From Our Executive Director

By Circus Smirkus | Published January 23, 2019

The talented and hard working young circus talent from the Circus Smirkus Live Auditions

Lives Auditions for the 2019 Big Top Tour took place last weekend!

Every January, the Circus Smirkus staff gathers at the New England Center for Circus Arts in Brattleboro, VT with approximately 40 young performers and their families as they audition to become a part of the summer tour. It’s somewhat ironic that we kick off our preparations for the summer tour on a January weekend when the temperatures plummet and the snow piles thick. This weekend, we awoke on Sunday to more than a foot of freshly fallen snow. It’s a very typically Vermont juxtaposition!

For me, the highlight of the weekend is Saturday afternoon, when each of these amazingly talented young people has the opportunity to present the unique act they have spent hours to create – not to mention the years they have spent in cultivating the skills they put on display! It’s such a privilege to attend this event along with the proud parents who devote so much time, effort, and resources to supporting these great kids as they pursue their passion. The auditionees bring so much talent, commitment, spirit, passion, and pure goodness to what they do. It’s a powerful reminder of how much good circus brings to the world, and why we work so hard to keep this show on the road.

Snow in Greensboro, VT

More than half of the auditionees are alumni of Smirkus Camp as well. So many of our troupers over the years have honed their skills and fostered their passion for circus at Smirkus Camp, a magical place where kids can embrace the excitement and whimsy of the circus and give it a permanent home in your heart.

I’m looking out the window of the Circus Barn here in Greensboro today on a postcard landscape of deep snow accompanied by subzero temperatures, but my head and heart are already dreaming of the magic that blossoms under the tents of the Big Top Tour and Smirkus Camp. The excitement and activity of the summer season can’t get here soon enough!

Wishing you joy and magic,
Jen