Happy Halloween!

Have you ever looked at a contortionist and wondered what their skeleton must look like when they're all bent out of shape like that?

 Well wonder no more!

Happy Halloween!

Anybody Home?

Hello there, lover of all things circus!

Please forgive the lull as of late, a lot has been going on at the circus the past few weeks and I just haven't had the time/courage to write about all the crazy shenanigans that have been going on! The tour has just about come to a close and I'll be heading back home in a few days. Once I've had some time to readjust to life as a normal human being, I'll be back on the blog with tales from the final days of the 2013 season, circus news, and other fun bits!

Cheers!

If You Say So...

Source: Surviving the World

Blow Down!

This appeared in my Facebook feed a while back. From what I understand the blow down occurred around the beginning of September to the Russian State Circus while they were in Osnabrück, Germany.

I, thank goodness, have never witnessed a tent blow down. I can't believe how fast it went down... A blown down can be the end of a circus. Here's hoping that no one was harmed and that the folks at the Russian State Circus get back on their feet quickly.

Oh, Public...

Having nearly completed the season, I think I can say with some authority that the Swiss public has a tendency to get lost. Maybe not lost, but certainly a little turned around. Which I must admit, I find rather interesting. I know we're in a tent, not a theatre, but there's still a pretty clear divide between where the seats are and where backstage is. It should be pretty clear that if you need to go on stage and through a curtain, that probably isn't the exit. And yes, that did happen.

Also, there was this lady.

During a matinee a father and his sons decided that the best way to exit the tent was by just going underneath the tent wall near the artist entrance.  Before the show even finished, I might add.

There was also the very curious moment during warm-up when a man stuck his head in the tent opening in the backstage and just smiled and stared at us. We said hello and asked if we could help him. He just kept smiling and looking about and then after a minute or so popped his head back out.

Weird...

But my favourite would have to be the time when a father and his daughter sat down with a bag of popcorn and watched while we were getting ready backstage. It happens all the time that people walk around the tent and check out what's going on, but at this point, the show had already started. Instead of sitting in the tent and watching the actual show, this man and his daughter decided to watch the few of us who weren't on stage yet as we did arm circles and stretched our quads...

It seems we've gotten off pretty easy this year, though. Apparently one time a man was found in the laundry room washing his own clothes while trying to steal other people's clothes. This was a particularly ludicrous situation as the pants he was trying to pass off as his were the official work pants of the circus, complete with circus logo and the name of the owner sewn in. And while in Zurich last year, a man was found in the kitchen one morning after having eaten so much he was laying in a pool of his own vomit...

And people think circus folk are the ones to be weary of...

Overheard Backstage

To his partners right before doing their act:

"Oh my god... I just peed a little... Can you see it? Can you see it? Oh my god... I hope it's just in my underwear..."

Tear Down the Circus

If you're on this blog, chances are you're a fan of circus. If so, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that your love of circus extends to things circus related. As such, do I have news for you!

Circus artist Kimmo Olavi has recently ventured into the music scene with the release of the song Tear Down the Circus, complete with official music video! Check it out!

If you enjoy the song, you can get on iTunes here!