Rising Stars: Meet DR. Stephanie Little Thunder Morphet-Tepp

Today we’d like to introduce you to DR. Stephanie Little Thunder Morphet-Tepp.

Hi Dr. Morphet-Tepp, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in gymnastics and cheered during my undergraduate years until my senior year of college. My last semester of college, I was in a devastating car accident that left me recovering in physical therapy for three years. After my longwinded recovery, I wanted to get back into movement arts and this is when I found circus. For my first 4ish years in circus, I was a PhD student by day and trained aerial arts at night to stay sane through a rigorous and competitive PhD program in molecular biology. When I graduated, I accepted a position as the lead scientist and genetic engineer for a startup company. I only lasted a year in biotech before realizing how misaligned the ethics of the industry are with my personal ethics. This is when I ran away to the circus. I became a full-time circus performer after watching the startup I worked at reveal itself as nothing short of a Theranos story.

I found the world of circus to be honest and hardworking. Either you can do the trick or you can’t; there is no fudging of data 50 feet in the air. For the first time in my life, I was in a field that embraced me for me. I have been performing nationally and internationally ever since. I learned how to hair hang, a closely held family secret in the circus world- and rapidly excelled at this unusual act. Although I love many forms of aerial arts, hair hang (with my long Indigenous locks) was *my* act. It felt right and I rapidly gained a name for myself hanging from my hair. I’ve worked with exceptional companies such as Great Benjamin’s Circus and Vampire Circus, as well as my favorite hometown company, The Phantom Circus. Only a couple of years into being a full-time circus artist, I also was featured on TBS’ Go-Big Show season 2. It’s been a pleasure to represent for Indigenous folx, mixed-race folx, and curvy women in entertainment. When I was asked by a girl in Mexico what it feels like to hair hang, I told her it feels like I’m home.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest struggle of my current career was releasing my pre-conceived notions of what I would be doing in my 30s. It wasn’t easy to walk away from science, my first love. Yet, the acceptance and embrace I’ve felt from the circus community has shown me I’ve made the right choice. It came down to where I could bring goodness into the world. I had grown up thinking that would be in a lab, but now I savor my performance career as an authentic way I can bring magic and joy into a dark world, uninhibited by others’ morality.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am Colorado’s only professional hair hanger! I perform many other circus acts including traditional circus hula hooping, aerial hoop, Spanish web, fire spinning, and so on, but my specialty is the beautiful and unique act of hair hang. Forca capilar (or the strength of the hair) is originally a Chinese act that originated several hundreds of years ago. It was introduced to American Circus in the late 19th century or early 20th century. It is a closely held secret by a handful of intergenerational circus families. You can’t learn hair hang at a studio or circus school. I learned hair hang while on cast at the oldest continually-running American circus show: Garden Brothers Circus. I learned in a dirty barn, covered in elephant poo and horse boogers.

Three short years later, I am known for basing other people while I hair hang. While there are a couple of dozen professional hair hangers in the world, five of which are Americans at the time of this writing, I am the only hair hanger pushing the limits of human strength of muscle and tresses! On the Go-Big Show, I lifted Rosario Dawson with one hand, while hanging from my hair! The most people I have hoisted while suspended from my hair is four, including myself. I LOVE this act and find it to be nothing short of pure magic. I work on my hair hang the way I worked on my PhD, with dedication, a desire for innovation, and a firm resolve. This passion allows me to extend past the limits of what people think is possible. With my hair, I have held close to 400 pounds. I also began learning Mongolian contortion in my 30s (during the pandemic) to further improve my art in the air.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Come find me! I work with Phantom Circus and we are in residence at Denver’s Circus Collective. You can often find me and my troupemates in the air at Circus Collective, innovating and training. You can also follow me on social media by looking for The Flying Brain. If you want to hire me, you can contact my manager (and owner of Phantom Circus), the beautiful and talented Natalie Brown. True to traditional circus culture, I do not teach hair hang. Traditionally, the only people one would teach would be your own family members.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @theflyingbrain
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/theflyingbrain

Image Credits
Mike Barry, Martha Wirth, SilverPaw, George Blosser, Art by Sarah Cohen