The other night in the kitchen I was chatting with L, the woman who used to do the trampoline and hand-to-hand acts before she went on maternity leave. She gave birth a couple of months ago and I asked her if she planned on coming back on the show. The finer details are her own business but she did said one thing that really hit me hard:
“[The company] thinks it would just be work for them. They don’t care about this show anymore. They’re already on the new show.”
I found that painful to hear and I know it must be worse for L. She did two shows with this company and frankly, did more than any other acrobat in either show. She said that the director has essentially decided for her that she will not be getting her job in the show back. Heck, when she was still trying to get pregnant he told it would be easier if she just quit outright so they could replace her more easily. This was after three weeks of trying to find a replacement.
They go on and on about how they’re a family, but when you get down to it, they’re as much about the almighty dollar as any other company, circus or otherwise. And I suppose I should just be okay with that. Business is business, right? But when you’re hired for your humanity and sensibility, and then get thrown out with the dishwater because you’ve served your purpose, or because it’s easier not to have to deal with you anymore, that hurts.
I swear, for all their high-mindedness and flowery talk, they sure know how to make a person feel like shit.
I guess when they spoke of family I missed the dysfunctional part hidden in the fine print.
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