Another Step in the Fall

I have long held the belief that Cirque du Soleil is not Circus. They are fabulous performances, and I have never thought otherwise. Some of the shows are spectacular, if disconcerting. But they are not Circus, and I have always bristled when they try to describe themselves as such.

Now comes word that Laliberte and his "troupe of performers" will be producing a Michael Jackson-themed show. I find this distasteful on many levels, not the least of which is that Michael Jackson the man was not exactly an upstanding citizen. There were too many concerns about his emotional stability, his pedophilic interaction with children, and finally his death of a (possibly illegal) drug overdose. Not exactly someone I want to aspire to, and certainly not someone whose strange ways should continue to be idolized with "entertainment."

I think in the early days, Cirque was amazing. The history I've read shows an organization with a dream to provide intense, visually spectacular performances that took Circus a step further and showed the limits of the human body. Now, it just looks like they will do whatever makes a buck. No doubt millions of MJ fans will be buying very expensive tickets to these new Cirque productions (one is to be a traveling performance, the other on permanent location in Las Vegas).

I'll pass, thank you. Give me regular old Circus any day. I'm amazed enough by that.

Anger

One of the people I've interviewed for my circus book is Doug Terranova. Doug is an animal trainer and exotic animal owner in Texas, whose animals have not only performed for commercials and children's movies, but also for circuses all over the country. Anyone who's watched a Barney movie has seen some of his animals (and he himself) in action. He is raising two daughters in the business, as well.

I had the great privilege and honor of spending time with Terranova in Baraboo, Wisconsin, a few summers ago, where he was working his elephants, ponies, and camels at Circus World Museum. It was there that I fell in love with elephants, and particularly a sweet bull named Kamba. Until my time there, I had never understood just how smart an elephant is, and how persuasive they can be when they want something. Kamba, and her companions Congo and Moxie, taught me an awful lot in a few short weeks. One thing I learned about elephants: they will never do anything they don't want to do.

Recently, Terranova surrendered his elephants to a local zoo. I do not know a whole lot of details, but last fall Kamba took a little walk in the country at a circus she was performing at, instead of going into her truck like she was supposed to. There was something more interesting for her to do, so she took a walk. She went to cross a street and a small SUV came around the corner, and you can imagine what happened next. Two elderly people had the crap scared out of them, one SUV door got a tusk-enhancement, and Kamba didn't feel the least bit guilty.

But the ensuing investigation by the USDA (the governmental body that regulates exotic animal performers) and an escalation of animal activists' interference, led to drastic measures. The elephants are now being safely cared for at a zoo.

This makes me sad, first of all, but it also makes me overwhelmingly angry. There are people who should find something better to do with themselves, and that includes animal activists in this country. I have seen elephant care closeup, and I can vouch for how loved and tended these animals are. I saw three spectacular, healthy, happy bulls frolicking in big yard. I saw three elephants with very distinct personalities, and likes and dislikes, who were happy to take whatever treat I offered them, from a crisp apple, cob of corn, or small watermelon. Never once, the whole time I was there, did I see anyone mistreat them in any way. Those elephants were practically loved like lapdogs.

PETA and their kind need to find another hobby. This is none of their business, and certainly, if they can raise the kind of funds they've been able to raise over the last 30 years or so, they can do something useful with that. Running people like Terranova out of their life's work is not a decent way to spend their time or their money. Aren't there enough starving children to be taken care of, intensely poor nations that need help with housing and food production, or Olympic hopefuls that need someone to fund their trainings to take the place of the misguided PETA people?

Angry. I'm just angry. There is not a lot I can do about any of this, but I can still be angry. Maybe someday, PETA (and others like them) will be exposed for the frauds they are.

The Butterfly Circus

All I can say to this is wow. Twenty minutes of beauty. Smarmy message, but great beauty in this little film.

Especially from the owner of the circus, Mr. Mendez, played by Eduardo Verastegui. Yum.

Route Cards - May 14th and on

Cole Brothers

Salisbury MD May 13-14
Dover, MD May 15-17
Vineland, NJ May 18-19
Tannersville, PA May 20-21
Randolph, NJ May 22-23
Livingston, NJ May 24-25
Moosic, PA May 26-28
Wappingers Falls, NY May 29-31

Circus Vasquez
Salem, OR May 15-19
Tacoma, WA May 22-25
Salt Lake City, UT May 29-June 2

Circus Vargas
Simi Valley, CA May 13-18
Santa Barbara, CA May 21-15

Carson and Barnes
Beaumont, CA May 13-14
Perris, CA May 15-17
Hemet, CA May 18-19
Lancaster, CA May 20-21
Oxnard, CA May 22-25
Santa Maria, CA May 26-27
San Francisco, CA May 29031

Route Cards, April 17 and on

Mud Shows

Cole Brothers

April 18-19 - Wilson, NC
April 20-21 - Lynchburg, VA
April 22-23 - Harrisonburg, VA
May 2-3 - Winchester, VA

Carson and Barnes

April 17-26 - Del Mar, California

Kelly Miller

April 18 - Shelbyville, IL
April 19 - Marhsall, IL
April 20 - Clinton, IN
April 21 - Jasonville, IN
April 22 - Spencer, IN
April 23 - Odon, IN
April 24 - Oakland City, IN
April 25 - Tell City, IN
April 26 - Shoals, IN
April 27 - Brownstown, IN
April 28 - Madison, IN
April 29 - Rising Sun, IN
April 30 - Liberty, IN
May 1 - Osgood, IN

Zoppe Family Circus
April 17-19 - Ridgeland, MS
April 22-25 - Decatur, AL
May 14-16 - Overland Park, KS

Kelly Miller Circus, Festus, 4/13/09

Here are pictures from KM on April 13th. It was a lucky day, despite the rain!

Steve, Bob "Doodles" Kelmer, and Ryan


Steve, "Doodles" daughter Katie, and Ryan


A clown's best side.


In the ring.


In the ring.


The brightest concession trailer ever.










Hula Hoops


Hula Hoops


Prospector gag


Prospector gag


Prospector gag


Prospector gag


Raoul the Juggler


Raoul the Juggler


Tony the clown.


Sink gag.


Sink gag.


Sink Gag.

See more of Steve and Ryan at their blog.

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!

Route Cards March 31-April 12

If you don't see a circus listed that you want to know about, leave me a note in the comment section and I'll see what I can do. I'm focusing on Mudshows at the moment, but there is more info that I can share if you want it.

Kelly Miller

Redfield, AR Mar 31
Heber Springs, AR Apr 1
Ash Flat, AR Apr 2
Mt. Home, AR Apr 3-4
Ava, MO Apr 5
Houston, MO Apr 6
Potoso, MO Apr 9
Ironton, MO Apr 10

Cole Brothers

Ft. Mill, SC Mar 31
Wilmington, NC Apr 2-5
Havelock, NC Apr 6-7
Dudley, NC Apr 8-9
Greenville, NC Apr 10-11
Myrtle Beach, SC Apr 12-15

Carson and Barnes

Alamagordo, TX Apr 6
Phoenix, AZ Apr 10-12

Route Cards March 23 and on

Route as I have found them:

Cole Brothers

Palm Coast FL March 23-24
Brunswick, GA Mar 25-26
Ladson, SC Mar 27-28
Wilmington NC April 2-5

Circus Vargus

Ontario CA now through Mar 19-30
Chino CA Apr 2-13

Hamid Circus

Harrisburg PA Mar 25-28
Wilkes-Barre Apr 13-18

Royal Hanneford

St. Charles MO Mar 25-29
Miami FL Mar 26-Apr 12

Kelly Miller

Bridgeport TX Mar 23
Royse City TX Mar 24
Athens TX Mar 25
Van TX Mar 26
Commerce TX 27
Hugo OK Mar 28
Idabel OK Mar 29
Murfreesboro AR Mar 30
Redfield AR Mar 31
Heber Springs AR Apr 1
Ash Flat AR Apr 2

Carson & Barnes

Irving TX Mar 23-24
Richardson TX Mar 25-26
Garland TX Mar 27-29
Bowie TX Mar 30
Brownwood TX Apr 1
Weatherford TX Apr 2
Allen TX Apr 3-5

RIP Alberto Zoppe 1922-2009

I had the amazing privilege and honor to shake this man's hand one time. It was at a performance of the Zoppe Family Circus at a local fair, sitting in the back with his lovely wife, watching his children perform in the family circus.

After the show, when I was talking to several of the performers, I was introduced to him, I was introduced to him.

To say he was a legend is an understatement. Father Zoppe ranks up there with the likes of the Wallendas. He was probably the greatest bareback rider that ever lived and worked in a circus. He appeared in at least one movie, and performed his entire life.

I have posted the PDF of Alberto's Eulogy, written by his lovely wife Sandy. You can see it here.

Circus Routes

I hope to bring you this information every two weeks. I will include what I find out, which is difficult because most circuses won't share their route cards. Most mud shows are just now getting underway, although some have already been out for a few weeks (Kelly Miller has been out for more than three at this point).

Ringling Red
Newark NJ Mar 5-8
E. Rutherford NJ Mar 11-15
Uniondale, NY Mar 18-22

Ringling Blue
Cincinnati, OH Mar 4-8
Columbus, SC Mar 12-15
Washington DC Mar 18-22

Ringling Gold
Puerto Rico Mar 4-15

Big Apple
Atlanta GA through Mar 7
Bridgewater, NH Mar 14-29

Shrine
Green Bay, WI Mar 6-8
Hamburg, NY Mar 19-22
Toledo, OH Mar 19-22

UniverSOUL
Atlanta GA through Mar 8
Raleigh, NC Mar 11-15
Richmond, VA Mar 18-22

Cole Bros.
Deland Fl through Mar 15

Circus Vargas
Del Mar CA Mar 5-9

Hamid
Hamburg PA Mar 12-15
Harrisburg PA Mar 25-28

Royal Hanneford
St. Joseph MO Mar 6-8
Columbus OH Mar 19-22

Touchy-Feely Circus

Because I have a soft spot for causes related to disability (I work with disabled persons in my day job), whenever I run across an article with this kind of feel-good to it, I can't help but share.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- An enormous Asian elephant stepped out from behind a big red curtain at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Atlanta, Georgia.
Eli Hummer, 3, gets to try out an oversized motorbike at the circus.

An audience of 20 pre-schoolers clapped and squealed as the elephant was handed a tiny harmonica and started playing.

But, instead of sitting far away in the stands, the children, all visually impaired, were just a few feet away from the action.

Among them was 3-year-old Eli Hummer.

"He doesn't see, so to learn about it, he has to touch it and be close to it," explained his mother, Martha Hummer.

She said being able to use the sense of smell, touch and sound helps her son understand the concept of a circus. More...

Steve and Ryan Do Kelly Miller

That just sounds incredibly dirty, doesn't it?

Steve Copeland and Ryan Combs are the clowns working for the Kelly Miller Circus this year. I had the pleasure of seeing Steve perform with Neal Skoy at the 40th Clown College Reunion in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in September 2008. They did the funniest Karate bit I've seen in a long time. I have nothing but respect for Steve's clowning. I have not had the pleasure of seeing Ryan perform, but I'm sure he's a class act all the way.

A bunch of us with ties to the circus community are excited to see such clowns getting a whole season's work. It is a huge change going from Big Bertha (Ringling) to a mud show, but each type of circus has its own value, and its own rewards.

Fortunately for all of us, Steve Copeland is a prolific blogger. He has started a blog just for his and Ryan's adventures with Kelly Miller. He blogs almost daily, and shares some pretty great background stuff on living on the circus. It's still the first week, but I'm enjoying it immensely. And in some cases, the comments to his posts are more entertaining and informative than the posts themselves!

I hope you'll go over and check it out.

Kelly Miller Back on the Road/The Death of Circus Chimera

Kelly Miller Circus, now in its second year of ownership by John Ringling North II, has embarked on its 2009 season. Their early start caught me off-guard, as they normally don't start touring until late March. It turns out that the early start of Kelly Miller had everything to do with the death of Circus Chimera.

After the cancellation of their 2008 season due to changes in the visa rules for temporary workers, they were apparently unable to recover, and are now no more. This saddens me, and many circus fans, around the country. Circus Chimera was a premier show, traveling with an international cast of both human and animal acts. Their tours were primarily centered in the west, spending much of their time in California. Their winter quarters, like many a mud show over the years, was in Hugo, Oklahoma.

So what does Chimera have to do with Kelly Miller? KM was able to purchase the tour dates that Chimera still held, allowing them to start more than a month early on their tour. Word has it that their first three days of shows have been more than sellouts, forcing Kelly Miller to add shows where possible.

This bodes well for mud shows this year, despite the loss of a major provider of shows. With the economy in the tank, luxuries are the first to go. While smaller towns are suffering as much as larger cities from the economic situation we are facing, there is still the need for fun, and circus fulfills that. I am hopeful that the rest of the season will be as wonderful for them, and for all of the mudshows that are out there traveling in these tough times.

If nothing else, most of the circuses will be thankful for the greatly reduced gas prices this year. Most traveling circuses were paying over $4 a gallon for gas; it's now half that or less. And when profits can increase for traveling shows, it is insurance for their future survival.

Kelly Miller was near my big city a couple of years ago, in late September, near the end of their season. I'm hoping this is my lucky year again. I'd love the opportunity to do my economic duty and support traveling circus.

Back on the Trapeze

I've been woefully neglectful of this blog of late. Several recent emails reminded me that I have an important resource going here, and I need to maintain it. So, with that in mind, I'm going to jump back into regular updates of this blog, which means at least one post a week.

I hope to bring new links in to circus blogs, publish tour dates as I get them, and talk about shows old and new. There are some terrific circus bloggers in the space, but there's always room for one more.

If you've been waiting for me to get back to business, I apologize for letting you down. If you're just finding me after doing a search for information, then welcome.

Onward and upward!

Circus Flora 36th Season

Circus Flora returns for its 36th season with a new show and attractions. “Medrano” opens June 5 and runs through June 21 at the Grand Center big top. “Medrano” takes place in 19th century Paris, a world populated by artists, writers, musicians, political exiles, Russian spies, Gypsies and diplomats. This year, Circus Flora will produce a peanut-free preview June 4, add a Friday matinee and host a barbeque June 14. Tickets cost $8 to $36 and will go on sale soon through Metrotix. For additional show and cast information, visit www.circusflora.org.

40th Ringling Brothers Clown College Reunion

September 18-21 I attended the 40th Clown College Reunion with my husband. I did not attend all of the events, or I'd have been driven nuts with clown gags, but I attended the benefit show, the archives tour, and the roast and banquet for Barry Lubin. I got to meet a handful of my husband's classmates from the Class of '88. And I got to meet some really classy clowns as well.

But the highlight of my weekend was getting to meet Robin Eurich, most recently of the Bozo Show. He was Rusty the Clown, sidekick to Bozo. When the show was canceled, I was sorely disappointed, as Rusty the Clown was pretty much my favorite clown. One of my favorite things about him is his "A.D.D."-type movements. His feet are always moving, he is always moving, and I'm sure the Bozo show cameramen had a lot of fun trying to figure out where he was going to stand all the time.

He was so personable, and we had some interesting conversations. Turns out the Rusty character is his, he gets to keep it and can perform as Rusty whenever and wherever he wants. And that is the character he played in the benefit show during the reunion. I was really excited to meet him in person, and even more excited to find out he's such a nice guy.

And of course, I got pictures! I also took a lot of other pictures, which you can see on my FLICKr pages.

Ringling Brothers Clown College Reunion

Hubby and I will be headed to Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in a couple weeks for the 40th RBBB Clown College Reunion. The last one was about 10 years ago, in Las Vegas. Several hundred Ringling-trained clowns will gather to spend four days talking and talking and talking shop.

I will be avoiding them except for the Keynote, the group breakfast, and the charity performance. I love my husband and his Klowny ways, but 300 of those guys in the same room talking shop and commiserating over their antics in alleys all over the world...it's just more than I can take.

It just isn't my thing, although it breaks Hubby's heart to think I'm not as into clowns as he'd like. The truth is, I'm interested in Circus, the whole thing, not just one aspect.

And I am excited about heading up to Baraboo, even though it looks like we have to take the girls with us since my mother has finked out on staying at the house with them. Why? Because Baraboo is a great place, full of circus haunts and history, AND because the clown reunion attendees are getting a personal tour of the archival library at Circus World Museum. I've been trying to get in there for two years!

So, it's a great research opportunity for me, as well as visiting a place that I truly adore. It's going to be a great weekend.

Back, Hopefully Better

I have declared myself fully recovered from my urgent surgery in June. My doctor declared me "recovered" three weeks after my surgery, but until the last week or so, I didn't feel recovered. I'm happy to say my energy is back and my creative juices are flowing. It doesn't hurt any that fall is here and that I usually get my biggest inspirations in the fall.

I've been keeping up with circus by reading Ben Trumble's blog every few days, and reading a new picto-blog called The Balloon Man. Similar to Buckles Blog, it has some great stories and pictures from old circus and sideshow.

Touring circus season will be coming to a close shortly. Now that the kids are back in school and Labor Day weekend is underway, circuses can't bring in the people like they can in summer. I know we are considering emptying the pool this weekend, even though the weather is still warm, because no one is swimming in it anyway. It's just that time of year. All of the little mud shows will be returning to their homes, many in Hugo, Oklahoma, and the performers dispersing to their winter quarters, wherever they may be.

As fall approaches for me, it means I need to get back to work writing. Without a Net needs a complete rewrite at this point, which I've started but not gone very far on. November is coming, which means a new novel should be in the works, but not having finished the one from two years ago, I know it's time to buckle down and do something with one of my unfinished projects.

We'll see.

Missed Flora

Due to the need for urgent surgery, I managed to miss out on seeing Circus Flora this year. I'm disappointed, but know that as sick as I was the last few weeks, I'd have missed more than I'd have enjoyed.

There's always next year. I'm bummed, but I'll live.