Why?

Hello, my name is David Amburgey and I am the founder and creative director for UmbrellaCafe. About six months ago, while filming a short over at Chicago’s Buckingham Fountain, I had the pleasure of meeting an amazing street-performer. Her name was Emily, but many people know her by her performance persona, the Perkulator. Once I wrapped up filming for my project, I captured some video of the Perkulator performing, and, being the life spectator I am, I was amazed with how she manipulated up to 5 hoops in a single setting with the grace and skill of a lioness driving down on-top of a kill. 

I soon came to learn there were so many other talented performers throughout the city, and many of them liked to perform with fire in ways I never had seen before. Needless to say, after dipping my foot into the pool of fire and flow-art, I was hooked. I went from being a mere spectator and began producing highlight videos for anyone I could film, including the Perkulator, Eric Sipos, Tar-Foot, and the troupe performers from Night Magic Designs. 

I do admit that I love filming and editing videos for these different performers. Not only do I get to witness some amazing art in motion, I also get to share these performances with so many other people. But, the inner storyteller in me has been whispering for a while about doing something better, something bigger, something that tells a more complete story about these amazing performance artists. 

That is why I want to produce a full-length documentary showcasing many of Chicago’s talented flow-artists, and why I want to deliver a story told by them that highlights these performers hopes and dreams while also examining the sacrifices many of these artists make to simply perform.  

Other ways you can help...

If you can't contribute, please spread the word, let your friends and families know. Send emails, share it on Facebook, Twitter, Google plus (using Indiegogo share tools) or wherever you prefer. A couple of minutes of your time will make the difference and helping us reach as large an audience as possible with this campaign will further allow us to reach a much larger audience with the documentary once it is finished.