jarred dewey

We are ‘Poached Eggs and Asparagus’, an emerging circus company based in Melbourne comprising of Olivia Porter (Circus Oz, La Soiree) and Jarred Dewey (Circa, Circus Oz). In November 2017 we devised and debuted our first production ‘Party Ghost’ directed by Nicci Wilks (SHIT, Animal, The Long Pigs) as part of ‘Sidesault Festival’ at The Melba Spiegeltent.  From that short four show season, the production was heralded as one of 10 best shows of 2017 by ArtsHub and was met with a humblingly warm response from both peers and general public alike.

“Party Ghost by new indie circus company 'Poached Eggs and Asparagus' is one of the most perfectly formed debut productions it’s ever been my pleasure to see. Circus arts, theatre, death and drag might seem an unlikely combination but here those diverse art forms have been judiciously blended. The result is a show that’s playful, provocative, camp and macabre – an outstanding production from a boldly original new circus company. “ - Richard Watts, ArtsHub

We are both independantly recognised within the industry for our level of skill and experience in some of Australia’s top contemporary circus companies. Together we share a deep passion for exploration and innovation. Our work pushes the form of circus by combining queer camp and high-level skill positioned through a pop-cultural lens to create a piece of innovative contemporary circus.

“It’s great to see performers having a play with form and character, especially when they are as talented as these two." - Nadia Jade, on Jarred Dewey and Olivia Porter

About 'Party Ghost':

Do we celebrate our "deathday" in the afterlife as we do our birthday in the land of the living? 'Party Ghost' is a ghoulish exploration of the postmortem mystery through a comedic pop-cultural lens. Part circus and part seance, this show is made from the limbs of drag queens, the blood of acrobats and the tears of misunderstood clowns.

Featuring macabre circus darlings Jarred Dewey and Olivia Porter, the show centres around a twisted narrative of perpetual birthday purgatory and ghostly identity crisis. As sidesplittingly hilarious and downright weird as it is physically astonishing, this show sees two of Australia’s most sought after company acrobats behind the wheel of their own show for the first time. Stylistically different from anything else out there, fans of high-level circus and dark comedy will find ‘Party Ghost’ refreshing, jaw-dropping, and hauntingly hilarious.

Why should you support us?

After almost a year we are resurrecting 'Party Ghost' and returning to where it all began; The Melba Spiegeltent!

We plan to do an intensive two week development in the lead up to opening night (11th April). Our objective is to explore, refine and improve the show and to do this we would need to engage a killer design team consisting of a lighting designer, sound designer and Nicci Wilks as director. We also understand the challenges of being a small independent production in a hugely competitive pond such as Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF). So to help keep our heads above water we would need to devise a thourough marketing plan. With your support we would be able to take these risks and present our work in it’s most fully-realised form while paying our collaborators professonal rates for their proffessional expertise. 

The money raised from this Pozible campaign will be used to present our season of PARTY GHOST in Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2019. The funds will specifically help cover the costs of a director, venue hire and design team. This is by no means our whole estimated budget and therefore we will be personally contributing our own funds to the season. Your support will aid in the success of our season and the likelihood of paying our collaborators, the venue and last but not least ourselves.

How the money would be used:

Primary Goal: $3000

This money will be used to suppliment half of the venue hire costs, as well as our directors fee. By halving the cost of the venue, this gives us a greater chance to breakeven and to pay all our collaborators the full fees they deserve.

Stretch Goal: $4000+

Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is an intensely competitive festival. An extra $1000 would go towards our marketing plan to help generate greater visibility within the MICF context. The funds would specifically be used to engage a graphic designer, book online advertisment and print and distribute posters and fliers.

Dream Goal: $5000+

With your generosity, a further $1000 will go towards hiring a design team to elevate the show to the next level. This specifically would mean collaborating with a lighting designer, sound designer and Chris Bennette of Underground Media to record and edit our footage to help sell the shows

If We Don't Meet Our Target:

'Party Ghost' is a true labour of love and if our campaign is unsuccessful, ‘Poached Eggs and Asparagus’ will most likely run at a loss. This would mean reconsidering the hiring of a design team and most likely burn a large hole in our pockets.