Interview: Not Letting Injury Stop Performing
7 July 2026
CircusWA Training Program Manager, Jess, chats with Youth Academy Performer Amity (aged 15) about her experience of performing in Eclipse while navigating an injury and setback.
đź’¬ Amity: My name is Amity, I’m 15 years old, and I joined CircusWA’s Academy when I was 13 through the Eclipse auditions. The auditions were super welcoming, and everyone who was auditioning had a ton of input, it was just an overall great experience for me.
đź’¬ Jess: That sounds like a very special process to be exposed to as an emerging artist, right? That you’re actually asked your opinion and about what kind of content you would like to have in the show.
đź’¬ Amity: Yeah, it was really great being listened to in that way. To feel so heard and Meredith Kitchen is such a great Director. She always made us feel heard and Steph and Ben (as well as the guest artists Rindi and Michael) were great to work with.
đź’¬ Jess: Being genuinely heard is something that is not always a given, so I’m so glad that was your experience. An element of the show that I really liked was the mix of emerging artists and established artists. You’re on stage with people who have been performing for several years, and with that comes a wealth of knowledge in many areas.
đź’¬ Amity: Yeah, because of course they’re all insanely physically talented, but also I really think it made a difference as Michael and Rindi (NICA) had a lot of outside views on the show idea and they got to tell us about their experience with the first Eclipse. For example, for one of the scenes, we’re all shouting and fighting and there’s (staged) violence involved. Rindi and Michael explained the importance of informed consent before that’s happening and how it’s choreographed and everyone knows what’s going on so it’s not actually dangerous or scary for anyone, because in the first version of the show, that scene was less mapped out and it got a bit overwhelming for the cast. So this time, going into that, they explained the importance of even scripting what you would yell.
đź’¬ Jess: Yeah, because informed consent doesn’t just have to be physical, right? Especially in a heightened scene, knowing what’s going to be yelled at you (or others) is important so that no-one gets surprised or triggered in the moment. I love that. That’s really nice to hear. Now, unfortunately I heard you got an injury during rehearsal. A complete accident where one of the set-pieces fell on you. Firstly, I’m so glad that it wasn’t more serious, but 6 weeks in a cast for an acrobat is so scary and disheartening a week from opening night!
💬 Amity: Yeah it was a total accident and I’m lucky really, that it wasn’t worse!
đź’¬ Jess: I wanted to ask about what was your experience like after receiving an injury, especially seeing that I know you’re an aerialist and flyer and you would have had lots of key moments that probably then had to be changed.
đź’¬ Amity: Yeah, I mean, the first day that I came back, it was the day after I’d injured myself. I was straight back into it and they had the board full of things that we needed to replace me in. I looked at it and I was like, ouch, even if I knew I couldn’t do everything that I was supposed to. Ben (Head Trainer) was really great at advocating for me, coming up with alternatives to skills so I didn’t have to be cut from scenes entirely. I think his attitude really made everyone come together to think of things I could do so I could still do as much of the show as possible.
💬 Jess: Yeah it’s so important to have team-members who are on your side who want to come up with a solution beyond just cutting your parts.
đź’¬ Amity: Yeah and the cast were so good at supporting me in other moments too. I mean, my main part in Eclipse was like being on the Lyra and obviously since I’ve broken my thumb, I couldn’t do that anymore. So on performance days when Tayrona was doing her solo on the Lyra, I would stand backstage and Luca would hold my hand sometimes, or I would have people hugging me and Tayrona would come off stage and hug me too. The attitude from everyone was very much “It’s all right. You’ve got next time.” I felt really loved and supported.
đź’¬ Jess: And the show will go on right?
đź’¬ Amity: Yeah. 100%. Even though I couldn’t do everything to the same extent, I was really happy with what I was able to do and everyone was very welcoming and happy to help and compromise with whatever needed to happen. It made me feel really good.
đź’¬ Jess: I think that’s the thing, right? When everyone makes the compromise, the changes don’t feel like a huge deal. The human is more important than the show.
đź’¬ Amity: Exactly!
CircusWA strives to help create safe, inclusive and creative spaces where young people can build confidence and meaningful connections with others.
Supported by Healthway, and through collaboration with The Kids Research Institute Australia, CircusWA has been involved in developing and embedding social and emotional wellbeing (SEW) across programs and service areas. This interview with Amity is a teachable moment that reminds us of leadership and support, empathising, compassion and self-awareness: emotions.
Learn more about the SEW-Arts framework.