Hey everyone!
We are coming up on our 5th week of tour and things have been going great! It’s been a blast to get to go back to familiar cities and venues like Rochester and Cleveland, as well as visit and perform in new communities like Buffalo and Minneapolis. New tour stops and most of the time multiple sites per week, has meant lots of traveling and long car adventures. Sometimes the hours are passed doing tour related admin tasks, reading, or catching up on some much needed sleep. You’ll also probably find us dancing and singing along to Abba and Dua Lipa in between stops to stretch our legs and switch out drivers!
Oftentimes we’ll try to plan out an activity to do on longer rides to break up the trip. In the past we’ve done things like horseback riding, paint balling or even just swinging by a friend’s house as we’re passing through town. Last week on our way out of Buffalo headed towards Ohio, we decided to take a quick trip to Canada to see Niagra Falls! We crossed the bridge, got our passports stamped and off we went! It was a quick visit and a bit rainy, but we made the most of it and even ended up doing a mirror maze and playing a few carnival games.
This past Monday we jumped from Minneapolis to Wisconsin and made plans to stop by the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI. Their amazing collection of authentic circus wagons and show posters as well as original costumes and props is definitely worth the visit! It was also really neat to see some of the circus trains and equipment and even get a sneak peek at where/how animals were kept and transported. Did you know that at one point the Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus had over 1,000 employees, 26 elephants,35 horses, and 16 camels (among many other animals) that traveled on a total of 92 train cars?! It was incredible to see and learn about the rich history surrounding the Ringling Bros. Circus and circus in America.
It’s exciting to look back and notice the traditions within the circus that have remained, but also to see how things have evolved. One thing that I think will always remain, is the magic and wonder that circus provides for its audiences and performers. Whether it’s the fantastic feats the Ringling Bros. performers demonstrate beneath their massive big tops or the joy and wonder we hope to spread through our small, but mighty junkyard circus, magic can be found at every turn!
One of the things I have found most magical and fulfilling about this tour outside of performing, is getting to coach and teach at some of the studios and areas we’ve been to! We coached workshops daily in Rochester, NY at RocCity Circus throughout our three week rehearsal period and in Buffalo and Cleveland in previous weeks on the tour. At some other upcoming tour locations we’ll be getting to do more coaching as well and I’m really looking forward to it! Coaching workshops and lessons feels like a really great way to get to know the area, specifically the circus community. It’s always fun to share circus knowledge with people who are really excited to learn and grow their skillset and who are just there to have fun! I’m sure it has also been nice for certain cast members to get to visit and teach back at their home studios while on tour, too.
Between all the traveling, shows almost everyday, occasional coaching and other tour activities, the time really seems to be flying by! We are headed to Chicago this weekend and that more or less kicks off our last three weeks of the One Man’s Trash spring tour! We are looking forward to a few more packed weeks of adventures, friends, and circus magic!
~Maeve Beck
Cirque Us 