Managing the Big Top – How House Manager Brita Larson makes it happen
While here in Hanover, we have three days of shows. Three days at a given site is nice because while still being business as usual, there is an extra day to rest and everyone can focus on giving their best effort instead of focusing on how to give their best effort and then getting on the road and to the next site as quickly as possible. So last night, instead of going through the motions of the tear-down-and-jump as we normally have been, the rest of the staff went to a local park across the river in Norwich, Vermont where we made our…
On Visiting The Big Apple
This past Friday, after giving directions to my favorite diner to the three counselors, I left home with the rest of the crew. I wasn’t ready to leave, but thanks to the efficiency and speed at which we left the lot, the goodbye was painless and I was on the road again as I knew I would be. I drove north on I-91, riding as navigator in the 26-foot long prop van until Exit 13. Hanover, New Hampshire is home to Dartmouth College and like many college towns, it feels comfortable (one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about this…
Fast Talk with Mr. Culp
Chase and I sit down in two of the metal folding chairs in the area of the backstage tent reserved for the clowns, “Clown Alley,” as it is called. He’s wearing a baseball cap with the brim cut off and carrying a shopping bag from the dollar store down the street. He crosses a purple sneakered-foot across one knee and takes a sip from his water bottle. I fumble with a handful of AAA batteries and try and figure out how my voice recorder works. Eventually a red light blinks so I put it down on a third chair and…
Homecoming
After driving north away from the coast of Rhode Island, I have found myself in a much more familiar place; Brattleboro, Vermont. This is my hometown, nestled into the bank of the Connecticut River with Mount Wantastiquet rising up on the New Hampshire side. When I was in the Boy Scouts, I would trudge through feet of snow with friends to the top of that mountain across the river and throw the switch on a massive star of light bulbs that would shine for the duration of the holiday season until the end of January. I graduated in 2009 from…
VIP
The backstage tent before a show is a busy place before a show. Troupers and staff come and go between the Big Top and the backstage tent with varying degrees of urgency while Production Manager Josh drops in occasionally to holler: “Fifteen minutes to Smirko!” The troupers acknowledge the news with a chorus of: “Thank yous!” Outside in the hot sun, some practice juggling while others bounce on the trampoline. As the clock winds down, the focus intensifies and after their usual “Smirko!” cheer, they are fully ready to throw themselves into the performance. Yesterday was something special. While troupers…
To The Sea
Yesterday, Smirkus woke up to a bright and hot morning filled with the dust kicked up by pick up trucks hauling trailers loaded with grotesque creations of chrome and spray-painted steel. By 10 in the morning, the air was full of the dull thrum of small engines and a buzzy voice over a loudspeaker announcing tractors with names like “The Great Pumpkin.” It was at this time that I remembered we were occupying the lot adjacent to a tractor pull scheduled for that day, and not just an ordinary tractor pull; a riding lawnmower pull. I found this hilarious, but…
Meet our presenter in RI: Meadowbrook Waldorf School
The presenter for four shows here in Richmond, RI, is the Meadowbrook Waldorf School, a pre-K through 8th grade school set on 28 acres of woods, streams, hillls and glades in the area of Rhode Island known as “South County.” For 25 years, Meadowbrook has been offering Waldorf education, striving to engage each child in developmentally appropriate ways, using experience of nature, story, movement, and the fine and practical arts. Meadowbrook’s academic curriculum is balanced in all grades with foreign language, music and drama. Meadowbrook students learn circus arts as part of the movement curriculum. Mastering the unicycle, stilts or…
Dogs Rule
Even though she is the shortest, Chyra still walks around like she owns the entire lot. At breakfast, while I was still on my first cup of coffee, Chyra approached the “dink hole” (another circus term – meaning the tent adjacent to the kitchen where the troupe and crew eat). I waved hello and offered a friendly “Morning, Chyra” expecting maybe the faintest sign of greeting. Nothing. She didn’t even look at me. Instead, she turned sharply and walked away with her nose held high in the direction of the food. Typical Chyra, I thought to myself, not wanting to…
In Which Evan Ventures Into The Real World And Runs Back Screaming
Yesterday morning, I drove to the Albany airport to pick up our new backstage intern. It was my longest time away from Smirkus yet and while our new intern is a terrific person and made great company on the drive back, I couldn’t get back to the site fast enough. The directions to the airport were very straightforward and I was able to pilot the massive pickup truck safely all the way to the short-term parking lot. Parking was a challenge and the massive whale of a vehicle barely squeezed between a Mini Cooper and a Honda Civic. No fenders…
The Art of The Jump
One of the most impressive things to watch in a traveling circus is the movement from one site to the next – “The Jump,” as it is called. A jump begins the evening immediately following the conclusion of the final show at each site. Audience members have barely left the tent when the crew begins removing the sidewalls. The bleacher pads – where the audience was sitting just moments before – are stripped and tossed into a pile outside; they are still warm with body heat as they lie in the grass. Quickly and suddenly, the energy and efforts of…