Teen circus performers dazzle in Waltham
Editors note: This story appeared in Metrowest Daily News on July 28, 2017 photos below credit Ken McGagh/Daily News Staff] They’re all under eighteen, but the kids at Circus Smirkus know how to put on a show. The traveling youth circus is at Waltham’s Gore Place this weekend and a Friday matinee show was just about sold out. The Greensboro, Vermont-based circus is celebrating its 30th anniversary this summer. The tour began July 2 in Greensboro and travels to New York, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts, finishing back in Greensboro on August 20. Shows continue in Waltham Saturday and Sunday….
Trouper Close-Ups: Andrew Kaefer, Lola Picayo, and Aaron Schondorf
Trouper Close-Ups: Andrew Kaefer, Lola Picayo, and Aaron Schondorf Andrew Kaefer is a 14 year old Trouper from Maplewood, NJ. He is a 1st year Trouper and is very excited to be apart of Circus Smirkus. He originally got started in circus by going to a two week circus camp in New Jersey. He also attended Circus Smirkus Camp. “I started out doing everything, but took to juggling as the camp progressed.” Being only 14 years old, Andrew is starting his circus career young and says he has interest in trying other disciplines within circus. However, juggling will always be…
A Day in the Life: The Smirkus Band
Imagine. You have what seems to be the pinkest, softest cotton candy in the world in one hand, and a cool, refreshing iced tea in the other. You enter the Big Top to see little ones playing with fairy wands, or dinosaur bubble blasters. As you glance around the ring, looking for which seat available is the right one for you, a warm breeze brushes against your legs. You smile in delight. As you take your seat in the perfect spot, you hear the band tuning their instruments, and they begin to play a little tune. Cue the Smirkus Band….
Trouper Close-Ups: Dylan Biedrzycki, Jack Miron, and Keiran Sass
Trouper Close-Ups: Dylan Biedrzycki, Jack Miron, and Keiran Sass Dylan Biedrzycki is a 16 year old Trouper from Merrimack, NH. This is his 4th year on tour, and he couldn’t be more excited to be apart of Smirkus again! He began getting involved with circus when he went to see a Flying Gravity show, and felt inspired to teach himself to juggle. At age 6, Dylan started taking gymnastics and later he joined a Flying Gravity after-school circus program. He says his favorite acts are ball juggling and acrobatics. The most challenging part about being on the road for him…
Trouper Close-Ups: Ilse Bryan, Patrick Chikoloma, and Liam Ryan-O’Flaherty
Trouper Close-Ups: Ilse Bryan, Patrick Chikoloma, and Liam Ryan-O’Flaherty Ilse Bryan is 12 year old, second year Trouper from Lincoln, Rhode Island. She started getting involved with circus 3 years ago, getting her start at Circus Smirkus Summer Camp. She began training in fabric, but has recently been getting more involved with ground work, like contortion and handstands. Ilse’s favorite part of being a Trouper is performing. However, on tour, the Troupers aren’t always working. Ilse finds the hardest part of being a Trouper is, “not spending all of your money on ice-cream.” She would also like to note that…
A Day in the Life: Production Interns of the Past and Present
Here at Circus Smirkus, there is no small job. Building a show from the ground up in a three week time frame and taking it on the road for seven weeks in not an easy task, and takes much planning, organization, and hard work. No one job is more or less important than another, because if we were missing any one position, this operation would not work. We are all a cog in a wheel in the well-oiled, magical, creative machine that is Smirkus. One of these positions that captured the hearts of 5 staff members and kept them…
Trouper Close-Ups: Ben Kaufman, Sam Landa, and Ariana Wunderle
Trouper Close-Ups: Ben Kaufman, Sam Landa, and Ariana Wunderle A senior this year, Ben Kaufman is 18 years old and is from Brattleboro, VT. This is his 3rd year as a Trouper, and is so excited to be on tour once again. When he was younger, Ben was interested in gymnastics, theatre, and dance. He says “he needed to find something that combined all of those in a non-competitive way.” He started out at the New England Center for Circus Arts with his first discipline, jump rope. Ben then attended Circus Smirkus Summer Camps for four years. Now, Ben does anything…
A Day in the Life: Costumes
by Rachel Thompson The costumes of the Circus Smirkus 30th Anniversary Big Top Tour are incredible. This year, we have 95 total costumes, but 360 pieces that make up those costumes. This makes for the largest wardrobe in Circus Smirkus history. From the audience, you get to see the final, finished product in all it’s glory. What you do not get to see, is the woman behind it all here on tour. Lauryn Moles is her name, and costuming is her game. Lauryn is the Tour Wardrobe Supervisor, and has quite the responsibility, keeping track of all of the costumes…
A Day in the Life: House Manager
By Rachel Thompson Meet Joy Powers. Smirko alumni, clown, coffee enthusiast, skirt wear-er, friend, and House Manager for the 2017 Big Top Tour. What, exactly, does the House Manager do? As a first order of business, once we arrive on a new site and the tent is set up, Joy puts all of the house materials in the tent, including first aid supplies, playbills, reservation signs, and the large Circus Smirkus Midnight at the Museum midway banner. Next, she acclimates herself to the town we are in and puts out directional signs on the road, which have an arrow pointing to…
Meet Mark Lonergan
by Genevieve Martineau The halls of the museum are empty, all the visitors have gone home for the night. Security guards roam through the various displays, checking that everything is in it’s place. The clock strikes midnight. In the corner of your eye, you see something. Did that statue just move? And the next thing you know, a magical museum springs to life full of jugglers, aerialists, clowns and contortionists! This is the work of Mark Lonergan, who is back for the second year to share his vision as the Big Top Tour Creative Director. Coming from his own company,…