The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air)

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Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air)
Orbiting human circus.jpg
Presentation
Starring Julian Koster
Format surrealism, paranormal
LanguageEnglish
Production
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes24
Publication
Original releaseOctober 4, 2016 
June 17, 2020
Related
Website Official website

The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) is a fictional radio drama podcast written and created by Julian Koster, and published by Night Vale Presents. [1] It is the fourth podcast to be released under the Night Vale Presents name. The podcast stars Koster as Julian the janitor, a shy, sensitive employee of the Eiffel Tower who dreams of joining the fictional radio show also titled The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air, which is broadcast from a large ballroom at the top of the tower. Listeners of the podcast hear Julian the janitor's inner thoughts as he discusses his situations with The Narrator, played by Drew Callander, an imaginary voice only Julian can hear. In addition to the conversations in his head, Julian interacts with the staff and talent of The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air, notably voiced by actors such as John Cameron Mitchell, Cecil Baldwin, Tim Robbins, Charlie Day, and Mary Elizabeth Ellis. [2] One of the most prominent themes of the podcast is the pain of loneliness. [3]

Contents

The first season of the podcasts comprised eight episodes as well as a bonus question and answer episode in which Koster answers questions submitted by fans. From June to July 2017, the podcast released "an Orbiting Human Circus Special," titled "The 2nd Imaginary Symphony," which served as the official wide-release of Koster's 2002 album. [4] It was announced in January 2017 that the podcast would return for a second season. The season, titled "Naughty Till New Years," premiered on November 6, 2019. [5] , and the podcast concluded with a finale on June 17, 2020.

A series of live shows were made through international tours in 2023 and 2024. This began with a US tour in fall 2023, a Japanese tour in spring 2024, and finally a tour across the US and Europe in the summer of 2024. This last tour was conducted jointly with The Music Tapes, and concluded with a final performance at Egersund Visefestival from July 4–6, 2024. [6] Koster was accused of sexual assault later that month; the group has not toured or performed live since. [7] [6]

Production

The podcast was in development for several years prior to its eventual release, based on ideas Koster had been developing. Some of Koster's dialogue was recorded in his spare time during the Neutral Milk Hotel reunion tour, while Mitchell recorded much of his during his run in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, both events having occurred over a year before the series' release. [8] Koster cites British humor, specifically The Goon Show , as inspiration for some of the podcast's absurdism, in that jokes are delivered with little time for the audience to process the information. [8]

To ensure authenticity, Koster employs equipment appropriate for the radio show world. All of Drew Callander's lines as the narrator are delivered through an authentic RCA Ribbon microphone from the 1930s. [8]

Episodes

Season One

TitleRunning Time (Min:Sec) [9] Release Date [9]
Episode 127:01Oct. 11, 2016
Episode 2 (The Cricket)32:08Oct. 25, 2016
Episode 326:46Nov. 8, 2016
Episode 4 (The Janitor's Nights)21:12Nov 22, 2016
Episode 522:02Dec 6, 2016
Episode 623:52Dec 20, 2016
Episode 720:21Jan 10, 2017
Episode 830:15Jan 24, 2017
The 2nd Imaginary Symphony - An Orbiting Human Circus Holiday Special 67:04November 20, 2018

Season Two

TitleRuntimeRelease date
Firstly, the Janitor40:00November 6, 2019
Secondly, the Past29:20November 20, 2019
Thirdly... How to Disappear (Lessons I and II of III)23:04December 4, 2019
Fourthly... How to Disappear (Lesson III of III)12:26December 11, 2019
The Orbiting Human Circus Holiday Vacation30:47December 18, 2019
Fifthly, Do You Dream?25:16January 8, 2020
Sixthly, the Flea Talks23:16January 22, 2020
Seventhly, the Gift22:21February 5, 2020
Eighthly, a Booth by the Seaside30:41February 20, 2020
Ninthly, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner!29:16March 4, 2020
Tenthly, a Time for Dreamers31:24March 18, 2020
Eleventhly, It's a Scream (part 1) + Season Recap19:24May 6, 2020
Twelfthly, It's a Scream (part 2)26:01May 13, 2020
Season Finale, Part One29:52May 27, 2020
Season Finale, Part Two49:30June 17, 2020

Extras

TitleRunning Time (Min:Sec) [9] Release Date [9]
The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) – Teaser2:35Oct. 4, 2016
Bonus Episode (your questions)30:10Feb. 7, 2017
The Orbiting Human Circus in Naughty Till New Years: Trailer3:42Oct. 23, 2019
The Orbiting Human Circus Holiday Vacation29:46Dec. 18, 2019

Live shows

From 2023 to 2024, the show was toured across the United States, Europe and Japan. [6]

2023 US tour
September 14, 2023Citizen VinylAsheville, NC
September 16, 2023First Unitarian ChurchPhiladelphia, PA
September 18, 2023Le Poisson RougeNew York, NY
September 19, 2023Pie ShopWashington, DC
September 20, 2023The PinhookDurham, SC
September 21, 202340 Watt ClubAthens, GA
September 23, 2023EyedrumAtlanta, GA
2024 Japanese tour
March 30, 2024Ueno ParkTokyo
April 6, 2024Cafe OttoFukuoka
April 7, 2024Pub VoxhallKyoto
April 8, 2024Bar HachimonjiyaKyoto
April 13, 20247th Floor ShibuyaTokyo
2024 tour with The Music Tapes
June 21, 2024The Sultan RoomBrooklyn, NY
June 22, 2024Quarry House TavernWashington, DC
June 23, 2024Johnny Brenda'sPhiladelphia, PA
June 28, 2024ConcertoAmsterdam, the Netherlands
July 1, 2024TivoliVredenburgUtrecht, the Netherlands
July 4–6, 2024 Egersund Visefestival  [ no ]Egersund, Norway

References

  1. Verdier, Hannah (October 20, 2016). "The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air): for those who like their podcasts strange". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  2. "Credits | The Orbiting Human Circus". Orbitinghumancircus.com. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  3. Wacek, Michele Pariza (July 2020). Olsher, Steve (ed.). "The Orbiting Human Circus: A Tale of Loneliness and Desire" (PDF). Podcast Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 6. San Diego, CA. pp. 43–46. ISSN   2690-4608. OCLC   1140254648 . Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  4. "An Orbiting Human Circus Special: The 2nd Imaginary Symphony, Trailer". YouTube . Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  5. Reid, Mike. "Julian Koster (The Music Tapes, Neutral Milk Hotel) preps second season of The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air)". Tinymixtapes.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 "Live Shows". The Orbiting Human Circus.
  7. Goldberg, Alyssa. "Neutral Milk Hotel's Julian Koster denies grooming, sexual assault accusations". USA TODAY.
  8. 1 2 3 "The Orbiting Human Circus". Feeds.wnyc.org.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Google Play Music is no longer available". Music.youtube.com. Retrieved November 10, 2021.