Circus Time

I've been working in the circus for a number of years now, but never has my sense of time been so incredibly skewed as it is on this tour. After the first two weeks of shows (or was it only one?) it felt like we'd been running the show for months. Name a town we've already performed in and it feels as distant in my memory as towns I performed in years ago, though it may very well have only been last week. Couples that have formed over the course of the tour feel like they've been together for years, even though it's been only a couple of months at most.

It's very strange, sometimes frustrating, and always very surprising. It's hard not to get lost in the bubble, and harder still to maintain contact with those who aren't in it with you. While in the bubble what feels like a month may only be a week, but that friend from the real world who wrote to you last week, the one you've been meaning to write back to? That really was last month, and they're wondering what the hell happened to you.

It's not so bad for me. I'm used to being on tour and maintaining friendships from a distance. But my worker friends on the tour, the ones who decided to run away with the circus for a season, are having a much harder time of it. And I know that more than one of them is worried about losing their friends by the time this is over.

It's a funny thing, this circus time. A funny thing indeed...

Pippin

Okay, so I've been meaning to write about Pippin for ages. I have some friends involved in the production and I've known about it since last July. But I've been so busy with this tour and the crazy bubble of circus life and what we've dubbed 'circus time' that I just haven't gotten around to it.

In a nutshell, the new Broadway production of Pippin is a circus-themed revival of the show from the 70s. It has been met with mostly rave reviews and has been nominated for 10 Tony Awards.

It looks like a really fun show and I hope to have a chance to see it some day. If you're in New York and love the circus, be sure to check it out!

Replacements and Reunions

We will be welcoming the replacement for our injured cast mate today and because the world of circus is very small, and apparently has quite the sense of humour, the replacement is none other than A, the friend and acrobat I worked with for the last four years at my old circus!

And no, it wasn't me who recommended him. I have no idea how my circus found him, but found him they did. The Director of Artists did ask my opinion of him, but that was well after the conversation had started.

All I know is that I'm really excited to see my friend later this afternoon!

New Title

While working concessions one day during intermission, a member of the public came up to me and asked, "Sind Sie lady rhonrad?"

Not "Die Dame die rhonrad führt" (the lady who performs German wheel), or even "Dame rhonrad", but lady rhonrad.

As far as I'm concerned, I have been granted a title. And that title is Lady Rhonrad. You may now curtsey accordingly.

See This?

See this? This is the crazy jenga game from hell that decided what the state of the floor would be and whether or not I could do my job correctly.

Well you know what? I don't have to deal with this garbage ever again! Two particularly awesome chaps from the workshop have devised a new method of floor installation and it kicks considerable amounts of ass. Ever since the new method has been implemented, I have had no problems with the floor whatsoever. I can do my full act every night and actually take pride in my work again.

It is a huge relief knowing that no matter what the next town brings, I can still do my job. True, sometimes the stage ends up being super high because that's the only way to make it level. And yes, they had to add a ramp so that the trio can run on stage to do their act. But in the end everyone wins, especially me, so hooray!

I'd take a picture of the new system, but seeing as it's only visible during build up and tear down and we're all running around like crazy people, I don't think I can get away with taking a break to snap a photo. But trust me, it's awesome. Basically, they make the entire structure that the floor rests on level before putting the floor down whereas with the old system, they would make one section level and then try to make each surrounding section level in relation to whatever it was next to. Not so effective.

Well done, circus! Thanks for hearing me and finding a solution! Now let's go do some wheel!

Knitting Peace

Every so often I come across a trailer for a circus show and know that there is no question, I simply must see it. This is one of those shows...

Three Plus

I've already written about the two injuries/illnesses resulting in missed shows. I've also mentioned that there's a saying I picked up in my last circus that there's never two without three. It's a silly superstition, of course. But it's also a superstition that, time and time again, comes to pass. And it did so ages ago. I haven't written about it though because it has been such an on going drama that I've mostly just been waiting for the saga of injury number three to reach it's stunning conclusion.

While C missed two shows due to his ankle and our bandleader missed a weekend's worth of performances, the trio has missed more performances than I can count. It doesn't help that there are three of them. It seems that someone always has some kind of injury that necessitates at least an adapted version of the act. But one of the three is particularly... problematic*.

He has a tendency to wander by, exclaim that he will not be doing the act that day, and then leave without further explanation. Sometimes it's because he feels sick. Sometimes it's because he hurts a little bit. Sometimes we don't even know. One time he didn't perform his act, with much eye-rolling from the rest of us, because he stubbed his toe during the group acro number. It hurt too much to jump, you see...

For the most part, he gets told by the higher ups to take an anti-inflammatory or some cold medicine and just suck it up. I mean, we're acrobats in the circus. We all hurt some (most) of the time. But we've also all signed a contract, and taking care of ourselves so that we can work is our responsibility and very much a part of the job. Needless to say, when he declared that his ankle hurt and couldn't do his act but was seen playing soccer for two hours a day earlier, he was handed a roll of tape, some ibuprofen, and was told to do his job.

This went on for what felt like ages. I don't know how many MRIs he's gone for at this point, but each time he's told that yes, there's a thing, but it's not a big deal and he can keep working. And so he comes backstage, hems and haws about whether or not he's going to do his act, or maybe one of the other group acts, and the rest of us sigh, roll our eyes, and let his two partners deal with him.

But now, the entire situation seems to have come to a head. He came off stage in tears the other day and after yet another round of medical visits and a week of missed performances, he's been told that he can't work on his ankle for at least three weeks. And while I hate to say it, after so much crying wolf, one can't help but wonder if that isn't what he wanted all along...

But this is the circus and the show must go on. An act is missing and that simply will not do. And so, the quest to find a temporary replacement has begun...



* Oh, the venting... the venting I could do! But it seems unfair to devote an entire post to how one person doesn't even come close to pulling his weight. It's still pretty early in the season though...