Author Archives: Circus Smirkus
The VIP List…
Author’s note: Previous VIP guests at Smirkus shows include President George Herbert Walker Bush, producers for Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Nicole and Alana Feld, David Mamet, Julia Child, and figures of the École Nationale De Cirque in Quebec. I have two younger cousins and last night, they came to the show accompanied by my mother. This is what happened: WALTHAM, MA: Yesterday evening, amidst heavy discussion as to what the rest of the summer would hold after conclusion of a successful week at summer camp, Jennifer Coates and cousins Marc and Rene Larade made a surprise visit…
Smirkus Troupers Visit Cirque Du Soleil
Yesterday evening, thanks to strong connections with the Cirque du Soleil community, all 29 Smirkus troupers, their counselors, and a handful of Smirkus staff were able to see the show at the Marine Industrial Park in Boston. Troupers were impressed by the precision and tremendous amount of talent exhibited by the cast of 52 performers in the Cirque du Soleil’s “Totem.” “Totem” is one of Cirque du Soleil’s 21 productions and one of six worldwide touring shows. The official website describes the live performance inside the towering blue and yellow tent as “a fascinating journey into the evolution of mankind.”…
The Office On The Road
The office on the road is not for the faint of heart. It requires working in physically cramped spaces, Internet access in remote locations, an ability to prioritize and complete multiple tasks, the most reliable cell phone service provider, and a willingness to turn in quality work on deadline while taking breaks to lift and move heavy objects – a workout for both your mind and your body. These are some of the things I’ve noted since we’ve left Greensboro. I don’t have a printer or even a desk. The entirety of my work is done sitting on a milk…
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…