead of time, as Aerial Arts Hawaii’s last show sold out.
Email Stephanie Salmons at ssalmons@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
