Circus Competitions vs Festivals with Julian McTaggart: What Artists Need to Know

Competitions or festivals— What are the main differences?

And more importantly…
 are you choosing the right one for where you are in your career?

In this episode, I sit down with Julian McTaggart to break down what these experiences actually look like—on stage, behind the scenes, and in how they impact your growth as an artist.

We talk about:
 – what rehearsal time really looks like
– how to prepare when you only get minutes on stage
– the role of networking (and why it matters more than you think)
– and how to use both competitions and festivals strategically

If you’ve ever thought about doing either—this is a conversation you need to hear.

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This podcast exists to support performers in building sustainable, aligned, and castable careers — beyond just the skills.

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Most of the time, it’s not a complete overhaul.
 It’s a few missing tools and a few shifts in how you’re approaching the process.

That’s what takes you from second-guessing your work
 to becoming the artist who is ready to go for the opportunities you actually want.

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Transcript

Speaker 0:01

Welcome to the Artist Behind the Art, the podcast that lists the curtain on what it takes to thrive as a professional performer. I'm your host, Jennifer Pierce, artist coach, creative strategist, and lifelong advocate for performers who are ready to go from unsure to unforgettable. This is where the gatekeeping ends and your journey to thriving in the industry begins. Let's dive in.

Jennifer Pierce 0:29

Welcome back to The Artist Behind the Art, and today we are joined by Julian McTaggart. Julian is a professional circus artist, acrobat, and all around creative working across straps, duo hand to hand, and acrobatic flying with performances in over 15 countries. He's a graduate of NECCA's pro track program, and has not only built a strong performance career, but has also developed his own artistic work, earning Judges Choice Awards, the Cirque du Soleil Prize at Viva Fest, and most recently, a silver medal at the American Circus Festival. Alongside performing, Julian is also a coach working with both recreational and professional artists with a strong focus on technique, pathways, and efficiency in movement. And what I'm really excited to dive in today is his experience with both circus competitions and festivals, because these are two spaces that a lot of artists are curious about, but don't always fully understand how to navigate. So today, we're gonna break down the differences, the benefits, and what these experiences look like and feel like in real time, and how you can use them strategically in your career. Julian, welcome to the podcast.

Julian McTaggart 1:47

Hi, Jen. Thank you so much for the, the very lovely, extensive intro. Really appreciate it. I think all of my, all my titles, um, uh, grossly overrepresent who I am. Um, truly, I feel like I'm just, I'm just a circus person trying to do my thing and do it well.

Jennifer Pierce 2:07

You know, and I think that's, that's true to everybody, but you have had a really fantastic career and I'd love for you to, um, maybe continue to brag on yourself a little bit more. But, um, share with everybody, some of your highlights, how you found your way into both competitions, festivals, background, just a little bit more, from you.

Julian McTaggart 2:29

I started Circus, much later in life than I think most people that take this to a, like a very professional level. I started when I was about 17. Um, I was a gymnast before that. I was a competitive cyclist before that. And so moving into, like, another aspect of athleticism, felt very comfortable to me. I had grown up doing, uh, Shakespearean theater and acting for a long time, and so being on stage was something that was very familiar. So I think that naturally I, I fell into this as, like, a happy medium between the two. I think that I ended up getting into festivals and competitions because it's just an opportunity to put yourself out there to present more of your work, to be shown on a larger stage, um, and to get a sense of recognition. And I think every time that I've done festivals, even if it doesn't feel like it is initially, beneficial in the moment, I always come back to, like, jobs that have, that have kind of scouted me or, like, become aware of me at those festivals. And then when I have ended up submitting to their applications, they get to go, "Oh, perfect, this was a person that we've seen before and we've wanted to pick up for a while." So I think that, that festivals have continued to kind of, uh, overpay the, the effort that I put into them, you know, a few years ago.

Jennifer Pierce 3:58

That's awesome. Yeah, I think it's another stage that you can show how you show up as a performer under stress and they can see your full act opposed to submitting something. So it's another just, uh, kind of way to prove what you can do under pressure.

Julian McTaggart 4:17

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I think that circus is also such, it's such, like, a personal and it's such, the experience of witnessing circus is something that we are all supposed to do live. Like, it's much harder of an experience to encapsulate your act or what you're trying to do, over a phone or over video. This is a, this is a live art medium. And so for casting directors or, people of interest that are, that are looking to hire the act, getting to be, getting to have the opportunity where you're in the room with them or they're in the room with you and they do get to watch you for four or five minutes, I think means a lot more than, than people, I don't know, like write it off to, to be.

Jennifer Pierce 5:04

Definitely. So let's start off really simple. What would you say are the main differences between a circus competition and a circus arts festival from your experience?

Julian McTaggart 5:18

I think there is one really clear distinction that I make, and I would be interested to, to hear if you think that there are other distinctions. I think that a competition is open entry and is, often judged on a stricter code of points. I think that a festival is often invite only, and is judged, I don't know, based on, like, more abstract components, you know? Yeah. I don't think that there are specific marks that need to be hit for each act. I think that, um, the acts very wildly, and I think that it is like an overall, I don't know, an overall culmination of technique and artistic vision and choreography and costume design. And like there's a lot more that goes into, I think, a festival act than what necessarily needs to go into a competition. And then also I think that competitions, you are often, performing or competing with other people that are doing your discipline- Yes. and festivals are, um, a huge, a huge, huge range, array of different disciplines. You know, sometimes you're doing other, or you're with other, aerial acts. Often there are a lot of ground acts. Sometimes you are doing things with, someone that's doing things like clown, you know? And so it's, it's a much wider range.

Jennifer Pierce 6:49

Yeah.

Julian McTaggart 6:50

And so I don't think that there can be, like, a determinant, um, factor or, um, uh, like a rubric applied to all of these things that very wildly.

Jennifer Pierce 7:01

Yeah. No, I would definitely agree. As far as the, uh, circus competitions, I'm working with some artists right now and we're, finalizing all of their just base choreography. And, you know, at first I like to go in and have them just showcase themselves as an artist, but then we have to go look at the rubric that is going to help them show up and win. And I, I think the biggest thing is that when you go into any of these experiences, making sure, like, why are you going into the experience? Because even at a competition, if there are judges there that are, it's going to be someone there that you want to have the audience, maybe you show yourself as the artist, but not to win because those are two different components. And I think if you can show up and really artistically capture their attention, do something different, but somebody on a difficulty level, they're gonna play that game to win. I think that's where, like, you know, you really, uh, it's, you're figuring out how do you wanna stack the cards and for these artists that I'm working with, they definitely, they're trying to bridge that gap of wanting to win, but also express themselves true to who they are. So we're going through an objectively going, "Okay, nope, the storytelling is not as strong. This competition really puts a lot of value there. We need to make sure that that is really an integral part of the design of the act." So I, I think that's one of the things that, depending on what your objective is, it's how, how do you wanna approach that is, I think, a big distinction as well.

Julian McTaggart 8:38

Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think at the end of the day, um, acts that are really good, really strong, that do well in, in festivals and competitions are able to encapsulate both of those really well. Most definitely. You know, something that is physically and technically really demanding and showcases like the upper, you know, echelon of what you're capable of, um, and also has narrative and story and is, is moving. Um- Yeah. but I do agree that, um, often the value of competitions and festivals alike is not in the, like, winning or the placement of them. It is the opportunity for you to be on stage and more specifically to be on stage in front of specific people that are really influential to this, to this career and this line of work.

Jennifer Pierce 9:29

Definitely. So let's talk about your act creation process when you went into both Viva Fest and then American Circus Fest. Um, w- how did that differ? Did you have a different approach? Share, share all of the things.

Julian McTaggart 9:50

Um, I think my, I think everyone's going to have a different act creation process. Um, I think that I was a little bit more conscious and intentional of what I was making beforehand for, uh, the American Circus Festival than for Viva Fest. I think that I, it's also come with age. When I was, younger, I think I, I don't know, I wanted to make something that was interesting to me and that I wanted to, um, but more than that, I didn't really go off of a, of a particular, like, I wasn't trying to meet a specific medium or tone or style. It was just, presenting, you know, work that, that I was interested in, in trying to make and seeing how it was received. I think that with the American Circus Festival, I've spent more time really thinking about the, like, audience that I would be performing in front of, where I want the act to go over time, you know, where I can see its long-term growth and the types of festivals or shows or companies that I can see it in. And it was definitely, like, a little bit more catered towards, meeting a specific, demographic while still being something that, that was interesting to me. But I think my artistic process and other people's artistic process are always going to vary. I really like to start with a piece of music or a concept, that is really moving, and then over time, I will think of, other things that support that. Like, I will find a movement quality and a style of, like, costuming and, um, I don't know, other things that support this, like, this centralized idea. I like for it to start as one thing and then for it to, to expand out into all of the other components. I think in the same way someone can start with, like, a really beautiful costume that they might find and go, "Okay, well, how does this, what does this evoke aesthetically and what type of music does this remind me of and what would it be paired with? And now that we have both of those, who are we? What's the type of character that this would be? And I think that's, uh, an experience that's, that's going to be different for everyone, but I like to start with, like, a single, crocs or a single, like a, a moment, and sometimes that's a piece of music and sometimes that's, just an image or a visual or something like that. And then I just continue to expand and find, everything else about the act that can play, like, a supporting role to it.

Jennifer Pierce 12:25

I love that. Thank you so much for sharing your process. So question for you. When you get to the competition or you got to the festival, there's a very big difference in that rehearsal period, um, between how- mm-hmm. at a competition, there's definitely due to just the, um, sheer amount of people, but go ahead and share your experience with how that rehearsal period was for you for a competition, and then how that differed for a circus festival.

Julian McTaggart 13:03

Okay. Competitions, you have a lot less time. I think I had about three and a half minutes to, to prepare for, uh, competitions. You're, you're given a small window of time. You go in, you do the necessary pieces of your act- On a new point, on a new system, possibly working with a new rigger or automation tech. Um, you do, yeah, you do just the essentials of what you would need to, and having the act like 100% prepared, um, beforehand and knowing exactly what you need to do is, like, paramount. I would also absolutely recommend that for a festival, uh, you know, a festival act should be really, really, like, uh, excessively rehearsed in my opinion. But you are with many other people that are all doing a very similar thing to you, and so your rehearsal time is kind of managed down to the minute or the minute and a half, and your showcase or your competition piece, is also on a specific time crunch most of the time. So you have, you're going at, at 10:07, and you know that at 10:07 it's happening. And then you have your four minutes and you have, you know, 30 seconds of rigging changes after it, and then the next person goes. So it's a really, it's a very fast paced, act. There's also not a lot of time for, like cues automation cues. So erring on the side of something that is a little bit more simplistic in that way allows you to, I think, put more effort into, uh, your character and your act and, um, just being able to think about other things, being able to present and to perform a little bit more than having to worry about if your automation is going to go right or if it doesn't go right, how you can make adjustments to that. So erring on the side of simplicity, I think for something like that is wonderful. Whereas, a festival act, I think you really get to make yours and your own in, in a lot of ways. So for a, a festival act, I had, an automation person come with me, so someone that was driving the winch, came with me to the festival and kind of supported me the whole time there. Um, they acted as like, um, as, uh, yeah, as like a supporting role and a coach throughout that whole experience for five or six days. We had, I think, three days of rehearsal, maybe having, about three hours in total, in that time for them to get, familiarized with the winch and to listen to music and to, uh, adjust like lighting and sound and, um, uh, you're, you know, you're working under a different stage, you're working on a different point. Everyone, everyone at a festival, you know, is, is coming into it with something that they've been rehearsing for a long time and I think a festival wants to give them the opportunity to make sure that everything feels good. I would always take more time in, in preparation, um, but often, but the, the juxtaposition between the two is, is really substantial.

Jennifer Pierce 16:15

Yeah. No, definitely. So I love the advice on the simplicity and the automation cues. I think that's so important. As far as, um, your advice on how artists can concisely share with the tech that's going to be helping and supporting them in, especially in a competition where you don't have a lot of times, what would be your top three recommendations for how to, give the instruction and make sure that you set yourself up for success?

Julian McTaggart 16:48

I would be really deliberate with when an up and a down is. I would be able to run the act or go through the act while talking with them so that you can give, like, verbal cues up and down. I would not have, like, multiple cues that go down and then further down and then, like, a little bit. Yes. Um, having something that can, that can go up and can go down at the same, like, uh, acceleration speed, so you don't need something that's, like, a really gradual up and then a really quick down or something like that. And then kind of always, always trying to have a cue maybe, and maybe you need multiple cues or multiple heights, but thinking about, whether you're doing hoop or trapeze or straps, if I have a specific cue, I would say, "Okay, I want the bottom of the straps to come to, like, the bottom of my chest height." And as long as it can return to that place every time, then I can do everything. So I can, I can choreograph the, um, the, the ground choreography of my act, uh, with them at that height, and as long as they come to that height, I can let go of them, and then I can do something on the floor, and then I can come back to them, and then that's a good height for me to start my next sequence. Or maybe you want them overhead, and then you choreograph, most of your sequences with them just slightly overhead or something like that. But being aware of, like, the reference points that you can mention on your own body that work really well for the, the relationship that you have with the apparatus or the height that you have with the apparatus, um, is kind of the, the queuing height that I like to go off of.

Jennifer Pierce 18:36

I love that. I think that's great advice, because I think that's one of the most nerve-wracking, you know, when you decide to put automation cues in and there is such that small window, you know, how do you set that up for success? So I think that's fantastic advice. Mm-hmm. All right. So if an artist is thinking long-term, how do you think they should view competitions and festivals as part of their overall career strategy?

Julian McTaggart 19:05

Great question. Um, I think that, I think that competitions and festivals serve to put new eyes onto work that you have developed. I think that if someone has spent, I don't know, a year or a couple years in an extensive window of training and they feel that they need or would like to, you know, the last time that they have presented something has been some time back and they've made, um, like leaps and bounds or they, they feel differently as an artist than, than when they started this process and they have something to show for it, I think that is the opportunity that you should, capitalize on to, to either start competitions or festivals. I think that coming out of school for people that go through like a conventional, um, uh, circus schooling system, doing a festival, maybe in your second year or your third year of school is really wonderful as you like get prepared to graduate and go out into the working world. Um, or yeah, anytime that you've had maybe an extensive, uh, training and artistic creation season, you know, you spent the larger portion of a year, um, working on something. Uh, I think anytime you have like new work that feels, different and you want to showcase, I feel like is, is the time to do things like this. Um, yeah. I

Jennifer Pierce 20:38

love that. Um, what did you feel as far as the networking opportunities for both, festivals and also for competitions? And what would you encourage artists when they go to these spaces to make as a commitment to do as far as meeting other artists or, um, as far as workshops? What would you say, would be a way to get the maximum amount of growth from that, that, you know, putting yourself out there?

Julian McTaggart 21:11

Um, uh, please network. Please network. Spend the time, the people that are there that are, that are judges or jury, at the festival or, or at competitions, are like the most, some of the most valuable people in the room to be talking to. And often they have, uh, accreditation or, um, uh, you know, they've been in the industry for a long time and they can be intimidating. Um, if you have a moment and they aren't busy, being able to go up to people and say like, "Hey, I see that you wrote this feedback on my little like sheet at the competition, you know, you, you gave us all, um, like ratings and you gave us little, little bits of feedback." Like, if you don't mind, I would love to talk to you about that or like, could you talk, you know, could you explain this in a little bit more detail? I really agree with these things. I would like to, you know, these are things that I would like to improve, um, is incredibly, incredibly valuable feedback. I think generally asking for feedback in festivals, um, because you get to, you get to expose so many more people to your act, seeing how it comes across and it's received by people that aren't in the same, um, like, like creation chamber as you have been, for the last couple years, having so many new eyes is wonderful. And then I would say, everyone there that you're working with, that you're performing with or you're competing with, um, make friends with everyone, like just get to know everyone. Yes, this is a competition and we're all doing this, because we love it and we're trying to do well, but like these are all people that you are going to be friends with and you're going to continue to know and you're going to watch them grow and their careers are going to take off in different trajectories than your own. Um, and ultimately like the people that we, we get to be friends with and we get to know, um, go out and do their own thing and as you become a more established professional in the industry, so will they. And you never know when they're on a show and someone goes out and, and they need to strap that and they go, "Oh, I, I did this with someone two or three years back and we shared an Airbnb and they were super lovely and they did a really cool, you know, always having like, there's so much talent in this industry than-

Jennifer Pierce 23:34

Yeah.

Julian McTaggart 23:35

knowing someone personally and having, um, a sense of familiarity that you've worked with them or you've just lived with them, um, for a couple days, um, in a shared house shows that you can be, you know, responsible or conduct yourself well around other people. And sometimes that's, that's what someone is looking for.

Jennifer Pierce 23:54

100%. It's, it's amazing looking back to a few years ago when I took a group of students to Viva Fest, I can say that they are now working alongside other artists that were there at that same time. And it's, it's amazing to see like, oh my gosh, we saw them on stage when you were there too. So it's, it's, the community is so small and, and I think being able to make those, those connections and grow relationships in every opportunity is so important. So question for you, as far as the time invested in your act, because you said it a few times and I, I think artists don't always I, I think spend the amount of time on an act that it truly needs to fully develop it into an amazing work of art that feels part of them, and you've said months or years and things of that sort. What is How long did you take to develop your piece that you just presented at American Circus Festival?

Julian McTaggart 25:01

For the act that I just presented, I think it took about three months. I just returned from a Christmas contract, and maybe the first month of it was just building up the types of sequencing that I would want in the act and specific skills that I had gained recently that I needed to solidify a little bit more and get a higher baseline of strength and endurance and, um, you know, getting your body into the shape that, that you know you are going to, to need to be in, in order to start to run this.

Jennifer Pierce 25:40

Yeah.

Julian McTaggart 25:40

Um, and then more thinking about it conceptually, and then the next two months really became, listening to tracks on tracks of music and trying to find the thing that, that fits. And then once you narrow that down, figuring out like a, a time for your music and how long it's going to be, and if you need to bring in like music editing software and start to edit or cut things down or extend certain parts, that's when you really start to figure out like how long all of your sequences are going to be and how you want them to line up with music. And if you have the capacity to edit or you're working with someone that's composing or writing music for you, how long you want each of these like rises and swells to be. Um, so you, you start to develop your sequencing and your music, um, I kind of simultaneously and I began to think about costume and like the overall aesthetic or like cohesive design of the act. Um, I started to run my sequencing more consistently and build up endurance and then probably the last three weeks to a month were just, I stopped like supplemental conditioning. Um, mostly the only thing that I did was like maintenance flexibility and physical therapy and then doing, a couple runs of the act every day. So like an extensive warmup, making sure that I can go into the ranges of motion that are necessary, making sure that the shoulders are healthy, um, and then doing specific parts of technique for the act that feel inconsistent and need to get better or doing full runs of the act. Um, so all in all, that was probably about three months that I had worked on developing it. I premiered it at a fundraiser for the school that I went to. Um, I went away for about a month, I had a separate project, and then I came back and I had about five days to get the act back into like a ready place or a place that I could physically do this. And then I had another three days of rehearsal, um, at the American Circus Festival. Um, I will say those five days, I do not recommend taking a month off of your act and then, uh, coming back and, and being able to do it in five days. But all of the preparation beforehand, um, was definitely very, very helpful.

Jennifer Pierce 28:05

Awesome. Thank you for sharing your process because I think it's, um, it's so important to see how different people work and, and while everyone's process can be different, it, it's really fantastic to get insight to, how others get to that final amazing product. So last question. If you could go back before your first competition or festival, what would you tell yourself and what do you want artists to take with them into those experiences?

Julian McTaggart 28:41

Uh, don't put too much pressure on yourself. I think there are so many people that start this and they have their first competitions or festivals. I mean, so many people, I think in the, in the world of, like, aerial competitions, as it's growing right now, um, I think we're seeing more and more things pop up with, like, younger students that are, I don't know, in their, like, teenage years and they're going as teams and they're competing. Um, I think my first, competition that I did, I was 22. Um, but even, even still, I'm seeing friends of mine in a similar place that are putting so, so much pressure on themselves to do this, and they're, like, very much in the beginning of their career. I would say don't, don't think about it too much. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. This is, like, a growing opportunity, and this is not the end all, be all. You can do this again. You can apply to further things. You can do this next year. It's about the experience, but, like, at the end of the day, it is, you know, this is not, like, this massive culminating incident that we, like, hype it up to be in our heads. I think that, the, the sense of pressure of so many people all trying to do this at the same time, um, can definitely get to a lot of us. And, like, it's not, it doesn't need to be that deep.

Jennifer Pierce 30:05

Definitely. And thank you so much for sharing all of your experiences and any last words that you'd like to share?

Julian McTaggart 30:14

Go make, go make art, go make art for you. Um, I think that's gonna be the, the best and most compelling things for people to watch on stage. Um, uh, but go produce your work and, um, even if it doesn't feel ready, taking the opportunity to showcase it to other people, um, I think is some of the best feedback that we can get. So I encourage more people to do this.

Jennifer Pierce 30:37

Awesome. Thank you, Julian.

Speaker 2 30:39

Hey guys, I wanted to invite you to join the wait list for my next Act Creation Mentorship Own the Stage. If you're looking for someone who can hold your vision, give you the tools to move through creative roadblocks and keep you accountable to what casting is actually looking for and what the industry is asking for, this is for you. If you're listening right now and you feel like you have the talent, but when it comes to act creation, something just isn't fully clicking. I'd love to connect with you because most of the time it's not a complete overhaul, it's a few missing tools, a few shifts in how you're approaching the process. And that's the difference between staying stuck and second guessing and becoming the artist who is ready to go for the opportunities you actually want. If you feel like that is you, email me at jennifer@aritementorship.com so we can connect and see if this mentorship is the right fit for you. You can also DM me on Instagram @theartistbehindtheart. I would truly love to connect with you and help you move from where you are to where you are meant to be.