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CIRCUS SMIRKUS CAMP, 2 Weeks of Fun! Part 2  Submitted by Erin Purcell on   12/28/2009 Last Modified ***   AUGUST 9th And on the seventh day, they rested.  This was our directors' day off during the two week session, meaning that we had no shows or rehersals scheduled.  Instead, counselors took us around the morning rotations, and we were able to try out skills that weren't in the Roadshow.  We even got to attend "choice time" with the Intermediate campers, allowing us to experiment with instruction in skills such as water spitting, aerial straps and "funny tramp".  Concentrating on circus skills outside of our specific Roadshow acts provided a refreshing break that energized us to sustain our enthusiasim during the next week of shows. AUGUST 9 PHOTOS    Intermediate campers practice their circus skills. August 10th Time to head out on the road!  Our first performance took place at a nearby nursing home.  Due to lack of space inside, we set up our mats out in the parking lot.  The residents were then lined up along the sidewalk surrounding our space.  Some local families, seeing the unfamiliar activity commencing outside, brought their young children to see the event.  Though the audience did not react much to the performance, they all seemed extemely appreciative when we talked with them afterwards.  I realized that the elderly residents rarely spoke with people outside of their nursing homes, and that meeting young people was even more unusual.  Though they may not have been huge circus fans, I could tell that they were so pleased that people had taken the time to visit them. After lunch, we got back in the vans and headed off for the second show. This time, we were performing inside a nursing home. Unfortunately, the space was very cramped, and we were barely able to squeeze our panel mats along into the width of the room. As such, we modified some tumbling passes from the opening and closing numbers. The low ceilings were also an issue; we quickly discussed how some pieces of pyramids could be reworked on lower levels, and jugglers made note to exclude those tricks that went too high.  Even with the modifications, the show still went really well. Though it was good that we were able to modify our acts so quickly, we still hoped for bigger performance areas during the rest of the week!                                                    AUGUST 10 PHOTOS                                                                 Setting up in a parking lot for our first show. This space had a very low ceiling, meaning that we had to modify some tricks at the last minute. Senior residents were entertained by our circus performance. Smirkus campers enjoying the ride between show locations. August 11th Our third day of performing started out in a very nice nursing home. The residents were cheerful and a lot of fun to talk to. One of the camp directors came and recorded our performance with a video camera, so that we could watch the tape when we got back to camp later that morning. Being able to see ourselves was very helpful; we were able to pick out when one of us wasn’t in the right place, or when we started to look bored and became disengaged from our “performer” personas. After a hefty round of show notes to address these issues, we downed a quick lunch and headed back on the road.  Our afternoon stop was a day care center for preschool aged children. We performed in the grass out in back by the play-set (which, for some of us, was quite a distraction to setting the props!) and once again donned our sunglasses. The kids were a bit too young to understand the references to airports, or to be impresses with people throwing and catching lots of balls in the air. However, they were excited to have “big kids” come visit them, and so they seemed to enjoy themselves. Just like at the first nursing home, it seemed that just our being there was more valued than our tricks. AUGUST 11 PHOTOS: Setting up in the backyard of a day care center.  Notice how we had to flip the mats on top of each other until we were ready to start, so that the sun wouldn't make them too hot to stand on. August 12th  I thought that this day was the most fun out of the entire two week experience! We drove about an hour from camp to Montpelier, the capital of Vermont. We had three shows scheduled—all in different locations. One boy from our group grew up in Montpelier, and we were scheduled to perform first for the preschool that he had attended as a child. Once again, the kids were a little too young to understand the gags—but they certainly were glad to have us, as evidenced by the “clown makeup” their teachers had allowed them to paint all over their faces! Their diabolo-wielding alumni received lots of enthusiasm, and pulled a few extra tricks in response to their support. The spirit became contagious, and many of us said afterward that it was the best show we had done yet.  Our second show came right after lunch. This time we set up under the shade of a tree (after checking the height of the branches) and the audience sat on the patio opposite us. The executive director of Circus Smirkus, Ed LeClair, came to this show—all the more reason to perform our best! The show went great, and was followed by delicious lemonade and cookies, compliments of the nursing home.  The third show was another nursing home. Far from being tired, we were jazzed up from the other two shows and were ready to make yet another audience laugh. The space they gave us to perform in was fairly large, but was decorated nicely on either side. I was terrified that a stray juggling club would escape the cross box and fly into a stained glass window! These residents were incredibly funny—we must have stayed around a solid half hour after the finale, just chatting with the audience. But, alas, the day wasn’t over yet!  We headed on over to the house of the boy who lived in Montpelier. There we ate pizza and played around in the street. It felt so weird to be at someone’s house while at camp; it was almost as if we were just some kids hanging out, instead of a youth circus troupe!    Once we’d properly cooled down from performing in three circus shows, it was time to—what else?—watch a circus show! We met up with the rest of the Smirkus campers and were treated to a performance of the Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour: Smirkus Ever After. Everyone who didn’t catch the Circus4Youth article on the Tour show should definitely check it out, because that troupe was phenomenal! After a question and answer session with the young performers, we chattered excitedly about the acts during the bus ride home. As we rode through the dark Vermont mountains, we pointed out the windows at the shooting stars: the perfect end to a perfect circus day. AUGUST 12 PHOTOS:     Taking a break from circus, the Roadshow kids play Frisbee & Lacrosse. August 13th  This morning, we once again headed off to one of Vermont’s major cities—this time, Burlington! The morning show was held in the gym of a recreation center downtown. The kids this time were about nine and ten, putting them at a great age for watching circus: old enough to be impressed, but not so old that they were “too cool” to watch a circus show. Answering their questions afterward was a highlight of the whole camp experience for me. Their laughter and the intent looks on their faces showed me that we had really made an impact on them, that we’d been able to make a connection and share some happiness through the circus arts. Gratified and invigorated, we were ready to head off to Church Street! Church Street is a long, no-automobile avenue that stretches down Burlington. Fun shops line the walkway, and street performers are an encouraged and expected part of the shopping experience. Once we’d lugged our gear down from the parking garage, we set the props and then set about drawing up a crowd. We rode unicycles, juggled, and made two-highs. Before long, a sizeable crowd had gathered to view our show. We fed off the energy, and, despite the heat, put on one of our most lively performances yet. Afterwards, we shopped around a bit and then piled back in the van for the ride back to camp. AUGUST 13 PHOTOS: Setting props and warming up on Church Street.    Left: We surprised some pedestrians by doing "two highs" on Church Street. Right: Juggling attracted a lot of attention! Shopping (and goofing around!) after our performance on Church Street. August 14th  Our final show out in the community took place in a nursing home just a few miles from camp. Many of the residents had invited their grandchildren, so there was a good mix of young and old. We faced a challenge in that half the audience was sitting directly across from our space, and half the audience was facing to our right. We had never performed to the side of our panel mats, and therefore had to address this problem on the spot. By angling the pyramids, keeping aware of where our backs were turned, and walking out in front of the mats to execute the tricks, we were able to ensure that the entire audience could see what we were doing. Instead of performing a show in the afternoon, we were able to watch the Intermediate campers put on their show in the big top for their friends and family. Watching all the cool acts that Intermediate Camp had put together was really exciting, but we were sad to see them go that evening! AUGUST 14 PHOTOS: Loading the vans for a day on the road. August 15th:   We were all excited and anxious when we woke up on our last day of camp! Excited, because we were performing our final show for our families, and anxious because once the show was over, we’d have to leave!  By ten o’clock, the big top was full of parents from all different states, who were ready to see what their kids had learned and then take their children home. The Troupers from the Big Top Tour even came to see us! The show was in two parts: the first was Roadshow, and the second was the other eighteen or so kids in the Advanced Camp. These kids had picked their specialty apparatus at the beginning of camp, and then focused on creating a solo act with that apparatus over the course of two weeks. This intense individual training allowed them to really hone in on the process of creating their own acts and then learning how to use just themselves to engage the entire audience. Seeing what our friends from Advanced Camp had produced was so much fun! It was great to watch all that they’d been accomplishing while we were out with Roadshow.                           At the finale of the Advanced Camp program, no one wanted to leave. However, everyone was tired, and the logistics of signing out had to be taken care of. Since we had used many pieces of our own luggage for the airport scenes, several of us had been unable to pack the night before! With all this activity, my mom and I said goodbye, checked out with the counselors, and then headed up the mud path away from the colorful tents and toward home. AUGUST 15 PHOTOS: Our final show. The flight home to Ohio...on time! Being a part of Roadshow was definitely the highlight of my summer. I met so many new people, improved my skills, and generally engaged in all the fun and excitement that a circus community brings. My knowledge of a circus show increased many times over. Through Roadshow, we watched the process of choosing a theme, building acts, selecting costumes and music, and melding it all into one cohesive “show.” We learned how to be responsible for ourselves, by loading in and out the vans, setting the props, and keeping track of our costumes and equipment. We learned how to engage an audience, how to greet strangers in the audience and build a rapport with them. Roadshow was not without its struggles; we reworked acts, adapted to different performing situations, and strove to keep our energy up for multiple performances in one day. I believe that these struggles are something that youth circus performers everywhere experience. Performing is, perhaps, the most thrilling thing that we do with circus. However, getting to those performing moments takes hard work and persistence on the part of so many people. A circus show is a difficult feat to accomplish, borne of the ups and downs of so many performers, coaches, parents, and volunteers who are willing to spread a little circus magic out to the world. Hup!   ...Erin Purcell, age 16               Circus4Youth Reporter   THE END Email This Resource   Copyright © 1999-2010 Circus Fans Association of America and Authors. For more information view our  Copyright Policy & Privacy Policy .

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