Young circus cast creates smiles
A group of acrobats entertain young and old alike at Circus Smirkus, which has a cast of perfomers who are all between the ages of 10 and 18. (Stephanie Zollshan / Berkshire Eagle Staff)By Scott Stafford, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Sunday July 17, 2011
WILLIAMSTOWN -- On a field where middle- and high- school students play soccer, kids in the same age group performed carefully choreographed acrobatics, tumbling, dance and gymnastics, with some comedic miming thrown in.
Welcome to Circus Smirkus on the campus of Mount Greylock Regional High School.
Make no mistake -- this isn’t your dad’s circus. The performers are kids between 10 and 18 years old. The music is live. And there are no tigers, lions or elephants -- just 30 kids in bright costumes having what seems to be a whole bunch of fun.
And while the audience of nearly 700 for Saturday’s matinee show seemed mostly children, they weren’t the only ones having fun.
"It’s wonderful," said Richard Mahler of Manhattan. He was at the circus with his daughter and grandkids.
"I love it," he said. "I saw one of the big circuses in New York, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun. It was so big and impersonal. Here you’re so close it’s like you’re a part of it. And the kids love it, too."
This is the second year for Smirkus in Williamstown sponsored by Northern Berkshire Healthcare. According to NBH spokesman Paul Hopkins, the company arranges for housing for the performers at local homes, and seeks local business sponsors to pay for underprivileged children to see the show.
NBH pays a flat rate for the circus to come to town, and collects all the proceeds from ticket sales to benefit the company’s REACH community health education programs. Smirkus is based in Greensboro, Vt., and also operates the Circus Smirkus summer camp, where kids can learn performance skills used in the Smirkus shows.
The youth circus will perform 67 shows this summer through New York and New England, according to Troy Wonderle, artistic director of Circus Smirkus.
Wonderle also serves as director of clowns for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
He explained that many of the performers attended the Smirkus summer camp. One of the 10-year-old performers has been performing for seven years. They rehearse the show for 16 days before they go on tour, he noted.
"They are thrilled to be following their passion and they only have seven weeks a year to do that, so they push and push," Wonderle said. "And many of them do aspire to go professional, but many of them go on to do something else fantastic -- our goal is to make them into great human beings."
For the most part, the same youngsters perform from year to year, and many of them grow up in the circus, at least in the summertime.
It seems to be working. The children in the audience were engrossed by Saturday’s matinee, and the grown-ups left smiling.
"A circus made up of all kids? It’s gotta be good, right?" noted Kevin Rhoads as he herded his kids out of the tent. "For the record, they loved it."
Welcome to Circus Smirkus on the campus of Mount Greylock Regional High School.
Make no mistake -- this isn’t your dad’s circus. The performers are kids between 10 and 18 years old. The music is live. And there are no tigers, lions or elephants -- just 30 kids in bright costumes having what seems to be a whole bunch of fun.
And while the audience of nearly 700 for Saturday’s matinee show seemed mostly children, they weren’t the only ones having fun.
"It’s wonderful," said Richard Mahler of Manhattan. He was at the circus with his daughter and grandkids.
"I love it," he said. "I saw one of the big circuses in New York, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun. It was so big and impersonal. Here you’re so close it’s like you’re a part of it. And the kids love it, too."
This is the second year for Smirkus in Williamstown sponsored by Northern Berkshire Healthcare. According to NBH spokesman Paul Hopkins, the company arranges for housing for the performers at local homes, and seeks local business sponsors to pay for underprivileged children to see the show.
NBH pays a flat rate for the circus to come to town, and collects all the proceeds from ticket sales to benefit the company’s REACH community health education programs. Smirkus is based in Greensboro, Vt., and also operates the Circus Smirkus summer camp, where kids can learn performance skills used in the Smirkus shows.
The youth circus will perform 67 shows this summer through New York and New England, according to Troy Wonderle, artistic director of Circus Smirkus.
Wonderle also serves as director of clowns for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
He explained that many of the performers attended the Smirkus summer camp. One of the 10-year-old performers has been performing for seven years. They rehearse the show for 16 days before they go on tour, he noted.
"They are thrilled to be following their passion and they only have seven weeks a year to do that, so they push and push," Wonderle said. "And many of them do aspire to go professional, but many of them go on to do something else fantastic -- our goal is to make them into great human beings."
For the most part, the same youngsters perform from year to year, and many of them grow up in the circus, at least in the summertime.
It seems to be working. The children in the audience were engrossed by Saturday’s matinee, and the grown-ups left smiling.
"A circus made up of all kids? It’s gotta be good, right?" noted Kevin Rhoads as he herded his kids out of the tent. "For the record, they loved it."
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