Author Archives: Circus Smirkus
A Summer of Unexpected Wonderful
For a good portion of the year the Old Lonegren Farm that houses our camp sits in anticipation among its fields that are only active with the weather. The fields of hay bow in the wind and lie down in the snow awaiting the summer. The summer months do not disappoint, they are filled with surprises. On July 12, after much planning and re-planning, and campers and staff completed their quarantines, the summer at Smirkus Camp finally began. The plan of a physically distanced registration process came off without a hitch. With each arriving camper came another piece of the…
Theo LeBlanc
Theo LeBlanc, Big Top Tour trouper 2010-2020 Smirkus@Home Instructor Theo is a 17 year old from Portland Maine. He first went on the road with Circus Smirkus as a clown, acrobat, and juggler in 2018. In his free time he likes to do crosswords and play with his dogs.
Rebecca Starr
Rebecca Starr Rebecca Starr got her start in gymnastics at the age of 3 and has been moving ever since! After years of competing she found her true love, performance and the Circus Arts. In the early 2000s Rebecca studied dance and movement at San Diego State University, while performing with the Fern Street Circus and Cirque de la Mer. Rebecca is the co-founder of Lyralicious, a duo specializing in aerial hoop. She performed worldwide as part of Lyralicious for many years. She has been featured on MTV’s MADE, NY Ink, and CBS This Morning; and performed with Cirque Dreams, “The Girlie Show”, L.A Circus, Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Festival, San…
Willem McGowan
Willem McGowan, Big Top Tour trouper 2011-2012 2020 Smirkus Camp Coach Willem McGowan began training juggling at the age of 12 in Chicago, USA. After training with different youth circus organizations around the United States Willem later moved to Quebec City, Canada, where he attended l’école de Cirque de Québec, and graduated in 2017 with a speciality in Diabolo. Since finishing school, Willem has performed around the world with various companies including the Midnight Circus in Chicago, Strut & Fret in Australia, and Circus Monti in Switzerland.
Sam Gurwitt
Sam Gurwitt, Big Top Tour trouper 2011-2014 Sam has seen or performed in every Smirkus show since 1998, when he was 2, and he couldn’t let a pandemic break the streak. He toured with the Big Top Tour from 2011 to 2014, and coached clown at Smirkus Camp. He’s now a reporter for a newspaper in New Haven, Connecticut, where he has learned that circuses are much better organized than local governments, and that clowns tend to be more competent than politicians.
Nathan Biggs-Penton
Nathan Biggs-Penton, Big Top Tour trouper 2014 Nathan grew up in the woods in a house built and designed by his parents. Climbing to the top of the highest trees, flying down the hills following the deer, and sliding across the frozen ponds gave him the feeling that anything is possible. Questioning the limits and where this anything could bring him. In 2013 Nathan dove head first into the world of physical expression; dance, manipulation, acrobatics, clowning and more. Circus Smirkus, The Stockholm University of Dance and Circus, and the Quebec Circus School were his starting blocks to push off into…
Jacob Tischler
Jacob Tischler, Big Top Tour trouper 2006-2009 Jacob Tischler is a regional actor, whose most recent credits include: nothing, because #COVID. Prior: Cosmo (Olney Theatre Center, Singin’ in the Rain), Ted Hanover (Walnut Street Theatre, Holiday Inn), and Carl Hanratty (New London Barn Playhouse, Catch Me if you Can). He’s now in VT, baking bread for social justice reform.
Eyal Bor
Eyal Bor, Big Top Tour trouper 2013-2014 Eyal is a juggler from Mexico and he enjoyed smirkus in 2013 and 2014. He then in 2015 traveled to France to do his studies in circus school. After 4 years in school, he is now starting new projects in two different companies. Apart circus enjoys the piano, traveling, nature, ping pong, learning about everything and eating a lot.
Ariana Ferber-Carter
Ariana Ferber-Carter, Big Top Tour trouper 2004-2009 Ariana performed with Smirkus for 6 summers and has gone on to pursue a career as a contortionist. She has worked for Celebrity Cruises, Nimble Arts, Circus Bella, Quixotic Fusion, The Sellam Circus School, and Aerheart. She resides in Kansas City with her fiance Jamie and their two cats. Current work can be found @ariana.contortion on Instagram.
Alexa Wallace
Alexa Wallace, Big Top Tour trouper 2020 Alexa has been dancing since age 6 and competing since age 7. Alexa won the dance studio’s first ever Diamond Award at age 9 with an almost perfect score. She trains in ballet, lyrical, hip hop, tap, contemporary, and acro along with singing and acting. She also enjoys training in the aerial arts on silks, straps, aerial hoop, trapeze, corde lisse and triangle. Alexa trains at Aerial Arts of Rochester, Strike It Up Artistic Center, Draper Dance, New England Center for Circus Arts, French Woods Performing Arts, and has been fortunate to win scholarships and train…