Blast from the Past

Here is some wonderful footage from a news broadcast about German wheel from 60 years ago! At the end of the clip there is also an appearance by the original *ahem* “cyr” wheel. Enjoy!

Calling All Women of Circus!

The role of women in circus is a subject that is very important to me. So you can imagine how pumped I was to learn of the Gynoïdes Project. What is the Gynoïdes Project? It is a project about the role of women in circus, as well as the representation of women in circus. So if you're a female circus performer or circus director, I kindly invite you to fill out the following questionnaire.


The goal of this survey is to understand how female circus artists experience the representation of women in circus. The study is being conducted by Marie-Andrée Robitaille, circus artistic director and senior lecturer at the University of Dance and Circus in Stockholm, Sweden.

Click here for more information on the project.

Thanks for your contribution!

Oof...

I feel like I’m circling the drain. I keep trying to tell myself “You just need to make it until Thursday, then you can have an evening off.” Or “The next part of the tour will be a little easier, then you can rest.” But Thursday goes by in a flash and it turns out the next part of the tour is much harder than any of us previously believed.

I’m exhausted and it’s taking a toll on my health, my relationship, and my mental well-being. It makes me feel ashamed to be this tired. It makes me think I’m weak. Worst of all, it makes me feel like a failure. Can I really be the only one having such a hard time? Does that seven or eight year age gap between most of my cast mates and I really make such a difference? I hear snippets of the struggle from the others, but I still can’t help but feel like I’m the only one in the weeds.

My limbs feel like they’re full of sand and when I wake up in the morning, I somehow I feel even more tired than when I went to bed. I dread doing the show and more than once I’ve found myself on the verge of tears before and during my act. I feel like my brain is in a fog and I have a hard time remembering simple cues. I keep drawing blanks on stage and hope that no one notices my scrambling to execute the cues on time.

Worst of all, I find myself fantasizing about getting injured. Nothing too serious, just enough to let me rest for a few days. Sometimes I feel like I don’t even have to dream about it. They way things are going, I can’t help but ask myself “Is today the day I just collapse backstage? Is today the day my knee gives out, or my ankle? My shoulder?”

And then I’m amazed when at the end of the show, I’m still in one piece. I’m amazed that this body, that is screaming for me to stop, so readily accepts that I just keep on pushing it, and submits to another round of abuse. And then, though it shames me to say it, I’m feel a little disappointed.

It’s happened now that I have, in fact, broken down crying after my act. And much to my surprise, I had one of my cast mates crying next to me while we lay hidden behind some décor waiting to go onstage. Will any of us make it?

There's a Murder in Town!

Performing the same show over and over again can start to feel pretty repetitive. Factor in near empty tents and the will to perform plummets. So it's good to find ways to keep things fresh and fun. For a long time, the trapeze trio has given itself crazy themes to interpret on stage. Things like "karate instructor", "dinosaur", or  "your right hand is trying to murder you"... But never have we done something with the whole troupe. That is, until now...

Back in the days of creation, we would often play wink murder as a warm up activity. Having been a popular game, someone thought it might be fun to play during the show.

The murderer (chosen by the light technician) could only kill people on stage. Obviously, no one was going to suddenly feign death in front of the audience. But a list was put up backstage and if you were killed, you would cross your name off the list so that those still in the game could narrow down the suspects. When you thought you knew whodunnit, you'd call up to the lighting booth to confirm.

As you can see, we don't take kindly to murderers in these parts...

May the Circus Survive Forever

Soup's On!

This is a nice little piece on the cookhouse at Kelly Miller Circus. Naturally, I couldn't help but compare their food service to that at the two long term tours I've done.

When I first started working for the circus I'm currently on tour with, I was pretty impressed. Their kitchen is way smaller than the kitchen where I used to work, and there are more than twice as many people to feed! Then I read about Jeremiah Cook, the lone chef at Kelly Miller. He somehow manages to feed up to 96 people!

And the food sounds amazing. Homemade cornbread? Yes, please! Meat is crazy expensive in Switzerland and we don't get it very often. It sounds like at Kelly Miller they not only get lots of meat, but beautifully prepared meat to boot. Ain't nobody getting up at 4am to marinate and roast London broil over here...

But then, different countries mean different traditions and different expectations. Though I definitely wouldn't say no to some Argentine grilling on tour.

Read the whole article here.

Growing Resentment

The tour schedule as of late has been nothing short of hellish. To say that everyone is exhausted would be an understatement. Typically, Sundays and Wednesdays consist of a matinee, build down, and transport. Then on Mondays and Thursdays we have build up in the morning, and the rest of the day off.

But for the month of July, we have had build up and a show on Mondays, leaving only Thursday afternoon and evening off. The temperature in the tent during performances has been in the high twenties to low thirties, and humid. Plus, we've been in the mountains, so the higher altitude has also been kicking our asses. Most days I feel weak and exhausted. I seem to have done a number on my shoulder (not to mention the continuing saga that is my back) and while the osteopath I saw told me I was on the brink of exhaustion and not to work for a few days, well, the show must go on. So much for getting better... At night, I read for a bit and then go to sleep.

And I am not alone. Pretty much everyone is just trying to make it from one show to the next. We have one artist working with a hernia, another who was in so much pain she was in tears before and during her act, another who, at 19 years of age, has thrown out his back, plus one of the clowns working on messed up ankle.

But the worst part, the very worst part of all, is that we're killing ourselves with this schedule and the tent is practically empty. I could understand really wanting to push the number of shows if we were playing to a packed house, but we've been consistently at 12% capacity for the past two weeks.

Now I've always tried to go in with the attitude that whatever the size of the crowd, those people paid to be there and deserve to see a quality show. But for the first time in my life, I've found myself cursing in my head when I take that first step on stage and see mostly empty seats.

Why is there that extra Monday show when they know Monday shows don't sell? Why are we doing four shows per town that are only filled to 12% when we could just as easily do two or three shows to more sizable crowds, especially in towns where they know from past experience that the crowds aren't there? And why, why such a heavy workload now (again, to an empty tent) when in the next three months we have almost as many shows to do as we've done in the last five months?

The resentment is growing and I'm really starting to feel angry. Three months to go is one thing, actually making it to the end is another...

Please Don't Be Alive...

Getting up from my banquette seat to make a pot of tea, I stepped on something funny. Feeling a little panicked about what could possibly feel like that, I looked down to discover that it was a misplaced clown nose.

I'm not sure which I find more bizarre. The sudden and inexplicable appearance of a clown nose on my floor, or the fact that this occurrence struck me as in no way out of the ordinary.

Quel vie de cirque.

This is My JOB

As a circus artist constantly on the look out for the next contract, there's nothing more exciting than opening your e-mail and finding a job offer waiting. Even more exciting is when that job offer is somewhere far away that you've always dreamed of going! So when I opened my e-mail one morning to find an offer in India waiting for me, I was pretty stoked.

The excitement didn't last.

It only took a moment to realize that the same organization had written to me two years earlier only to stop replying after only a couple of exchanges. I always figured I asked too many questions. Silly me wanting to know what I was potentially getting into.

The e-mail itself was pretty vague. It wasn't addressed to me, it just expressed the organization's interest in "my show" and then went on to praise the event in question and listed many of the incredible acts that had graced their stage in years past. I figured there was no harm in looking into what they were proposing, and since they pretty much sent the exact same e-mail as they had two years previously, I sent the same reply I sent the first time seeing as I still had a copy in my archives.

That's when things got interesting.

Being a "student run non-profit organization", they couldn't actually pay me. They could provide accommodation and pay for travel within India, but that's it. They then listed all these incredible artists that had worked for them in the past and went on to add that none of them had charged any artistic fees.

Really? They were all down with working for free? I find that hard to believe.

So I looked up all the artists mentioned and messaged them. I only received a few responses but was basically told that it would be financial ruin, certain contractual agreements were not met, and not to bother.

Based on that feedback and the fact that if I wanted to foot the bill for a trip to India, I could just go there on vacation and not have to work, I decided not to continue negotiations. I was pretty annoyed with being asked to work for free, and seeing as they simply stopped communicating with me the last time, I didn't feel so bad about not replying.

And that's when I got another e-mail from them saying "We wrote to you about performing at our event. Kindly respond."

My response?

While I thank you for you interest in my work, I'm afraid I only consider serious job offers. What you are asking is that I spend thousands of dollars to volunteer at your event. This is my career, it's how I earn a living. I don't imagine you work for free, why should I? Your request is nothing short of disrespectful.

In case you're thinking that I snubbed my nose at some charitable organization just trying to do some good in the world, I should probably add that the event in question was a big tech extravaganza where the main events all involved robot fights. If you can stage an event with over 10 000 delegates, and everyone seems to have the cash to invest in building battlebots, you can damn well afford to pay the entertainment.

Hrmph.

Incredibly, I actually got a response to that e-mail. They apologized and were sorry if they hurt my feelings.

Well I'll be.

This Bud's For You

One of the workers here at the circus is, shall we say, a pot affectionado. So much so he had his own little plant potted and proudly displayed in front of his caravan.

Fast forward to a recent ransport. I stuck around the old site until very near the end as I was going to go in one of the tractors. And so, while strolling past the little stream that had cut through the circus grounds, watching the final wagons disappear, I was stumbled upon a pot plant growing by the stream's bank.

What the heck?

As it turns out, the pot cultivating worker discovered his plant was male and therefore useless to him. He was just going to chuck it when his plant loving neighbour caught wind of his plan and, scandalized by the potential murder of an innocent plant, convinced him to give disowned plant a second chance. As such, it was planted among some tall grass and found a new home by the stream.

Your move, Johnny Appleseed.

A Roulotte to Call Your Very Own

One of the images that immediately come to mind when I think of the circus, is beautiful, intricately crafted rolling stock. Especially the roulottes. A few people on this tour have them, and I've definitely sighed many a sigh of longing admiring them.

Now I don't know why it took so long for this information to surface, but one of the artists has a friend who makes circus wagons!

If you've got 49 000 euro, or maybe just a dream, might I suggest you visit zirkuswagen.com?

Kitten Rescue!

Let's be real, people. This news is far too exciting for some fancy pants lead in. The news is exactly as the subject line suggests. A kitten has been rescued on tour!

If being next to a cookie factory wasn't awesome enough, while there, one of the artists found a kitten in serious distress and promptly began to nurse it back to health. The poor little guy was in dreadful shape. She was found barely crawling among some stacks of wooden pallets. Initially she was thought to be blind as her eyes were so badly crusted shut. Her breathing was laboured as her nose was also crusted over. She was filthy, with matted fur, and so thin she was more skeleton that cat.

She was washed and her eyes gently cleaned so she could see. I had no idea that "cat milk" was thing, but apparently it is, and some was purchased so the starving, dehydrated little lady could slowly regain her strength.

The first few days weren't pretty. She barely moved and a stiff breeze probably could have knocked her over. A very kind vet saw her for free and treated her for the many illnesses she'd contracted. What was once a shadow of a cat is now shaping up to be cuddly, mischievous little kitten who is slowly being encouraged to learn some fun, acrobatic tricks, like walking across her papa's outstretched arms.

And this kitten... oh this kitten...

Being allergic to cats, I've kind of made myself not be a cat person. But this little guy? She has totally won me over. I am smitten with this kitten. I think there was concern that the higher ups would not be pleased with the adoption of a kitten on the tour, but there was no need to worry. She's won everyone over.

She hangs out with us backstage and does transport like a champ. I dare say her level of cuteness maybe unrivaled. I swear, I can't even handle it. It was said that as soon as she'd regained her strength, they'd let her go. But who are we kidding? She's here to stay.

The New Neighbour

After our stay next to the cookie factory, our new neighbour was a psychiatric hospital. Not quite the same charm, but a very interesting public.

The Best Neighbour

The circus is right next to a cookie factory. The factory has a store. The store has free samples of ALL THE COOKIES!!! Now I look like this...

Easy Peasy

Any time I come across photos like this, I can't help but question my legitimacy as a circus artist...

47km to Ruin

It was not a good day for transport.

In fact, I’d be willing to bet that it was one of the worst transports ever.

The director of the circus not only clipped something on route to the new town, but he also got a 240 franc speeding ticket.

One of the workers also clipped something, and later, almost run over a cyclist.

A tire blew on one of the vehicles.

Oh yeah, and this:

 
A tractor trailer, apparently fed up of constantly getting stuck behind members of our slow going circus convoy, decided to over take the car and caravan. He passed them so quickly the suction caused the the caravan to swerve uncontrollably and... well... you can see the result for yourself.

No one was hurt and the caravan will likely be sent to that great big trailer park in the sky.