The Line Circus Comes To Chatham: Free ‘Aerobats’ On Eldredge Library Front Lawn

CHATHAM – Don’t worry if you see a spandex-clad trio throwing each other around on the front lawn of the Eldredge Public Library. You haven’t gone back in time. It’s just the “Aerobats,” and they’re here to entertain.

 “There are lots of sweatbands, leg warmers and spandex,” said Reid Williams, who along with Owen Lawson-Spratley and Cora Williams (no relation) make up the Line Trio. They’ll be performing their free “Aerobats” (a meshing of aerobics and acrobatics) show on the library lawn twice daily through Aug. 8.

 The show is “upbeat and energetic,” said Owen, and is designed to invoke the aerobics craze of the 1980s and to be accessible to all ages. Their show includes acrobatics, juggling and other circus staples.

 “It’s something people can walk by, stop and have fun,” Cora said.

 Reid is a familiar face to local theatergoers. He was a member of the Monomoy Theatre troupe and part of the Cape Cod Shakespeare Festival in Chatham company, this year appearing on both “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Othello.” Both Cora and Owen toured with Circus Smirkus for three summers; they were with the youth circus when it performed in Harwich last year.

 All three have been training and performing for years. Owen, who lives in Wilton, N.H., trained at the Flying Gravity Circus for 10 years before joining Circus Smirkus. Cora trained at Circus Culture in upstate New York and spent a year at a circus high school in Montreal. She said she was always an active kid and when it came time to choose between sports and the circus, the love of performing won out.

 “It gave me the opportunity to travel and meet a whole community of people that were supportive,” she said.

 Reid, originally from New Orleans, began falling for circus performing at the International School of Louisiana’s circus arts program. Both his parents are artists, so following a career path in the arts seemed natural; he attended a performing arts high school and later the Hartt School at the University of Hartford. Choosing between acting the circus performing was just too hard, so he’s done both. He recently graduated from the San Diego Circus Center, where both Cora Williams and Lawson-Spratley will be attending in September.

The three met at an acrobatics convention in North Carolina and found that they clicked. They later got together in New Orleans and were able to quickly work out routines, finding that their skills meshed well. With Reid in Chatham for the Shakespeare festival, they decided to meet here and put on a show. They chose the name the Line Circus because everything just seemed to fall in line for them.

 “It truly took us like three hours to say this is easy and we can make something happen,” Cora said. “I love working with people who can think on their feet and are super receptive to adapting during performances. And you could feel that right off the bat.”

The 25-to-30-minute “Aerobat” performance is flexible enough to respond to the audience’s reaction and is interactive.

 “We hope to have a lot of youth involvement,” Reid said. “I anticipate we’ll be changing the show to fit our audience every day.”

While this is the trio’s initial performance, they’ve already been hired for some private events here and may take the show to other Cape venues if the opportunity arises. Anyone interested in learning more can contact them at theline6597@gmail.com; they’re also on Instagram at @the_line_trio.

The daily show times on the Main Street lawn of the Eldredge Public Library are 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., with Tuesday shows at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. A sandwich board in front of the library will announce any changes.