Circus performer has clowned around for more than 20 years
by KEN LAHMERS EDITOR
August 17, 2011
Aurora -- Steve Copeland, 27, one of two clowns working with the Kelly Miller Circus, said he's been fascinated by clowns since age 4 when he first watched a TV special about Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' Clown College.
Growing up in South Carolina, he is in his eighth year of clowning for a circus, having spent five years with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey right after high school.
He was in Aurora on Aug. 3, when the KM Circus played two late afternoon/evening shows as a fundraiser for the W.K. Ricksecker Masonic Lodge.
He joked that he wanted a job where no one respects him.
"At age 8, I gave my first performance at church," he said. "Then at 12, I started performing at birthday parties, festivals and carnivals. It was then that I realized what I wanted to do."
He said he was a fairly shy kid and was a "very good" student in school.
"My folks wanted me to go to college," he said. "I got a scholarship and attended for one semester, but then thought 'I have plenty of time to do this; right now I'd rather pursue my dream.'"
He sent a resume to Ringling Bros. and was offered a job even before he graduated from high school. He finally accepted the offer in 2002 after going off to college for that one semester.
After ending his stint with RB&BB, he performed at a theme park in China and tried a few other entertainment jobs before joining with Ryan Combs three years ago to form KM's clown team.
HE SAID HE had worked with Combs at RB&BB.
"I'm more comfortable at a small circus and the pay is better here than at RB&BB," he said. "And I enjoy performing under the tent rather than in large arenas."
He said he enjoys making people laugh, and he plans to stay in the entertainment field. He said if he ever returns to college, he probably will study theater.
"All the traveling we do doesn't bother me," Copeland said. "I prefer traveling the short distances we do each day instead of the long trips we took on a train from one large city to another with RB&BB."
Copeland, who is single, said he knows somebody in just about every state, and keeps in touch with many people he's met via email.
He pulls his camping trailer with a pickup truck from location to location, and enjoys surfing the Internet, reading and exploring the towns the circus visits.
"There are some times when we set up at locations 5 or 6 miles from a small town, and I don't get the opportunity to explore the towns as I'd like to," he noted.
The Kelly Miller Circus is owned by John Ringling North II, the son of John Ringling North, who once owned the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He took over Kelly Miller in 2006.
After the performances in Aurora, KM moved on to Sagamore Hills, Avon and out to the Toledo area. The circus' season usually ends in early November.
Masonic Lodge organizer Tony Marotta said after the shows that the lodge hopes to book the circus for a return to the city next summer.
Growing up in South Carolina, he is in his eighth year of clowning for a circus, having spent five years with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey right after high school.
He was in Aurora on Aug. 3, when the KM Circus played two late afternoon/evening shows as a fundraiser for the W.K. Ricksecker Masonic Lodge.
He joked that he wanted a job where no one respects him.
"At age 8, I gave my first performance at church," he said. "Then at 12, I started performing at birthday parties, festivals and carnivals. It was then that I realized what I wanted to do."
He said he was a fairly shy kid and was a "very good" student in school.
"My folks wanted me to go to college," he said. "I got a scholarship and attended for one semester, but then thought 'I have plenty of time to do this; right now I'd rather pursue my dream.'"
He sent a resume to Ringling Bros. and was offered a job even before he graduated from high school. He finally accepted the offer in 2002 after going off to college for that one semester.
After ending his stint with RB&BB, he performed at a theme park in China and tried a few other entertainment jobs before joining with Ryan Combs three years ago to form KM's clown team.
HE SAID HE had worked with Combs at RB&BB.
"I'm more comfortable at a small circus and the pay is better here than at RB&BB," he said. "And I enjoy performing under the tent rather than in large arenas."
He said he enjoys making people laugh, and he plans to stay in the entertainment field. He said if he ever returns to college, he probably will study theater.
"All the traveling we do doesn't bother me," Copeland said. "I prefer traveling the short distances we do each day instead of the long trips we took on a train from one large city to another with RB&BB."
Copeland, who is single, said he knows somebody in just about every state, and keeps in touch with many people he's met via email.
He pulls his camping trailer with a pickup truck from location to location, and enjoys surfing the Internet, reading and exploring the towns the circus visits.
"There are some times when we set up at locations 5 or 6 miles from a small town, and I don't get the opportunity to explore the towns as I'd like to," he noted.
The Kelly Miller Circus is owned by John Ringling North II, the son of John Ringling North, who once owned the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He took over Kelly Miller in 2006.
After the performances in Aurora, KM moved on to Sagamore Hills, Avon and out to the Toledo area. The circus' season usually ends in early November.
Masonic Lodge organizer Tony Marotta said after the shows that the lodge hopes to book the circus for a return to the city next summer.
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