In the center of the ring: Brian Crawford Scott relishes keeping Ringling Bros. circus on track
Xanthos for NewsBrian Crawford Scott said his parents had no idea he was auditioning for the circus.
BY David Yi-- DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, March 5th 2011
For Brian Crawford Scott, life is a three-ring circus.
The newest ringmaster for the Ringling Bros. Circus, now in its 141st year, performs as many as 500 shows a year — moving the Greatest Show on Earth along with a little narration and introducing acts including the Human Fuse.
He even sings.
A former struggling actor who waited tables at City Winery downtown for two years, Scott, 24, lived in Astoria. Now he lives on a train hopping from city to city.
He'll be center stage as the circus wraps its final week at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., and moves to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum March 16-20.
When offstage, he says he lives by a strict "no talking" policy to maintain his voice.
"I follow a very specific routine for myself so I feel good and I feel like I'm able to perform. We perform as many as three shows in one day. Those are days where I don't talk at all.
"I only speak when I'm performing. I only sing when I'm on the floor. Otherwise, I don't speak to anybody. It has become a big joke among the crew. They think it's funny and they like to pick on me during the shows."The singing ringmaster is a new feature.
"The ringmaster used to be equestrian directors and they worked with a lot of animals and that's where the whip and the chair and the lion-taming came in.
"But now the ringmaster's role is much more like a narrator, and like a guide for the audience," says Scott. "I sing to lead the audience through what they're seeing and open the show."
You know the old story about running away to join the circus? Scott's parents didn't know he was auditioning forthe job.
"It surprised everybody," he says. "My mother and father were like, ‘Wait, you just got a job doing what?' All my friends were like, ‘You're joking, right? That can't be real.' But everyone's really enthusiastic and really supportive. My mom and brother came to see me in Florida and they really enjoyed it."
It's not as if becoming a ringmaster was Scott's life goal. He had never seen the circus before getting hired.
"I had no tie to the circus before I got there. But I would say as a performer, this opportunity is a dream come true," he says. "I'm getting to travel across the country. I'm getting to work in a very professional setting with amazing acts that I've never seen before. I get to do what I was trained to do and what I want to do.
"Oh, and I get a shower in my dressing room."
That's a big deal, he says. The biggest perk is having his own dressing room. "For the first time in life I feel like I have a space which I don't have to share."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/2011/03/05/2011-03-05_in_the_center_of_the_ring_new_ringling_bros_mc_relishes_his_role_keeping_circus_.html#ixzz1FiYYhSqJ
BY David Yi-- DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, March 5th 2011
For Brian Crawford Scott, life is a three-ring circus.
The newest ringmaster for the Ringling Bros. Circus, now in its 141st year, performs as many as 500 shows a year — moving the Greatest Show on Earth along with a little narration and introducing acts including the Human Fuse.
He even sings.
A former struggling actor who waited tables at City Winery downtown for two years, Scott, 24, lived in Astoria. Now he lives on a train hopping from city to city.
He'll be center stage as the circus wraps its final week at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., and moves to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum March 16-20.
When offstage, he says he lives by a strict "no talking" policy to maintain his voice.
"I follow a very specific routine for myself so I feel good and I feel like I'm able to perform. We perform as many as three shows in one day. Those are days where I don't talk at all.
"I only speak when I'm performing. I only sing when I'm on the floor. Otherwise, I don't speak to anybody. It has become a big joke among the crew. They think it's funny and they like to pick on me during the shows."The singing ringmaster is a new feature.
"The ringmaster used to be equestrian directors and they worked with a lot of animals and that's where the whip and the chair and the lion-taming came in.
"But now the ringmaster's role is much more like a narrator, and like a guide for the audience," says Scott. "I sing to lead the audience through what they're seeing and open the show."
You know the old story about running away to join the circus? Scott's parents didn't know he was auditioning forthe job.
"It surprised everybody," he says. "My mother and father were like, ‘Wait, you just got a job doing what?' All my friends were like, ‘You're joking, right? That can't be real.' But everyone's really enthusiastic and really supportive. My mom and brother came to see me in Florida and they really enjoyed it."
It's not as if becoming a ringmaster was Scott's life goal. He had never seen the circus before getting hired.
"I had no tie to the circus before I got there. But I would say as a performer, this opportunity is a dream come true," he says. "I'm getting to travel across the country. I'm getting to work in a very professional setting with amazing acts that I've never seen before. I get to do what I was trained to do and what I want to do.
"Oh, and I get a shower in my dressing room."
That's a big deal, he says. The biggest perk is having his own dressing room. "For the first time in life I feel like I have a space which I don't have to share."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/2011/03/05/2011-03-05_in_the_center_of_the_ring_new_ringling_bros_mc_relishes_his_role_keeping_circus_.html#ixzz1FiYYhSqJ
From his statements made in this interview...it sounds as if our new ringmaster should study up on his history of ringmasters.
ReplyDelete-Dan McCallum