scholars going on bookstore field trip

scholars

the mixed act

Another Carolyn bit of genius. Dogs, llamas, goats all performing in a very entertaining and fun way. The theme is patriotic , the theme is fun, the theme is happy ! All new and marvelous ! It is action packed and cuter than cute . I got to enjoy this act in rehearsal . Now that the show is running we can't really go in the tent , I suppose if I was in town clothes and acted cool I could, maybe ? I must ask , because watching Fresia, Carolyn and Shirley and the animals in this massive spectacle of sheer joy is fun and makes me happy . I must get some more photos , I must !!

ensemble

wowie !! The 75th edition of the Kelly Miller Circus opened yesterday !
we hit the ground running and  it has been a whirlwind of activity ! I am partial to this show , and  I gotta tell you it is great , entertaining and such a change from last year , Mike has Zebras at liberty  ! yup that's right , four beautiful zebras, waltzing, by 2 ,by 4, cut away, changes ,blah blah blah ..I don't know exactly the terms but impressive !! Carolyn has created a patriotic mixed animal act !!! People start clapping upon entrance ! so fun and so much action! Fridman is doing a chair balance act this year with a sweet theme . The clowns have a car , shut up and are a riot as always ! Head balance trapeze by Gerard , the Rosales family is doing perch pole , I am in the production ..whee .It is a tropical jungle theme, fire , dancing , stilt walker, feathers, color , ,the webs are vines, there are more vines in the air . I am doing trapeze and there are 4 webs . I had to take out a couple of tricks in my still routine ( but I don't mind ) , the music and choreography and costumes were a collaborative work with Tavana and Danny  at the helm . The finale is a birthday party with a cake and brilliant party hats and the most fun costumes !! We are all wearing converse or van type sneakers, because skipping and jumping on the crazy terrains need functional shoes . There are more acts that I didn't mention a mariachi juggler, tigers in a new huge arena,new gaucho act with spears etc.. , elephants being magnificent with super FUN music , hula hoops and a little bull with a matador !!
It begins , a whole new shiny show . New and different ..change is good we are all jazzed . The cool thing about this group , this recycled ensemble is their ability to change and do different amazing things .I guess that is the beauty of an ensemble . The ability to work together and make the total production bigger than all its collective parts .

An action packed day

Today was filled with almost finishing my sewing projects and putting the finishing touches on the show . I am really excited about the production number , it is tropical jungle . The finale is a birthday party , FUN & festive. The clowns are now calling me Beckelman thanks to Sean Emery . Today as I was sewing through sticky Velcro I broke a needle , it was a challenge to remove it . I had to use tools , the reason it was so difficult was because I sewed through felt , feathers and spandex. Every department on the show is busy , welding , sewing , organizing, animal and distributing costumes , the musical department ... So many odds and ends. Opening day is tomorrow ! I do not feel like such a cow , trapeze was not too bad , so challenging to work to different music ! Shocking sad news , we lost our friend John Hansen , he was an agent now but in the past he did a dynamite platform roller skating act . He booked me a lot of jobs and was a really nice guy , so sad about losing another friend . However he is now in the great beyond with his wife Thina so hopefully they are doing whatever you do in the great beyond and having a sweet time .

Scythian is beautiful

North Dallas RV , Randy and all did an incredible job saving the life of our trailer ! What a relief to be able to drive down the road and not fret about the Scythian . We started rehearsals today , my feet are sore from jumping and skipping on the ruts. Fresia has a lot of costumes and looks so fabulous . I still have hooks and eyes and things to finish on all my costume endeavors . I need to teach that little miss how to sew so she can help me and make more scratch . I think I was overwhelmed for a while today , now I see the light at the end of the tunnel ! I feel like a whale a big fat one , so horrible !
On a very sad note we lost our neighbor Mark McLane to cancer tonight , a shout out to Mark , the neighborhood is going downhill without you !

hashtags and sewing

in the modern world of communication..what wild times we are having !! People have been reduced to less than one liners !! We have emoticons or emojis little pictorial icon things  :) I mean I like emojis . Lucky us to have hash tags #  , really?  is that what we have become ? We #dog or #bangs or any topic, things are written in abbreviated form. One example is #inaug2013 , take a phrase and type it into your browser or device and you can dive into the current modern thread of trends and ways and what does it all mean ?Are we too stupid or so overwhelmed with digital imagery we cannot have a freaking tangible thought ? What is wrong with writing a sentence ??????? ARGH or should I say @rgh..I guess we all have to flock like lemmings and twitter is a way to get your voice heard (how can you call it a voice when all that is importance is a single word)and instagram is such a clever way to share photos..I will not judge I will not judge... I will use these tools for good .
 
Sewing costumes, sewing is sewing not gluing !!! That is all I have to say on sewing, I have glued I admit it, in 1995 we were going on a new show and I was getting behind on costume construction so I used sparkly fabric paint and glued my rhinestones or sequins on . I have done that when I was desperate but it is not sewing it is gluing .. How wonderful and what a time saver gluing is! I mean we are so busy with our  # & @ . We are going to evolve into virtual people if we aren't careful .

Marshall is a fashion guy

Marshall is sporting a new look, he is the king of retro and will be taking his John Herriott collection of 1980 leisure suits on the road .

 I mean he will if we ever get out of dodge. We are supposed to be in Hugo right this very second ..We have been the victims of circumstance .This morning as we were ready to roll we noticed white smoke vomiting out of our exhaust pipe . I knew it was something with  an egr valve or worse a head gasket . Our mechanic took a look see and  put it in surgery..After making sure the head gaskets weren't blown ,they concluded the egr ( exhaust gas recirculation )or something in that department had done a pratfall . A quick repair ,under a g-note..not so fast..it turns out our turbo had cracked , but fortunately they had one in stock ! We were so happy ,we would be rolling by five  !! unfortunately it was the wrong one..fortunately they are getting the correct size turbo at 7.30 am..and very fortunately it happened here.. with our guys who know our Black Beauty .

The last few days have been filled with angst beyond belief . Stressful things and hemorrhaging money and waiting for the dmv to get it together and not sleeping ..

we were supposed to leave Wednesday , drive to Dallas , pick up the Scythian ,drive to Hugo, drive to Brownsville..The tent is going up Sunday . I have said too much, been too whiny.I should have realized when things seemed great I should have known around the corner...lurks the next lesson or test in life .I will never be cocky again .I will be thankful for everything .

In hindsight we have a had a marvelous winter. Sarasota has been so full of successful wonderful circus activity . I am so serious , great circuses and events everywhere ! What a town !