How Can I Turn Circus Into a Job?
I wanted to start talking about what a future with circus can look like. Of course everyone has heard of Cirque Du Soleil! I know the big dream is to work in one of those huge shows, and I am so happy and proud of myself for working in Le Reve in Las Vegas, but believe it or not, huge shows are not the only career option available for circus performers! For the next few weeks, I’d like to talk about different job options so that I can start to put some ideas in your heads of what circus training can eventually turn into.
I’d like to start with my story of how I got into performing. I don’t come from circus, but from gymnastics. When I was younger, there just weren’t the circus opportunities there are today. I did gymnastics for 10 years. When I was 17, I no longer loved competing and decided to quit. They put in your brain that ages 17 and 18 are way too old to do gymnastics, so I figured I was too old to do anything else. I had been coaching for a few years already, so I just took that more seriously. It looked great in my head—I was in my very early 20s, coaching the girls competitive team and was assistant manager at a gym. I thought my life was set. Boy, was I wrong!
One day, I was finished teaching a class, when one of the dads approached me. While I didn’t know this particular dad, I was used to talking to parents after class, so I didn’t think much of it. He came up to me and said “Hi, so I manage a show at Sea World, and we’re looking for an aerialist, and I think you’d be great at it! Have you ever heard of cloud swing?” In my head I thought this was the weirdest man and weirdest conversation I had been a part of, and he could see it on my face. After a few minutes of chatting, he told me he’d bring me a video of the show the next time his daughter was in class, and that I could let him know if I was interested. Long story short, of course I was interested! I began training and learned the show! Here you can see me dressed as a bird on the cloud swing!
Thus began my time working at a live action show in a theme park! Depending on where you live, theme parks could be a great job option! My job at the Blue Horizons show was so much fun, but I worked part time. I had to find other part time jobs to fill my time. I started going to auditions and throughout the next couple of years became a Pearl Diver at Sea World, Marion at the Indiana Jones Show Epic Stunt Spectacular, and was hired to play Sarah Connor in the Terminator show at Universal! A lot of people who work at theme parks, at least in Orlando, have to find multiple theaters to work in to survive. I loved that I got to switch jobs every day because it made my life so fun! There are performers who get full time contracts though, and of course that is super nice! Even if you’re not close to a theme park, though, it can also work. I have a friend who was just in Japan for a year contract for a live action show, and she loved it!
Not everyone has the luxury of having such an easy start like I did, but everyone’s experiences are different. The point of my story is that no matter where you are in life, circus can turn everything around! Theme park shows were not the only thing I did, so stay tuned next week as I introduce you guys to gig life!