Week 10

Week 10: March 14, 2017 - March 19, 2017

Number of Shows: 7

Location: Cincinnati, OH

            On Tuesday some of the clowns had a PR for Pi(e) Day. Several local celebrities agreed to take a pie to the face in exchange for 100 tickets to the show to be donated to the charity of their choice. There were kids from the selected charities in attendance to cheer on their representative, and the clowns spent the first part of the PR helping them make posters and banners celebrating the event. All in all it was a wonderful event and both the performers and patrons had a wonderful time.

            After the PR I decided to go to Skyline Chili, a Cincinnati staple, for lunch. I had the 5-way, which is a mound of spaghetti covered in chili, beans, onions, and cheese. It was...interesting. I didn't particularly like it, but I didn't hate it either. After lunch I walked across the bridge to Kentucky and just sat in Barnes and Noble reading for a few hours before heading back to the train.

            On Wednesday I walked a mile and a half to an antique "mall." It was mostly furniture, so I didn't buy anything. I then took a bus a few miles to the arena, and then went over to Barnes and Noble again to do some more reading. For lunch I went to Hofbräuhaus, a German restaurant that was highly recommended by other people on the show. I had a sausage sandwich on a pretzel bun with a side of warm homemade sauerkraut and potato soup. The food was amazing, and quite possibly the best food I've had so far on the tour. The theming was also quite impressive, and appeared to be authentic.

Before taking the van back to the train, I visited Holtman, a local donut shop, where I tasted a German chocolate cake donut and a red velvet cake donut. Both were extremely good, the frosting being particularly tasty.

           

            Thursday was our second "opening day," so we had a very brief meeting in the seats. Clowns also had rehearsal and I got to practice fire juggling. I got approved to juggle fire in the show, so in the event that one of the fire jugglers in unable to perform during spec, I am the understudy. The show went very well that night and the crowd was extremely loud and energetic.

            On Friday we received a very big barbeque free roll from a Clown College graduate, which we enjoyed during the second act of the show (we spend almost no time in the alley during act one, but during act two we have two fifteen minute breaks). Saturday was a standard three show day, and the arena treated everyone to circus cookies as a thank you.

            Sunday we had just two shows, which were a piece of cake after doing three the previous day. It was also Stephen's birthday on Sunday, so he got pied four times before the first show even started.

            After two weeks of shows, I can say that Cincinnati had amazing crowds and was a great city for exploring and more importantly, eating. Next stop: Norfolk! 

Week 9

Week 9: March 6, 2017 - March 13, 2017

Number of Shows: 6

Location: Cincinnati, OH

            We had an extremely long train run from Georgia to Ohio, not getting spotted until 1:30AM on Wednesday. I spent most of the train run catching up on sleep and reading. I started a new book, Theme Park Design, and spent a few hours reading it out on the vestibule.

            Load in was on Wednesday afternoon. The U.S. Bank Arena is located in a very nice area, but the loading docks are right off of a city street. This meant that we weren't able to just leave multiple wagons lined up to be unloaded because it would block traffic. Instead, one or two wagons were brought into the arena, unloaded, and then taken out. Needless to say, this was a longer load in than usual.

            After load in I walked around downtown Cincinnati, which was extremely reminiscent of Main Street, U.S.A. For lunch I had a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup at Tom + Chee, a restaurant chain that has been featured on the Travel Channel for their grilled cheese donut. I thought the food was okay (everything was a little too greasy for my liking), but the theming was superb.

            I continued to look around downtown for a snack. I settled on a small cinnamon sugar Bavarian pretzel, and an ice cream sundae from Graeter's. Graeter's, in addition to the standard ice cream flavors, also has slightly obscure flavors like cheese corn and raspberry chocolate. Their ice cream was extremely good and I plan on returning before we leave.

            On Thursday almost the whole alley went to the Cincinnati Zoo. This was my first time going to a zoo since joining the show, and it certainly had an impact on what I wanted to see. We skipped the tiger exhibit, for example...

             Friday was opening day, so we had our usual meeting in the seats and rehearsal. Our ringmaster, Kristen, was out sick meaning that her understudy Tabata (tiger trainer Taba's daughter) would go on. Tabata did a wonderful job in the role, and the audience loved her.

On Friday I also received my new stickers! The stickers were designed by fellow alley member Ivan Vargas, and I plan on putting them in programs when I sign because I am not in the printed picture.

            Saturday was a typical three show day, but I did have a spectacular interaction during the last preshow. Here's what I wrote on my personal Facebook page:

I had by far the most touching moment of this job so far during the preshow on Saturday night that truly warrants sharing. I was up on the concourse bouncing on my pogo stick during the first rotation, interacting with the crowd as they made their way through security and headed down to the arena floor, when a small family came up to me. They had a daughter who was about seven years old, and wanted to say hello and get their programs signed. The daughter was blind, and was holding onto her mother with one hand and her walking guide with the other. The mother got down next to the girl's ear and said, "Sweetie, he's jumping up and down on a pogo stick," and then turned to me and asked if her daughter could feel my pogo stick. I quickly responded yes, and helped guide the girl's hand along the handlebars, spring, and foot pieces. I then asked if she would like to feel my shoes and the mother's face lit up with delight. I got down on one knee, and began to guide the little girl's hand over the bulb of my shoe. She started to smile and giggle as we made jokes about how big they were compared to the ones that she was wearing. The rest of the family had begun taking pictures at this point. I then asked her if she would like to feel my nose, which got an enthusiastic YES! I took her hand once more, and guided one finger around the ball of my clown nose, which was met with a huge grin. The family thanked me profusely, and headed on down to the arena floor as I struggled not to get emotional...

After the show Saturday night I went over to Skyline Chili, only to discover that they were closed.

            Sunday was a two show day, and I received this lovely gift from a child during the first preshow! Moments like this are the best part of the job, and help keep spirits high on long days.

            I slept in late Monday morning, which is very typical after a weekend of shows. I did some cleaning and laundry before going on the market run to Wal-Mart late in the afternoon. We're playing Cincinnati for one more week which means we all get a few days off! See you next week.

Week 8

Week 8: February 27, 2017 - March 5, 2017

Number of Shows: 6

Location: Duluth, GA

            My four days off started with sleeping in until about noon and then lounging around the train listening to podcasts and audio books. I was having some problems with my wireless hotspot, so later in the afternoon I walked two miles over to the Verizon store, stopping at Waffle House along the way.

 After finding out I just needed to buy I new power cord for the hotspot, I decided I would do some more exploring the area. I walked another three miles to a quaint shopping center full of overpriced stores that didn't really sell much of anything. There was, however, a nice artisanal ice cream shop where I enjoyed strong Madagascar vanilla and spicy cayenne pepper chocolate ice cream. By the time I was done exploring it was too dark to walk all the way back to the train, so I took an Uber instead.

            I spent Tuesday reading and writing, and didn't leave the train. I'm currently working a new card trick entitled "The World's Most Offensive Card Trick," and made some great progress. At night I went to a Carnaval party thrown by some of the Brazilian dancers, complete with food, karaoke, strobe lights, and dancing.

            On Wednesday I walked two miles to the nearest Kroger's to pick up some produce, and then did laundry back at the train. At night I went to go see The Lego Batman Movie with some friends. The movie exceeded my expectations, and was the perfect balance of corny and heart. All around a really enjoyable film.

            Thursday, our last day off, was spent entirely at the train. In the evening I used my George Foreman grill and made grilled chicken with zucchini and tomato salad with pasta. I also made a brownie in a mug in the microwave, which was a big thrill. When I was in eighth grade I began experimenting with cooking in the microwave in anticipation of this job, so it was a pretty cool feeling to actually be making the recipes I had been practicing years early ON the circus train. I also received a copy of the Hofstra Chronicle, featuring an interview I recently did. Thanks Hofstra!

            Friday was back to work, and we started with a split show day. The company threw us a barbeque in between shows, featuring sirloins, chicken breasts, pork sausages, macaroni salad, potato salad, and an assortment of cookies. Everything was prepared by Pie Car and was extremely good. Both shows were very well attended and had extremely responsive crowds.

            Saturday was a two show day, although it felt like a three show day because of the hour long commutes to and from the arena. This was our last two show Saturday of the tour, as the rest of them will be three show days. Both shows were sold out, and the crowds were particularly loud, which is always nice. After the shows I bolted across the street to the supermarket to pick up some meat for the clown barbeque that night at the train before catching the bus back.

            Sunday was another two show day, both with particularly crowded preshows. After the shows I went back to the train and decided to go straight to bed. Next stop: Cincinnati!

Week 7

Week 7: February 21, 2017 - February 26, 2017

Number of Shows: 6

Location: Duluth, GA

            We are staying in the same Atlanta train yard for our two weeks of Duluth shows, so I had all of Tuesday off. I was exhausted after our crazy Atlanta schedule the week before, so I hung out at the train all day catching up on sleep, listening to podcasts and writing.

            Wednesday was load-in. I took the hour long bus ride to the arena, set up the trunks in the alley, and then explored the surrounding area. Sugarloaf Mills Mall was only a mile away and because there was nothing to do back at the train, I decided to walk over. After getting Japanese food for lunch and taking a quick lap around the stores I went back to the arena and took the bus back to the train.

            Thursday was opening day, so we had our usual meeting in the seats and ran through a few parts of the show. The show went very well that night, and doing one show felt like a breeze after doing the six pack a few days earlier. After the show I went out through the main exit instead of the performer exit because I was being picked up by my family! My sister had off from school for Presidents' Week so my whole family decided to fly down to Georgia for a few days to visit. My mom, sister, and dog picked me up from the arena and we went to the hotel. We had some sandwiches and started to get ready for bed. My dad was on a later flight because of work and that flight then got delayed, so he didn't arrive at the hotel until 2:30 in the morning.

            The next day my whole family drove to a piano store where I played show tunes and my sister sang. It was really nice to play piano (and a full sized grand piano) after not having played for about two months. We got Chinese food for lunch, and then headed back to the hotel for a bit.

            My family came to the show that night and brought the alley a fruit and vegetable free roll. I got to the arena earlier than call time so I would have time to give my family a backstage tour before the preshow started. The show went extremely well that night, and we were sold out. 

I also received this nice gift from a fan during the preshow!

After the show my family and I went to a Mexican restaurant up the street and then headed back to the hotel.

            Saturday was a two show day, both with great crowds. It was also a big sale day at the show, and there were tables for both girl scout cookies and vintage circus items from a circus collector. I bought stuff from both tables, but I won't say which one I spent more at though.

            After the shows on Saturday there was a memorial service for our former human cannonball, Nadia. I did not know Nadia personally, but have heard countless stories about what a wonderful person and performer she was. The service was extremely respectful, and it was rather touching to see the circus community come together as one at a time of grief.

            Saturday night my family and I went to a great Italian restaurant across the street from the arena before heading back to the hotel and calling it a night.

            My family dropped my off at the arena Sunday morning before heading to the airport. We had two shows that day, both of which were well attended. After the shows I went back to the train for a great clown barbeque. The train isn't going to be moving until next week, which means we have four days off! See you next week after lots of sleep...

           

Week 6

Week 6: February 13, 2017 - February 20, 2017

Number of Shows: 12

Location: Atlanta, GA

            We had a very short train run from Greensboro to Atlanta and were spotted early Tuesday morning. I didn't have to be at the arena for load-in on Tuesday until late afternoon so I decided to spend the morning at the Center for Puppetry Arts. This is my second time visiting the museum, by in between visits they underwent major renovations and added an entire Jim Henson wing. I've seen some of the Henson puppets before at the Museum of the Moving Image and the New York Public Library for Performing Arts, but this was the largest collection of Muppets I have ever seen at once. I spent about two hours at the small museum, taking hundreds of photos of the Muppets from every possible angle. I am a puppet builder back home, so whenever I get to see the Muppets up close I always try to take in every detail and understand every technique that the builders used.

After the museum I walked a few miles for lunch at an outdoor shopping center, and then headed back to the train to be picked up for load-in.

            This week we played the Philips Arena, which is attached to the CNN Center. The CNN Center has a very big food court, and you could always spot Ringling people eating there in between and after shows.

            Wednesday was opening night, and we had a nearly sold out crowd. I took the first bus back after the show because I had an early morning PR the next day and needed to wake up extra early.

            Thursday's early morning PR went very well. All of the news anchors were excited to be there and seemed to have a really good time. We taught one anchor how to juggle scarves, passed clubs around another, and just acted like all around idiots. I got to juggle on the pogo stick a lot, which is always fun.

            After the PR I got out makeup and costume and walked over to the World of Coca-Cola, where I sampled every Coke product sold around the world. Not my smartest idea, with all of the liquid jumping around my stomach during the show that night. 

John Kennedy Kane, better known as Eggroll, was also at the show that night. Eggroll was the last ringmaster of the Big Apple Circus, and I first met him back in fall 2012 when I was the guest ringmaster at the Big Apple Circus' Legendarium. We chatted briefly before I had to head out to do the show.

            Friday was a split show day, and after the first show the arena surprised us with cake.

In between shows I had an interview with Newsday which should be published in the coming weeks. Afterwards the clowns had a brief rehearsal to make some minor changes to one of our gags, and then I went to reapply my makeup.

            My best friend from middle school, Alex, came to the show Friday night. Alex goes to school in Atlanta, so he was right nearby. I showed him around backstage before the show and then afterwards we went and hung out at a diner for a few hours. Alex loved the show, and we had a great time just shooting the breeze.

            Saturday began our six pack. Three shows Saturday and then three more on Saturday. The shows were all sold out, and were exhausting. I have nothing else to say about the six pack, and have very little recollection of what actually happened.

            Monday we had two shows. Usually we don't do shows on Monday, but we had them this week because it was Presidents' Day. Both shows went really well and the crowds were extremely energetic. After the shows ended I walked over to the Georgia Aquarium but didn't stay too long because I was literally falling asleep while I was reading the informational signs.

I went back to the train, took a nap, and then went over to the clown barbeque. See you next week.

           

Week 5

Week 5: February 7, 2017 - February 12, 2017

Number of Shows: 9

Location: Greensboro, NC

            The train was in walking distance from the arena. In fact, you could see the arena looking out of the train windows. After load in on Tuesday afternoon, I decided to explore the surrounding neighborhood. The area around the arena was rather nice, full of restaurants and small stores. I went into a music store and played some piano and guitar, looked through a costume shop, and picked up a circus book at a vintage book store. After that I decided to take a quick Uber ride to a nearby shopping complex to kill some time. I walked the complex pretty quickly and didn't feel like heading back to the train yet, so I went to see Moana. Wonderful animation and really good music. All around an enjoyable movie.

            Wednesday was opening day. We had our usual meeting in the seats and a brief rehearsal. We had an extremely responsive crowd and the show went really well.

            Thursday was a split show day and in between I was interviewed for a CNN piece on Ringling that will be airing nationally. I'm not sure when the piece will air yet, but I will keep everyone posted. After the show I went to highly rated local artisanal pizza shop called Sticks and Stones, and then walked back to the train.  

            We just had one show on Friday night, so I got to sleep in a little bit. During our weekly clown rehearsal, we presented new gags to production for the preshow. I presented my needle through balloon gag and it got approved to go in! The needle through balloon was the piece I initially auditioned for Ringling with and it then became the opening of my one-man show, so it's pretty cool that I get to do it in the show now.

            Saturday was a three show day and we were completely sold out. A former Ringling clown treated us to a free roll dinner from a barbeque restaurant across the street. It was vinegar based barbeque, which I've never had before. I've never had this style of barbeque before, and thought it was delicious. After the shows that night we had a clown barbeque at the train (we all really like barbeque) and I went to bed.

            Sunday was a two show day, and in between shows we got to sign one of the walls backstage. Signing the walls is something this arena has done for a very long time, and we were all honored to leave our permanent mark there.

After the show I packed up my trunk, and went to 913 Whiskey Bar and Southern Kitchen for grilled cheese and tater tots. Next stop; Atlanta!

Week 4

Week 4: January 31, 2017 - February 6, 2017

Number of Shows: 8

Location: Greenville, SC

            We arrived in Greenville Tuesday afternoon, actually a few hours ahead of schedule. Load in was going to take place overnight into Wednesday morning because we were taking a company trip to Charlotte, North Carolina to see the Blue Unit and their show, Out of this World. 

I took the first bus from the train to the arena and went and explored downtown. Downtown Greenville is very quaint and full of nice little mom and pop stores and restaurants. I did some window shopping (most of the store were closed by the time I got there) and had a wonderful smoked pulled chicken and peach cobbler dinner at a BBQ smokehouse. When in the south...

            Wednesday was trunk load in, so I went to the arena for a few hours to set up the alley before returning to the train. Later that day the company sent buses for us to go visit Blue. About 200 of us loaded into a few buses and drove two hours to Charlotte. Their show, Out of this World, differs from all previous Ringling shows in that it is on ice. Everyone at the Blue Show was extremely friendly and hospitable, and they put on a great show. I will say that after being in a Ringling show and understanding what goes on backstage, it was really great to see a Ringling production from a completely new point of view.

            Thursday was an atypical split show opening day. We were about three-quarters full for the morning show, and nearly sold out for the evening. The Blue Unit came to see us at the morning show, and then afterwards we took a large group photo. Since this is the last time the two units will be together, the company got us cupcakes and a specialty cake to celebrate.

            In between shows some of the performers had a PR for children with autism and their families. About two dozen families were invited down to the arena floor to pet some of the animals, try on costumes, and play with props, all with minimal lighting and excess sound. It was essentially a very calm intimate preshow. I had a wonderful time at the event, and was extremely comfortable due to all of the work my family has done with special needs children back home. Here is some press from the event:

 http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/entertainment/2017/02/03/xtreme-spectacle-marks-final-circus/97394284/

            This was also my first week going up on the concourse during intermission. While we were in Florida we were sponsored by Ford, so the clowns would come out in a Ford and demonstrate all of the features that the car has to offer. It truly was a classic clown car, packing seven clowns and extremely large props into an average sized vehicle. I was stuffed pretty close to fetal position inside of an oversized tire in the trunk. The spot was a lot of fun to do, and got great audience reactions. This week (and for the rest of the tour), we went up to the concourse and then down through the seats to the arena floor, interacting with people along the way. I've started climbing over the seats and standing on the hockey wall at the edge of the floor, doing a variation of the applause gag. It's been a lot of fun, and is one of my new favorite parts of the show.

            Friday was a split show day, with crowds similar to Thursday. I was up at three AM because I had early morning PR before the show, so in between shows I was pretty much toast and took a nap in the seats.

            Saturday was a three show day, all with sold out crowds. The craft foam I ordered arrived at the arena, so I was able to put my "wings" on my pogo stick. I use my pogo stick at PRs and occasionally during preshow, and I wanted to make it match my flight attendant character and costume.

            Sunday we only had one show because of the Super Bowl, and were sold out. The show went extremely well and the crowd was very responsive. Afterwards I walked back downtown to pick up some groceries and have dinner. I decided upon a small burger joint, where I had an excellent black bean and avocado veggie burger with sweet potato fries and orange cinnamon dipping sauce.

            I slept through most of the train run to Greensboro, NC, getting out of bed only to go have breakfast in Pie Car. While I was eating, our train passed the Blue Unit train! Everyone was hanging out of the vestibules taking pictures and videos, as this is the last time that we will pass each other. 

We were spotted in Greensboro around dusk and I was getting a little bit of cabin fever, so I went for a walk around town. I went to a Sonic for some ice cream, and then went back to the train and called it a night. See you next week.

Week 3

Week 3: January 24, 2017 - January 31, 2017

Number of Shows: 8

Location: Tampa, FL

            On Tuesday some of the clowns had a PR at the Patel Conservatory, an acting school for teenagers in Tampa. Because load in was not complete, everyone got dressed at the train and was then driven over to the event. Here's a link to some of the footage from that day:

http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/231529579-story

We were also able to take some nice pictures at the train in costume, which is extremely rare.

            Wednesday was opening day. We had our usual meeting in the seats, then got prepared for the show. I was out on the concourse again this week for the first few minutes of preshow, and had a wonderful time talking with the arena staff at the door before ticketholders were let in. Opening night was packed! As expected since the closure announcement a few weeks ago, we were nearly sold out.

            My mom flew down from NYC Wednesday afternoon and got to Tampa right after the show that night. I was originally going to stay in a hotel with her while she was visiting, but found out that week that I had early morning television PR on Thursday, which meant I would need to stay on the train. My mom picked me up from the arena and came to the train where we had dinner in my train room. We folded down my table and benches into a second bed for her to sleep on while I kept the top bunk and called it a night.

            Thursday I was picked up from the train at 3:30 AM and was in full costume and makeup at 4:30 AM. We did a BUNCH of hits and interviews with local news affiliates and everyone was extremely pleased with how it turned out. Here are some highlights:

            

         Thursday afternoon my mom and I went to the local mall for lunch, and then headed back towards the arena just to walk around. Thursday night's show was sold out (18,000 people), and I had about a dozen or so people at preshow tell me that they saw me on the news that morning, which was pretty cool. Thursday night's show was also attended by lots of former Ringling clowns like Dustin Portillo, Brandon Foster, Taylor Albin, Dean Kelley, and Ruth Chaddock.

            Friday morning's show was nearly sold out, and mostly attended by families with very small children and senior citizens. Kenneth Feld, owner and CEO of Feld Entertainment was there, and I managed to find him and shake his hand after the show. Post show my mom and I walked down the block for lunch at the Marriott before she had to go to the airport to go home and I had to head back to the arena. The night show was completely sold out. There are a few moments in the show when the lights allow me to see the crowd, and I was truly speechless when I saw the gigantic mass of people that came to see us.

            Saturday was a split show day. The Gasparilla Pirate Festival was taking place in between shows, so I didn't go back to the train in between shows fearing that there'd be too much traffic to make call time on the way back. I took a nap in one of the lounges (they aren't generally used when the circus plays the arena), and then practiced a routine I am trying to get into preshow. Kenneth Feld was at the evening show, and recognized me during preshow, which was cool. Bello Nock was also at the show, which was a thrill for all of us. The first circus I ever saw was Bo and Bello in spring 2001 at MSG, so it was a pretty cool experience for the performer-spectator relationship to be flipped. Both Saturday shows were sold out.

            On Sunday I received a nice surprise when I went to wardrobe to get dressed: new buttons! There are two buttons on the cuff of each of my shirt sleeves, and one fell off during a performance and could not be located afterwards. The new buttons match the shirt better and are much better secured. Thanks wardrobe! We had two shows on Sunday, both of which were sold out. After the last show I walked back over to the Marriott for a burger and fries before heading home to the train.

            We pulled out of Tampa early Monday morning to head to South Carolina. After clown breakfast on Monday I hung out in Pie Car for a few hours just talking to people before heading back to my room for a nap. We are scheduled to arrive in Greenville later today, and might even be early! Until next week...