Black Coffee Program

Cast (in order of appearance)

 

Barbara Brutt

Office Worker

Barbara grew up in Pittsburgh, where she trained in ballet and gymnastics from childhood to adolescence. While studying for her bachelor's degree in English, she spent so many hours in the theater department, acting in minor roles and dancing around backstage, that people began to think she was a theater major. Barbara tried aerial silks for the first time in September 2016. She had no upper body strength, but she loved it. Ever since then, Barbara cannot get enough aerial classes, and when she isn’t in the air, she’s likely writing another novel, walking her dog Fiona, or talking about her newest food obsession.

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Ruth Dede

Office Worker

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Ruthi moved to Pittsburgh in 2014. Two years later, she began training with Jenly and Kelsey. And in 2021, she began performing with Iron City Aerial and teaching aerial silks at Iron City Circus Arts. Outside of the studio, Ruthi is an oncology pharmacist and always scrambling to figure out what to make for dinner.

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Moriah Maldonado

Office Worker

Moriah began her circus journey in 2015 when she started taking aerial silk classes after being inspired by one of her favorite artists, P!nk. She started taking classes at Iron City Circus Arts in 2016, and became a part of Iron City Aerial in 2018.

Outside of her circus adventures, she mainly spends her days chasing after her 8 month old son. She loves photography, spending time with her family, and being outdoors.

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Elyse Kardos

Office Worker

As any bored office worker would do, Elyse passed up the gym for something a little more extreme – joining the circus! Her circus career began in 2017 under the high, post-industrial ceilings of Iron City Circus Arts. Between training and learning new circus skills, she teaches aerial lyra, silks, and static trapeze to students of all ages. A passionate artist, Elyse uses her background in theater as inspiration during aerial and flow art performances. When not in the studio, she can be spotted with silk fans, rope darts, slack lines, and (very occasionally) eating fire. She loves adventuring and being outdoors.

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Ziggy Sheynin

Office Worker, Executive

Ziggy grew up in California where she left gymnastics to join the circus. In 2017, she joined Circus Spire, a youth troupe in Oakland, California. With Spire, she performed silks, hand balancing, partner acrobatics, acrobatics, straps, trapeze, hoop, and juggling. After moving to Pittsburgh for school, she found and fell in love with Iron City Circus. 

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Kelsey Keller

Eve

Kelsey has been in the circus business for over 10 years now. She has trained and taught at studios and festivals across the country. In 2015 she was recognized as a top ten finalist in the U.S. Aerial Championships in New York City and in 2016 she was hired by Cirque du Soleil to teach and perform for their cirque experience, Club Med CREACTIVE in Punta Cana. Kelsey is also the Co-Artistic Director of Iron City Aerial, a circus arts performance troupe that calls ICCA home. 

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Angela Anderson

Debater

Angela, a Pittsburgh native, has been training aerial arts with ICCA since 2013. She began dancing at a young age, and while pursuing a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, she tried an aerial silks class and fell in love. Angela currently teaches classes and performs at events with the Iron City Aerialists. She has traveled internationally to study circus in France, Brazil, and New Zealand. Most recently, she brought aerial silks to the stage in Quantum Theaters production of IDASPE.

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Jenly Deiter

Speakeasy Performer, Executive, Inner Demon

Jenly is an Eastern Pennsylvania native who has always been a mover. She began dancing at age three and teaching dance at age fifteen. She initially came to Pittsburgh as a college student and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Social Work in 2007. She found her passion for circus arts while attending graduate school in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts in 2009. After completing graduate school in 2012, she relocated back to Pittsburgh as a hospital social worker. She is now living the circus life full-time. In addition to teaching at ICCA, she is also the Co-Artistic Director of the performance company Iron City Aerial. She sends a special thank you to Joseph Kerr for sharing his expertise and assistance with fire choreography.

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Sarah Moslen

Speakeasy Soloist, Inner Demon

Sarah began her aerial career in 2014 when an online video opened her eyes to the world of circus. She graduated from The Actors Gymnasium’s Professional Circus Training Program in 2017 with a major in Dance Trapeze and a minor in Juggling. When she returned to her ICCA family, she was welcomed into Iron City Aerial and began her teaching career. She is a jack of all trades, performing most aerial apparatuses as well as ground disciplines such as silk fans, juggling, and spirals. When Sarah is not training aerial she can be found at her second home — the ice rink in the RMU Island Sports Center. Sarah has been a member of Pittsburgh Figure Skate Club since 2020 and proudly competes as one of their Adult Bronze Ladies.

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Djuna Gulliver

Speakeasy Performer

Djuna was born in Minneapolis, MN, and moved to Pittsburgh in 2009 to get her doctorate in Environmental Engineering. In 2013, she started training with Kelsey and Jenly, and in 2016 she started training to be an aerial instructor. Outside the studio, she is a research engineer and science enthusiast.

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Shannon Jones

Speakeasy Performer

Shannon has been performing and doing circus arts for almost 9 years. When you don’t find her working at the salon, you’ll find her cuddling with her dog and going on hikes.

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Shelby Shingle

Speakeasy Performer

Shelby grew up just south of Pittsburgh and currently resides in Monongahela with her husband, Jacob, and two daughters, Kira and Ember. After a conversation about "circus curtain performing" during yoga in 2013, Shelby took her first class with ICCA and quickly fell in love. She has been training and performing in circus arts since. She began her journey as a circus arts instructor in 2015 teaching multiple apparatuses, but ultimately specializing in Sling.

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Angela Merlino

Debater

Angela was born and raised here in southwestern Pennsylvania. She took her first aerial class at ICCA in 2018 and was immediately captivated by the movement and community. She was never a dancer or performer or gymnast, but has learned so much in these recent years about what her body can do. When she's not learning aerial arts, you'll find her enjoying life with her husband and two children. They love to spend their time camping, hiking, and traveling. She also works full time as a Physician Assistant in hematology/oncology.

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Emma Patarcity

Inner Demon

Emma has lived in Pittsburgh for most of her life, and first began training with ICCA in June of 2019. She has always loved to dance and can’t say no to a challenge, so aerial was a perfect fit. She trains in multiple disciplines including silks, hoop, trapeze, and floor acrobatics (but is always ready to try more). 

 

When she’s not at the studio she works as a strategic consultant, who loves to spend her time at home with her partner and their 2 cats. 

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Meghan Strickhouser

Inner Demon

Meghan was born and raised in northeastern Ohio and has been living in Pennsylvania since 2012. In 2015 she discovered aerial through Instagram and spent 3.5 years traveling 2 hours each way to train in aerial silks, hoop, and trapeze with Jenly and Kelsey. She finally made the move to Pittsburgh in 2019 and has since begun teaching both youth and adult classes at ICCA.

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Crew

Lighting wizard: Bayley Brown

Sound booth queen: Kellie McKillop

Tech waitresses and security: Janet Peters, Lindsay Surmacz, and Jess Brubach

Website & graphic design mistress: Liz Seip

Body witch: Lisa Papenbrock

Marketing sharks: Liz Seip and Jess Brubach

Additional tech crew: Meghan Strickhouser, Emma Patarcity, Shelby Shingle, and Djuna Gulliver