Author Archives: Circus Smirkus
Circus Summer Fun
Dear Smirkus Family and Friends, It is a hot day here for our first show in Northampton, MA. We’ve had a series of two day stops on tour so our staff and Troupers are looking forward to a leisurely three day, five show stop here. The kids hung out Trouper Cameron Zweir’s house today where they swam, watched movies, and partook of brownie Sundays, generally making everyone here on lot setting up extremely jealous. With the exception of the ladies on staff who had Ladies Night at the batting cages and minnie golf the night before. We’ve got a busy…
Double the Session, Double the Fun
We are about halfway through with Session II and it’s been jam-packed with excitement already. Last night we saw the 2016 Big Top Tour, Up, HUP and Away!, which was fun and exciting for lots of people: Counselors Lucy and Abby got to see their brother Ivan perform, Clown Coach Chase Culp (a former trooper 11-13) got to revisit old friends and personally I got to see the tour for the 16th year (in a row.) Of course for all of us it was nice to see former campers performing their hearts out, and see present campers revel in the…
The Circus is Green and Growing
Dear Smirkus Family and Friends, It has been a hot couple days here on tour. We made the jump from Hanover and are in Saratoga Springs, New York until Sunday. Our staff and Troupers have been keeping cool with ice backstage, swimming in the Connecticut River, and surprise popsicles from the counselors. Julie, one of our concessionaires making a fairy garden by the Connecticut River. One of the most interesting parts about watching a show run for so long is watching it evolve as time goes on. Small changes are made based on how audiences react to humor, the timing…
Rope Climbing and Little Sugar
As I’m writing this, we’ve finished setting up in St. Johnsbury. We said goodbye to Essex Junction and a packed house on Thursday and we’re hoping to get more of the same here in St. Johnsbury. So much has happened in the last few days so I’ll try my best to get you caught up. We had local 22 and 44 come to the lot early last Tuesday so we could be a part of their morning show. We introduced host Alaina Pinto to all things circus including clowning, juggling, and lyra work. She saw a preview of our penny-farthing and…
Session I a.k.a. Session FUN
Our first full week session of camp has come and the hits keep on rolling! This session is big not only in camper numbers but in range. Despite range of ages, and range of abilities, every single one of campers has been meet with challenge and magic here. From kids who struggle to pull themselves onto the trapeze to kids who can virtually fly on the silks, everyone came ready to roll, and roll they have! Acrobatics, Juggling, and Clowning have all been equally popular this week. Ask any camper what their favorite thing is and the answers vary, “Dead…
Let’s Chat (a word about Snapchat)
Hey All, I’ve plugged the Snapchat a couple of time on this blog and I just wanted to take a moment to tell you all about the app and how we use it. Snapchat is an app for smartphones that allows people to share photos and videos that doesn’t pile up over time. Brevity is the name of the game! This allows us to show you all a behind-the-scenes, up-to-the-minute look at our days here at camp that won’t pile up on your phone. We will be posting Snap Stories all throughout the summer here at camp. A Snap Story is…
Untitled
Dear Smirkus Family and Friends, Two shows down, sixty-four to go folks! We opened tour at our home in Greensboro to some enthusiastic crowds on Saturday before speeding off to Essex Junction for our next six shows from the 28th to the 30th. If I haven’t mentioned before, I’m not a circus performer. But believe me when I say, that these kids do things that are astounding. I remember watching part of dress rehearsal only a few days ago and starting to tear up. What this crew accomplishes in such a short time is both delightful and humbling. Click to view slideshow….
Camp has Campers!
It’s been months of preparation and weeks of setting up but we finally have the first of our 2016 campers, and we (both campers and staff) couldn’t be happier! It’s oft been said that a camp doesn’t really come alive until the campers arrive and Smirkus is no exception. Until Sunday morning when our site was teaming with the excited shouts and joyous laughs of our Intro campers, I never really appreciated the nature of this magical place. The look on the faces of our campers as they went into the air for the first time or the frivolity in…
Smirkus and Rick Davis Fan, Anna Doucet Pays Tribute
When it came time to complete her class project, Smirkus Camper Anna Doucet wrote about her favorite subject, circus. In this essay, she writes a beautiful tribute to our late Residency Director, Rick Davis. Please enjoy. Rick Davis Anna Doucet, 2015 For my study on circus, I did an essay about Rick Davis, a former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performer and former director of the Circus Smirkus Residency program. Rick Davis is a truly exceptional man and his many stories amazed me. While I couldn’t have put them all into this paper, I took some of my favorites. During…
Long Summer Days
The days are long here on Circus Road but never boring.We have just six days until opening as of the time this post is being written. Practices are down to 20 minutes each with the focus on perfecting what have become completed acts. We had our Banquet last night where the Pie Car shows off their culinary skills and the rest of us reap the benefits. Pie Boss Andrew announcing dinner. After that the Troupers said their thanks to their coaches – most of whom will be leaving before we go on tour – as well as the rest of…