Every month, a fabulous actor/singer/dancer fills out editor Matthew Wexler’s nosey little questionnaire and offers a glimpse of what he looks like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. This month we’ve gone to new heights to bring you Joshua Dean, who appears in Boy’s Night: An All-Male Cirquelesque Revue.
Joshua Dean (photo: Mark Shelby Perry via The Broadway Blog.)
Name:
Joshua Dean
Hometown:
Piketon, Ohio… on a farm.
Joshua Dean (Photo: Andrew T Foste via The Broadway Blog.)
When did you first become interested in becoming an aerialist?
I was doing a show for director/choreographer Mark Robin and he had two people doing a circus act in the show. I chatted with their coaches and took a workshop with them. Then a director friend of mine, Donna Drake, asked me to do some silk work for her and that started the bug. Then I ended up getting a little burned out on dance, and I wanted to still do something physical and artistic. It seemed like a great fit for me.
What is unique about Boy’s Night: An All-Male Cirquelesque Revue?
The humor. We play up the sexiness and the boylesque, but the humor is what makes the show special. People come to our show for a lot of different reasons but they all end up laughing.
Places, Intermission or Curtain Call?
Curtain Call. That means it’s time for drinks with friends.
If I wasn’t a performer, I would be:
Probably a massage therapist. I love studying and healing the body. It comes very natural to me.\
The best post-show cocktail in New York City is at:
Wherever I just performed!
After you’ve hit all the traditional sites of New York City, you should totally go to:
Anella in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It is my favorite restaurant in the city.
Joshua Dean (Photo: Ben Trivett via The Broadway Blog.)
If I could live anywhere else in the world it would be:
I am trying to figure that one out. I know I want to eventually move out of the city, but where?
My workout “secret” is:
Do circus training most of the hours of the day.
When I’m looking for a date, nothing attracts me more than:
The personality. I love someone I can laugh with.
My favorite website to visit that you may not have heard of is:
The funny thing is I joined Instagram last week. Everyone else might have known about it, but I missed the boat on that one. Catching up slowly.
Joshua Dean (Photo: Mark Shelby Perry via The Broadway Blog.)
What is Aerial Arts NYC?
AANYC is a circus training school in Manhattan. We offer classes in Silks, Trapeze, Contortion, Handstands, and much more. Most people come in for fun and a workout, but I have several clients that have made this their gym. I’m their aerial personal trainer.
What would you suggest as an introductory course?
Beginning Silks. Most people like to start with that, but if that doesn’t feel right, try trapeze or hammock.
People would be surprised to learn that I . . .
Grew up playing with a baby tiger. It is true. A friend of my parents had a tiger. It weighed as much as I did. The only rule when I was wrestling with it was that it was not allowed on the waterbed.
When I was 10, I wanted to be just like:
Nightcrawler. He is blue and has a tail and was an acrobat in the circus. I managed part of that one.
Ten years from now I’d like to be:
Own a bed and breakfast somewhere with my adoring husband.
Boy’s Night: A Cirquelesque Revue performs the first Thursday of every month at The Slipper Room, 167 Orchard Street, New York City. www.slipperroom.com
Joshua Dean (Photo: Theodore Kofman via The Broadway Blog.)
Matthew Wexler is The Broadway Blog’s editor. His writing has appeared in more than 20 publications worldwide. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at roodeloo.
