Backstage at Kelly Miller

That's one happy guy!

Had the extreme pleasure to join Steve Copeland backstage at Kelly Miller in Festus, Missouri last night. It was my little girl's seventh birthday, and she has loved circus and clowning since day one, so it was a great way to spend her birthday. I took a ton of pictures, which I'll put up shortly as I get them adjusted/resized for the Internets. We enjoyed the show thoroughly, from the first moment, from the greatest seats in the house. If we'd have been any closer, we'd have been sitting on the ring curb.

It's hard to pick a favorite from the show, but I enjoyed very much the better-than-mudshow quality of the clown gags, and the comic displays of "Tony" and his little poodle dressed in an Elephant suit. Cute, cute, cute bit, although I know it is common in Mexican circuses. "Tony" was also "Raul" who did the opening act, a juggling routine that was full of energy and a few surprises. Memorable moments also included the hula hoop girl (wow!) and the elephants, who were so huge and so close we could see their eyelashes. Armando Royale (animal trainer) looks like a good friend of mine, I figured out about halfway through the show. I liked how he worked with the elephants, he was very confident, and the elephants went through their paces with calm precision. Elephants are my favorite part of circus, for the most part (sorry, clowns!).

We had a GREAT time and this is a wonderful show. Yes, it was raining, and the back yard was a muddy mess of elephant prints and tire tracks, but the tent was sturdy and dry, and the small crowd was whooping it up during most of the acts. I spent enough money to more than make up for the free box seat tickets Steve got for us. And like most mud shows, the hard work of the performers and crew really make a difference in how a show runs. When they weren't helping to set up rigging for their performance, performers were doing face painting or helping with the different concessions. And after the show, I saw plenty of performers assisting in tear down, trash removal, and packing trailers for the next morning. It is truly a group effort on these small shows, and I am always impressed to see that kind of teamwork in action.

And, we ran into some local celebrities while we were there: Jessica Hentoff and clan were sitting behind us, enjoying the show as well.

You can check out Steve Copeland's daily circus blog for more day-to-day details of their travels with Kelly Miller. Fun read!