"Did you mention that you're afraid of heights?" Bourque asks.
Despite the contradictions of an acrophobic aerialist, Bernel has a knack for silks, two dangling, 30-foot cords of fabric on which she spins, twists and shows off a graceful flexibility that would be impressive if she were just standing on the ground.
"I'm fine on silks. Just don't put me on an extension ladder," she says.
Neal Everett, who choreographed 90% of "Beneath" and plays Orpheus, has no such qualms. Growing up on a farm in the tiny town of Pittsburgh, Texas, he waited eagerly for the circus to come through every year. "I was always hanging from ropes, walking along the fence, teaching the pony to do tricks," Everett says. Following a stint as a college cheerleader at the University of Arizona, he moved to L.A., where he found a circus class and immediately started training.
There, he met Bernel, who had already been performing with Bourque, and the trio ended up forming a company almost by accident. "It was like 'Ooops! We have a circus,' " says Bernel.
These days, Cirque Berzerk's ambitions are grander. With a 490-seat tent waiting to be filled, the company poured all its resources and nearly a year into developing a fantastical reinterpretation of the Orpheus myth that makes the underworld look like the city's wildest nightclub.
"I want people to feel like they've been mesmerized when they come into this tent, like they've been sucked into another world," Bernel says. "I hope our show captures that sense of mystery."
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-- Elina.Shatkin@latimes.com
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BENEATH
WHERE: Los Angeles State Historic Park. 1245 N. Spring St., L.A.
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. today- Sun., July 27. (Beer & wine garden open at 6 p.m. for picnicking.)
PRICE: $35-$65 (10% discount for those who arrive by bus or bicycle)
INFO: www.cirqueberzerk. com
ON THE WEB: For more photos, go to latimes.com /cirqueberzerk
