Circus Smirkus is many things to many types of
people: Troupers, campers, school kids, teachers,
audiences, presenters, and more.
To answer the question "Who are you?" here are answers
to the questions people most frequently ask us.
How did Circus Smirkus get started?
Circus Smirkus is the brain child of our Founding
Director, Rob Mermin, who ran off
to Europe to apprentice himself in circus life, learning
to pound stakes, put up the Big Top, work with animals
and train with circus artists. Rob spent more than
a decade performing as a clown in such circuses as
Circus Hoffman in Great Britain,
Circus Scott in Sweden, the Hungarian
Magyar Cirkusz, and Cirkus
Benneweis in Denmark (among others). He also
studied mime with Marcel Marceau;
earned a BA degree from Lake Forest College; and taught
mime, movement, and circus skills for many years in
schools and colleges in the US and abroad. Rob is
an Artist-in-Residence in Vermont and a past Director
of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.
He founded Circus Smirkus in Vermont to give
kids the chance to run away to their own circus.
How old are the kids in your show?
The Troupers range in age from 10 to 18.
The older Troupers
act as assistant crew and mentors to the younger kids.
Trouper graduates can apply to work as crew members
with the option of also performing with the troupe.
Professional artists perform with the Troupers as
colleagues in the ring. The blending of ages
and generations makes the company a real circus family,
a fact that is reflected in the quality of our performances.
What do the kids do in the show?
The young Troupers
are the stars of the show! They perform juggling,
acrobatics, trapeze, wire walking, clowning –
anything that you'd expect to see in a full-length
professional circus show. Each year the show has a
new theme, complete with appropriate story, costumes,
and music. Outside the performance, all of the Troupers
have circus chores: raising the tent, setting up bleachers,
selling concessions, tending costumes and props, even
washing dishes!
Where do you find your young performers?
Our Troupers are selected through auditions.
Many of them begin their circus training in our summer
circus camp and similar programs, then audition for
the tour after they've developed solid skills and
the beginnings of a circus performance style. Our
guest foreign performers come from international circus
schools.
If I go to the summer camp, do I automatically
get picked for the Tour?
No, you have to develop your skills and style
and then audition
with everyone else. Even the Troupers
have to re-audition each year to show that they have
been improving and learning new skills.
How does someone get to audition?
Click here to learn
how. We start accepting applications in October
and send out audition invitations in late November.
Auditions are held in January, and the Troupers are
notified in February.
Do you use animals in your circus?
Circus Smirkus is dedicated to promoting
the lifestyle and traditions of the traveling tent
circus. This sometimes includes working with
animals as part of training and performing under the
Big Top. We will only partner with animals that have
a traditional and friendly working relationship with
humans. Training methods with animals are similar
to those between a coach and a student. The foundation
of this training is a respect for natural abilities,
intelligent communication, and promotion of each unique
personality. We do not support any training methods
based on fear or punishment, nor do we condone any
other ill treatment or any form of abuse whatsoever
in the care and training of animals. Animals living
with Circus Smirkus are exercised, well fed, vaccinated,
receive periodic veterinarian checkups and are treated
with kindness. We encourage the bonding that animals
and humans can develop as partners in the circus ring.
What do you mean when you call yourselves
an "international" circus?
Our Troupe includes young performers and
professional coaches from around the world.
We have contacts within the circus communities in
Europe, Russia, and Asia, which provide us with a
pool of talent, young and old. Since our founding,
we have had Troupers
and coaches come to us from Canada, China, England,
France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel,
Italy, Kazahkstan, Latvia, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands,
Russia, Sweden, Thailand and Ukraine, not to mention
ten Native American nations and 20 U.S. states. At
the International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap
Performing Arts Park in September, 2000, we were introduced
as "the United Nations of the Youth Circus World."
Do you pay the kids in the summer tour?
Yes and no. Since they are still in training,
the Troupers pay a tuition fee to cover room, board,
costumes, props, etc. during the tour. Scholarships
are available to families who need assistance; no
one is excluded for financial reasons! Older teenaged
Troupers who show the ability and leadership qualities
are invited to become assistant staff and to mentor
the younger Troupers. They do receive a stipend.
When and Where do you perform?
Training and rehearsals start in early June. The
Big Top Tour begins
at the start of July and runs through mid-August.
We travel throughout New England. Our tour
typically visits around 15 towns during July and August
and performs over 70 shows. Generally, we perform
two shows a day in two different locations each week,
one site in the middle of the week and one over a
three-day weekend – totalling ten shows a week!
We also perform occasional indoor shows with a smaller
company off-season.
Do you perform in gyms or theaters?
In the summer, we perform in our own 750-seat,
one-ring, European style Big Top. This gives
us a lot of flexibility, protection from the weather,
and a real connection with circus tradition.
What do you charge for tickets?
Usually we don't present the show ourselves. Circus
Smirkus is often brought to each town by a local non-profit
organization that acts as our presenter.
They set the ticket price for their local
audience. Circus Smirkus has become a very important
fund-raising event for these organizations. Since
our founding, we have helped our presenters raise
well over 2.5 million dollars total. We are
unique in being one of the few non-profit arts organizations
that raises money for other non-profits. Our
past presenters
have included day care centers, museums, health clinics,
Montessori and other private schools, Lions Clubs,
historical societies and many other community and
youth-oriented groups.
How do you raise your own money then?
The performance fees from our presenters, plus ticket
receipts from those shows we self-present, plus tuition
from the Troupe and the summer
camp, plus in-school
residency fees, plus concessions
– these sources pay almost 70% of our expenses,
which is a very high proportion in the non-profit
arts world. The rest of our income is raised through
individual charitable
contributions, granting foundations, and corporate
sponsors.
Where is Circus Smirkus located?
Our world headquarters – the Circus Barn –
is located in Greensboro, Vermont, in the heart of
Vermont's rural Northeast Kingdom. Our camp is currently
held at Sterling
College in the neighboring town of Craftsbury
Common, Vt.
How long has Circus Smirkus been performing?
20 years! Circus Smirkus began touring
in 1987. The summer camp program, which is distinct
from the Troupe in our summer tour, was founded in
1989. We have sent artists-in-residence to teach circus
skills in elementary schools since the early 1980's.
(For a complete picture of the Circus Smirkus history
and philosophy, buy a copy of our book, Circus
Smirkus, A True Story of High Adventure and Low Comedy,
available online through our Smirkus
Shop.)
Do any of your kids go on to become circus
professionals?
Yes! We are proud to report that
over twenty Smirkus Troupers have gone on to perform
as wire artists, clowns, aerialists, coaches, or crew
members for Ringling Bros., Cirque
du Soleil, the Big Apple Circus,
Chicago's Midnight Circus, and Circus
Smirkus itself, as well as many circuses
in Europe and Japan. Circus Smirkus provides a step
ladder to the professional circus world: first, kids
in elementary school take part in one of our school
residencies and catch the circus bug. Then they attend
our summer circus camp,
where they develop skills and a bit of circus style.
They they audition for the Big
Top Tour Troupe, join the company, continue their
training, and experience the adventure of a working
circus environment. Finally, they graduate to the
world of professional circus and theater. The circus
life isn't for everyone, of course, and it's not an
easy world to enter, but we provide the opportunity
for those kids who have the talent, the drive, and
the circus style!
See you at the circus!
