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,…
Circus Smirkus comes to town for its 30th year
Editor’s note: This story first appeared on WTEN Albany on July 11, 2017 and was written by Jimmy Marlow. Video used by permission. SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Circus Smirkus is back in town for its 30thanniversary “Big Top Tour” and you’ll have four chances to catch it, twice on Tuesday, and twice on Wednesday. Circus Smirkus is a high-energy, enthusiastic show put on by some of the world’s best, and youngest circus actors. This year’s show theme is “Midnight at the Museum.” The show takes you on an adventure through the halls of a museum at night, when everything comes…
Circus Smirkus at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Written by Rob Mermin, founder of Circus Smirkus I recently took five Smirkus alum to the 10-day, circus-themed Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall in Washington, D.C. What a fun event! There were circus luminaries from across the country, artists and directors, like: Dolly Jacobs (the only circus performer in history to be honored with a National Heritage Fellowship award by the National Endowment for the Arts), Rafael Palacios – fourth generation trapeze artist, inducted into Sarasota’s Circus Ring of Fame, has performed for the likes of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco and Pope John Paul II. Elena Panova – Award…
Circus Smirkus sets a red nose record
Editor’s Note: This article was written by Mandi Kreisher, one of 3 tour counselors who travel all summer with the young performers. “They’re not female clowns, they’re clowns.” -Barry Lubin AKA Grandma the Clown 2017 is one for the clown books here at Circus Smirkus! Last year the Smirkus Clown Alley consisted of half females and half males but this year for the first time, and hopefully not last, the Clown Alley is made up primarily of females. Five out of the six clowns in the Big Top Tour are female, which is out of the norm for most circuses….
WPTZ: Vermont’s Circus Turns 30
Editor’s Note: This piece was produced by Renee Wunderlich of WPTZ News on July 9, 2017. It will play after a brief ad.