SHOW TIME!
- Photo by Alex Zaprudsky
Creative Director Jesse Dryden hoarsely exhorted the troupe to repeat some steps “Again! Again! Again!” Artistic Director Troy Wunderle and his daughter, Ariana, rehearsed a slapstick fall. Trouper Magnus Gaiever practices a mincing walk for a clown gag as juggling coach Tyler Parks, suggesting sound effects. Lighting director Tim Cryan tweaked the color of the spotlight. Just some of the hundreds of moments from yesterday’s dress rehearsal.
Make that rehearsals. There were two of them. Yes, they were a bit rough. Yes, gags and acts and transition bits had to be repeated (“Again! Again! Again!”) until everyone had them right. But the Smirkus spirit was in the air. Tristan Moore’s original score gives the show immediate liftoff, and the straggling audience watching dress rehearsal – a motley collection of friends of the staff and a journalist or two – could not help but clap along as the traditional opening number, the Charivari , burst through the curtains and into the ring. The trouper’s were working their smiles up to full Smirkus wattage. They are ready for the ring.
We open today to a sold-out 1 pm show, followed by a 6 pm show that is filling fast. We “jump” to our next venue, in Essex, VT, on Monday —Look for an opening show recap and “jump” play-by-play.
And so it begins…
–Marialisa Calta
PR Specialist
Upcoming shows:
July 3, Greensboro, VT
Smirkus HQ, 1 Circus Road
1 pm (sold out) and 6 pm
July 6 – 8. Essex, VT
Champlain Valley Expo
Noon and 6:30 pm
July 10 & 11, Plattsburgh, NY
City Beach1 & 6 pm