We are officially on the road! Which means that creation is over and we have a show. My name is Delaney Bayles, and this is my second season with Cirque Us. Long drives and messy suitcases become our lives, and a pair of head phones are the most valuable item I own. But in all seriousness, this is my favorite part of the summer. It is the time when the show takes on a life of its own and we see how an audience will react to all the hours of work we have put in. Over the summer the show will change some parts will speed up and others will slow down. A moment of clowning maybe added and a trick will change here or there. But the heart of the show will remain the same from opening to closing.

Our opening show went well. The audience was warm and filled with a lot of friends and family. Thanks to our director we were able to run the show five times before opening leaving us feeling prepared. The morning of the show was filled with last minute costume changes and early morning training. Before the show we met in a circle and did our cheer, a reminder that all we have on stage is each other. Then it was show time and the moment of truth.

Once the show was over we could all relax and catch our breaths only to remember that we had four more shows over the next three days.

After packing the cars and moving out of the house we were staying in we set out for our first jump. A nice hour drive up north to White River Junction. And that is were we are as this is being written. Performing two shows a day.

It is exciting and a little intimidating to look at the tour schedule that lies ahead of us. Over twenty sites to perform at and thirty-five shows. So much hard work has gone into the making of the show and the company. It is a great place to call home for the summer.

Time moves differently on tour, days are long, weeks are short, and the next month will pass in the blink of an eye. The ensemble will grow close and inside jokes will pop up.

Getting to know the cast and hearing stories from their lives is fascinating, and the interesting thing is that we are all so very different yet each of us has found our way here and become seamlessly bonded by the same thing. We spend so much time getting to know each other, which makes the summer sweeter, and the idea of an end so very bitter. But for now we have 32 shows left and a summer of fun to look forward too.