In Part 2 of our episode on Club Fugazi, we welcome guests we're not totally sure are human.

All kidding aside, Maya Kesselman Cruz and Dominic Cruz are two super-talented cast members of Dear San Francisco. Now a married couple, Maya and Dominic share the stories of their lives in circus arts, which go back to San Francisco's Circus Center. Maya started there when she was 10, roughly 20 years ago. Dominic hung around the place with his older siblings, as he was a little too young to get started.

Their life paths crisscrossed all over North America and Europe over the years. Based in Brussels, Maya and some other performers started a side circus company and invited Dominic to be part of it. Just before the pandemic, the two were getting ready to start a new show before having to scrap those plans to shelter in place.

When Gypsy Snider and Shana Carroll invited them to come back to their hometown and be part of a show paying homage to San Francisco, they couldn't believe their luck. They got married in 2021.

The entire cast of Dear San Francisco are so incredibly talented and passionate, about their work as well as the city they live in. Whether you think you need it or not, the show will energize something in you. Do yourself a favor and go see it.

Special thanks to Kayla Anchell, who did sound design on this episode.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather