A human cannonball? Yes, at the circus this weekend.
“Human Cannonball” Shawn Marren in his cannon outside the Westchester County Center in White Plains. (Xavier Mascareñas/The Journal Newsari/Th)By Karen Croke • kcroke1@lohud.com •
February 19, 2011
What's tougher? Being the father of rambunctious 1-year-old twins, or being shot out of a cannon?
If you said the latter, well, you're not Shawn Marren. The 26-year-old "Human Cannonball" says that hurtling through space at 70 miles per hour is kids' play compared to the responsibilities of being a dad."I told my wife, when she was eight months pregnant and shooting me out the cannon, that it wasn't even scary compared to having kids," Marren says.His sons were born prematurely and spent some anxious days in the hospital. "People don't even realize how dangerous being shot out of the cannon is, but at least, there you are in charge. With the cannon, it's on my shoulders. With the kids, you can't do anything."Today, the twins, Shawn and Anthony, are happy, healthy and sporting matching superhero costumes to watch their dad get shot out of the cannon at this weekend's Royal Hanneford Circus at the Westchester County Center. This is Marren's first job as a headliner and he is debuting his act in White Plains."It's so exciting," he says, even as he admits he sometimes gets the feeling, when flying by his rapt audiences, that "half the people watch and go, 'Oh my God, I hope he misses.' "For all his bravado, Marren is not a born daredevil."My mother came to see my first shot and she was distressed," he says. "All she said was, 'how did I raise a cannon ball?' "Marren began his circus career in the same way many before him have — he was intrigued by the notion of ditching his responsibilities for a more carefree existence, and a life on the road.While studying trumpet at the University of South Florida in Tampa, he met the director of the Ringling Brothers Circus band."He had all these stories, and I just thought, none of that can be true," says Marren. So when Ringling was looking for a keyboard player, Marren, who was then a junior at USF, jumped at the chance to try out, although technically, he'd never played keyboards."But I convinced them that I could," and soon after, he quit school and ran off with the circus. "We'd do three shows a day, three days in a row. The music is the same for each act, but you're dealing with animals and technical difficulties, so no two days were the same".read more at:http://www.lohud.com/article/20110219/ENTERTAINMENT/102190304/A-human-cannonball-Yes-at-the-circus-this-weekend-
What's tougher? Being the father of rambunctious 1-year-old twins, or being shot out of a cannon?
If you said the latter, well, you're not Shawn Marren. The 26-year-old "Human Cannonball" says that hurtling through space at 70 miles per hour is kids' play compared to the responsibilities of being a dad."I told my wife, when she was eight months pregnant and shooting me out the cannon, that it wasn't even scary compared to having kids," Marren says.His sons were born prematurely and spent some anxious days in the hospital. "People don't even realize how dangerous being shot out of the cannon is, but at least, there you are in charge. With the cannon, it's on my shoulders. With the kids, you can't do anything."Today, the twins, Shawn and Anthony, are happy, healthy and sporting matching superhero costumes to watch their dad get shot out of the cannon at this weekend's Royal Hanneford Circus at the Westchester County Center. This is Marren's first job as a headliner and he is debuting his act in White Plains."It's so exciting," he says, even as he admits he sometimes gets the feeling, when flying by his rapt audiences, that "half the people watch and go, 'Oh my God, I hope he misses.' "For all his bravado, Marren is not a born daredevil."My mother came to see my first shot and she was distressed," he says. "All she said was, 'how did I raise a cannon ball?' "Marren began his circus career in the same way many before him have — he was intrigued by the notion of ditching his responsibilities for a more carefree existence, and a life on the road.While studying trumpet at the University of South Florida in Tampa, he met the director of the Ringling Brothers Circus band."He had all these stories, and I just thought, none of that can be true," says Marren. So when Ringling was looking for a keyboard player, Marren, who was then a junior at USF, jumped at the chance to try out, although technically, he'd never played keyboards."But I convinced them that I could," and soon after, he quit school and ran off with the circus. "We'd do three shows a day, three days in a row. The music is the same for each act, but you're dealing with animals and technical difficulties, so no two days were the same".read more at:http://www.lohud.com/article/20110219/ENTERTAINMENT/102190304/A-human-cannonball-Yes-at-the-circus-this-weekend-
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