Connor Patrick Houlihan

Begin again

Hello, hello tout le monde!

So once again, I havent been on here in quite some time.  If you want to go ahead and read my blog, go for it.  If not, thats cool too.

Firstly, a big congrats to everyone that made it into Prep/DEC for the next school year!!!

So its April.  Its still a little chilly here in the QC (I think there is still a pile of snow outside my neighbors place).  Cant wait for the warmer weather.  Things are going GREAT though.  We started the creation process last week at ECQ for our end of year show.  Im SO stoked to be able to work with my classmates as well as the graduating class for our show.  It has only been a week, but im really happy with the way things have been coming along.  I think its about 5 more weeks and then we open to the public!  We only have a few shows :/  I wish we were doing more, but I am still excited either way!

This also means that the school year is coming to a close.  I feel like its going to come a lot faster than we all expect it to.  It has been awesome to see everyone as well as myself grow so much in just one year.  All of the creative minds working together to make something beautiful come alive, whether it be for the show, a new concept for a number, a new apparatus, its amazing!

Well, who knows what the summer will bring.  Hopefully great things that will flow into the next school year!  Anyways, have a good night everyone and thanks for reading this far!!

Ready. Fire. Aim.

Connor

looking back

Hello again everyone.  So i was just sitting in my room and i came across the little journal i had everyone sign before i left MN.  I have already gone through it multiple times but i decided to go through it again.  I realized i never thanked anyone for the kind words and for the memories that were shared.  To everyone that wrote in it - thank you.  All of you will ALWAYS hold a special place in my heart.  You guys are my friends, my family, and everything in between.

Its nice to go back to that and reminisce about everything that ive gone through with everyone.  The parties, the shows, the parties….more parties haha.  Thank you for wishing me luck.  I am doing wonderfully up here in Quebec and i’m so happy I made this change.

Joey, Gracie, Sam, Sam, Zeb, Donald, Maria, Olivia, my heritage band - Randy, Scarlett, Steph, Kim, Emmanuel, my personal stylist Richard (haha), Edward, and all the rest of the kids back home.  I miss you and i love you all so much!  See you in december.

Oh, all the kids still at juventas - ill probly be coming on a monday night in december.  is that a good day to go? it may be my only option.. 

New Things

Holy shit.  I havent been on here in a while.  Well, what have I been up to.  I officially live in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.  I moved into my apartment on August 26th, 2011.  I have 2 roommates, Aaron and Leah, and they are pretty awesome.  We live in a little part of town called Limoilou right off first ave in a three bedroom on the second story.

Things are pretty sweet here.  The first week of school is done and I couldnt be happier.  All my new friends and classmates have been so welcoming and i’m so thankful for that!

So, its been a week and I have done so much already!  Right when we got here we all hit it off right.  There was a free cirque show going on, so naturally we decided to go check it out.  The atmosphere was so cool!  It was outside underneath the freeway.  The lights hitting the concrete supports for the road overhead with all of its graffiti was so cool.  There was a light drizzle outside unfortunetly so the show was a modified “rain show” to cope with the weather.  It was all good cuz the show was still amazing.  Anyways, the next night a bunch of us went out to a fun bar downtown.  It was so packed!  I also found out that some of the guys that were with us were in the cirque show that I had seen the night before.  Dont get me wrong, thats still pretty sweet, but the thing that I thought was even more fun was that they went to my school!  Some were still in school and some had recently graduated.  It was weird to think about…am I going to be doing that soon?  Maybe not cirque but, am I going to get a summer contract with a big show?  Whats gonna happen after graduation?  Who knows.  Im sure something will happen tho.

Fast forward through the first week of school….LAST NIGHT!  Holy jesus.  Two words..THE DRAG.  This was my first experience at a gay bar.  Ill be honest, I was a little hesitant at first because its an unknown for me.  But I must say, I am so glad that I went.  We all met up at Aerials for a little fun before hand, then set out for the most intense night I have had in a long time.  Right when we got to the bar, we headed straight to the shot table.  Tucked away in the corner there is a little bar with a busty drag queen serving up deadly concoctions.  Yes, that was my first shot from a drag queen! haha.  We hit the dance floor and danced the night away until…well, a few members of the group had a little too much fun and ended up getting asked to leave the bar.  Naturally, we were all cool and respectful of the situation and headed out.  I had a few first happenings that night…a shot from a drag queen, first time at a gay bar, AND first time getting kicked out.

Well, lets see what the next week offers me here in Quebec.

~Connie.

Packin up

Wow.  I cant believe it.  Time has gone by so fast.  Its monday night and I just got back from the AYCO festival in Sarasota, FL.  The festival was amazing, maybe a little rough at times, but overall a complete blast.  I got to meet so many new people and find out about a lot of youth circus’s I didnt even know existed.  Everyone did such an amazing job.  All of the acts that performed to all of the staff that helped put this thing on did great.

This also means another thing…Im leaving to Quebec City in a few days.  I cant believe how far I have come, not to mention all the rest of my old team mates at Circus Juventas.  You guys are fucking awesome.  Training with you has been a blast.  I cannot thank you enough because the way I look at it…If I didnt have you guys, I wouldnt be where I am today.  I give all of YOU a bit of credit for making me be the person and the performer I am today.  I know there have been hard times and some really fucking good times too, but just know, I will never forget any of you.

Well, like I always say…ONE LAST CLAP ON 3!!!

Am I real?

Yesterday I had my last circus juventas class EVER.  Its a weird feeling.  I’ve been with juventas since I was about 8 I believe.  10 years of my life have been spent training and performing with this place.

Rehearsal starts today.  This will be my last ever first half/second half week…my last tech and dress…my last shows.  I KNOW that Grimm will blow everything that we have done out of the water.  Everyone has put in so much work already to make this production over the top.  From the choreographers coming in, to all the rigging, and set design…its just amazing.

I hope to see everyone there to support me and the rest of the cast in this wonderful show!  If you get tickets, let me know what day you are coming so I can come say hello!

love.