'House of Misfits' returns this weekend at new Arrow Athletics facility
For the fifth year, the aerial arts fitness program at Arrow Athletics will be bringing its annual show, “House of Misfits” to the stage.
The show will be happening two nights – Oct. 4 and 5 at 6 p.m. each night. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at the new location for Arrow Athletics at 2125 Express Drive just off Highway 412 on the western side of Jackson both nights.
The show is written and choreographed by the program’s leader, Amanda Scott, who moved to Jackson a few years ago and started the aerial arts program because it was a style of fitness she enjoyed before moving here and is actually a world-class competitor in it and has qualified again for world competition in Europe later this fall.
“It’s a brand of entertainment in which athletes are able to fly in the air using fabric, hoops or other apparatuses,” Scott said when asked to explain what aerial arts are. “You can learn basics like any other athletic endeavor, and then you learn more and more to make it more complicated but increases your ability and physical fitness level if you do it consistently.”
The storyline for the show has had slight tweaks each year, but Scott did something different this year. The 2024 show is a sequel to the 2023 edition of the show.
“There was a black dragon that was trying to burn down the entire world last year, and the misfits joined forces and was able to slay the dragon,” Scott said. “This year, the black dragon’s sister, the white dragon, has arrived and is trying to freeze the entire world.
“So the misfits have to try to stop her, and over the course of the story, the black dragon comes back to life and there’s a big standoff between the characters.”
While the storyline is playing out, 24 athletes between the ages of 8 and 18 will act out the show that has no speaking parts. The plot progresses through actions taken by the characters while a soundtrack of songs plays.
“Because we do what we do, this is an exciting performance that does bring thrills to the people watching it,” Scott said. “Even to me.
“Some of our more advanced girls were doing things in the silks where they’re wrapping up in fabric and getting pretty high up doing it, and then performing different stunts on the way down. Well one or two of them have gotten good enough that they’re trying new things that when they do them and I don’t know they’re coming, I jump a little because I don’t know what’s happening or how it will end.”
Scott said no one has gotten hurt so far because they are safe in training and there are mats on the stage.
“But just in case, we do have paramedics in the room to get there quickly if needed,” Scott said.
Tickets for the event are $25 for adults, $18 for children 3 years old and older in a seat and $15 for children 5 years old and older who want to sit in the Kid Pit, which is right in front of the action. Tickets are available online at https://portal.iclasspro.com/arrowathletics/products.
