The morning after Typhoon Hato was intense. The state of Macau reminded me of those times you wake up from a massive night out, when you’ve thrown off all your clothes knocking everything in your room over and you end up in bed with no duvet, one shoe (but mysteriously no sock), your underwear, and maybe a half removed shirt. All of this but in addition, you had also decided to drag in all of your garden, smash all your windows and ran a bath but then forgot about it. Massive chaos.
Patrick Rochette began working as an ironworker on high rise buildings and bridges in Quebec when he was subcontracted by Show Canada for a job in 2006. A few years later, Patrick was looking for a change and approached Show Canada for possible opportunities. They took hired him full-time and since then Patrick has been applying his skills to the world of entertainment. Patrick spent some time with TheatreArtLife on his one day off while on assignment with a theatre installation in Macau.
Authors note: I met Eddy Ventura in late 2007. I was a newly hired rigger at the Cirque du Soleil show Mystere in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is not common for the rigger with the most experience to also be the humblest, but that was Eddy. He would be the first to volunteer for a rigging project. He was always eager to pass along his rigging skills to younger less experienced riggers, like myself. He was also an encyclopedia on the subject of the circus which I found out was a part of his life since he was a teenager. Now in his late 60’s, he told me in great detail of his time in the circus. This is his story… in his own words.
