This true story is a case of one thing leads to another. I went to a tiny circus in Southern Indiana, met some amazing trapeze artists, gave them my number, and a few months later got a call asking if I could fill in for one of their trapeze artists who was injured for a few weeks for 'The Reid Bros Circus Texas Tour'.
WOW! WOW! WOW! Professional circus trapeze artists asked me to fly in their act! I thought about how I would practice for weeks getting my tricks perfect, then go out and perform in a real circus!
'When do you want me to start', I asked. The answer: 'Tomorrow, there is a flight that leaves at 6am, and the first show is tomorrow afternoon'.
WHAT?
They repeated and said they would book the ticket as soon as we hung up.
A zillion objections ran through the rational side of my head - what about work, I need more practice/I'm not ready, what about my house and cats, I need more practice/I'm not ready. But then I thought that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity and my adventurous side said 'Yes, I'll do it, book the ticket'.
After a mad dash of packing and making arrangements, I flew to Austin, Texas for my first professional flying trapeze performance! I landed, met my fellow trapeze teammate, then stepped out of the airport and was immediately blasted with intense heat and humidity.
Maybe it was all the rushing around, but I did not consider how hot Texas could be in July.
As we drove to the circus site in an UN-airconditioned old Ford truck with so many miles the odometer had stopped working, I thought, 'Oh no, what have I gotten myself into?' I was working a corporate job in an air conditioned building and just flying for fun in the evenings on weekends, sometime blowing it off if it was 'too hot'. And now I'm in Texas in July getting ready to perform my first professional flying trapeze act in what feels like a heat wave.
We arrive at the site set up was still in progress. Wait! I thought everything would all be set up, and that we would have a nice practice so I could learn the timing of a new rig and fly with the new team, then we would take showers and I would try on the costumes and have time to alter them if needed, then relax and stretch a bit, then start the show.
Wrong.
I was quickly introduced to a few performers (in a small circus the performers help rig all the equipment). The first question someone asked me 'Can you tire wire ropes in clove hitch knots?' Uh, yes, I said. 'Here, tie these to all the stakes over there.' and gave me a handful of wire ropes. The flying trapeze is still on the ground, only partially assembled, and the show is in less than 4 hours.
At this point in my flying career I have only helped set up flying trapeze rigs maybe 6 times with our club, and we allowed 2 days for set up, measured everything with a tape measure and used geometry calculations to assure the rig was a perfect rectangle and not a parallelogram, which can make you swing crooked.
As I scramble like everyone else to help set up, I am dripping sweat, dehydrated, and keep getting small punctures from the sharp shards protruding from the wire ropes. We are setting up on a dirt lot, so my hands are black with dirt and I'm wondering when was the last time I had a tetanus shot. 'Dear God, please do not let me get a nasty infection in these puncture wounds' (I started praying when I joined the circus).
We tie all the connections to the flying rig, push the rig, then I ask for the measuring tape so I can do my geometry and align the rig. Haha, another funny joke from the rookie. There is no time to align, quick, we have to get ready, people are lined up waiting to enter and the show is about to start.
What? The rig has not been aligned, nor properly tightened, and wait, can't I practice on it at least once before the show? You'll be fine rookie, the riggers will tighten it, and you can do a warm up swing before your tricks.
Panic.
A quick shower will calm my nerves. What? We don't have time to shower, here are some baby wipes, here is your costume and make up, you have 10 minutes before the opening parade, get ready fast.
All the circus girls are used to this kind of scramble. They chatter and rush and everyone helps each other fasten the costumes. I was told to just to follow Lilliana, the other girl in the flying act, in the parade and do what she does. You know that new person in a group x dance class that is struggling to figure out the next moves? That was me in the parade, trying to follow Lillian, but always off a beat from having no clue what dance move was next.
Time for the trapeze act. I am supposed to do a warm up swing, a splits, the legs catch for the passing leap, and a layout dismount. The other trapeze artists have been flying their entire lives and assured me everything will be fine, just go at the right time, do your trick, stay tight in the catch, and the catcher will take care of everything else.
Since the splits is the first trick on the list, I have to do the first warm up swing. As I climb the cable ladder to the platform, I feel the temperature getting hotter and hotter. Now ground level seems cool and comfortable compared to the temperature at the top of the tent. It felt exactly like a sauna, but instead of sitting still and relaxing I'm 35 feet in the air on an unfamiliar rig getting ready to fly in my first professional flying trapeze act.
One of the main flyers is on the platform already, and he is directing the riggers on the ground to tighten the trapeze by pointing to different stakes. As I line up to take the first warm up swing, the rig is shaking and moving so much from all the adjusting it feels like I'm in an earthquakes. 'Go, swing' they yell. 'But it's shaking', I whine. 'GO NOW!" they yell.
I jump, have to drive my legs way to one side to swing straight, the return to the platform. Thank you God for letting me not die, one down, 3 more to go. The other aerialists swing, also driving their legs to one side of the swing to stay somewhat aligned.
Now it's time for the first trick, which is my splits. With my wrist straps on tight, I dry my wrists with a sweat rag and chalk up, but immediately start sweating off the chalk. Yikes. The catcher is ready, the fliers position the riser board, I climb up, hold the riser and 'YOWOUCH!' The risers are made of metal, and the metal risers at the top are not taped on the spot my hand had to hold, so it's burning my hand.
I feel like I'm getting a 3rd degree burn on my hand and cannot stay on any longer, so I jump for my trick early, still attempt to catch it, and between the early timing and our sweaty grip - (by now the chalk has completely melted), I slip out of the catchers grip and slam into the apron - which is the vertical part of a trapeze net - then proceeded to tumble down the apron which caused my fancy head piece to twist and cover my face.
I hear the audience gasping, they think I am hurt, but I am fine, just embarrassed and trying to stay crouched in the net to fix the headpiece. I stand up & walk down the net back to the ladder & there is a big applause, since they see I am fine. Thank God that trick is over!
I get to the platform and my fellow flyers put the riser board back up and said 'Do it again!'
WHAT? They always do it again in the circus. They sometimes even feign falls to get the audience reaction, so they actually liked the fact that I wiped out.
There is nothing like pressure to do it right. I rationed if I do go the right time, do it right and not crash, then I won't have to do it again. I forced myself to grip the burning riser until the right time, focus 100% on the trick and ignore the fact that I'm flying on a out of line rig. That rationing worked, and I made the other tricks! Thank god the catching is over. (And to think when I would fly in Indiana I would be disappointing when the catching was over)
Now for the dismounts. The catcher went first, and I notice he bounces way to one side. Oh Lord, the net is not aligned. Not surprising since there was no time for proper alignment, but I didn't even think about the net landing until now. It's one thing to swing crooked since you can stay on the bar and correct with your legs until you swing straight.
When you land in a net that is not aligned, you can bounce out of it.
I express my apprehension about landing in the net to my fly team and they said, 'Don;'t worry, if you bounce out one of the spotters will catch you'.
So the guys standing next to the net are spotters, and they catch people like basketballs when the bounce out of the net? I thought they were just riggers waiting to make adjustments if needed. They assured me they are spotters and have caught many flyers who bounce out of the net. That does not make me feel better.
'GO!' they yell. Oh God, please don't let me bounce out of the net!
I go, do my layout, and instead of a graceful arch in the air after the bounce, I feel myself flying backwards and to the side, flail my legs and arms like I'm running in a panic, landing inches from the edge of the net.
Thank you God, for letting me live. Now the show is over, I can get the tape measure and align the rig and net and tape the risers and practice. Right?
Wrong!
A Circus Tour means a different city everyday, so we're going to do one more show, take everything down, drive to the next town, and do it all over again.
What?
Yes rookie, that's circus life.
And that was just the first day.
Somehow I ended up working in traveling circus off and on for five years.
Here's a few things I learned from my first circus performance that no one informed me about:
1. If you are asked to fill in for an injured performer, that most likely means the season has started, so you may need to start immediately with no practice time. Make sure your act is ready!
2. If you work for a traditional tent circus, that means you rig the equipment you perform on, so you might want to be a juggler and not in the flying trapeze act (A flying trapeze requires about 52 stakes to be pounded in the ground, hundreds of feet of cables attached with various shackles, quick links, ratches ,etc; poles assembled, etc, etc). I used to envy the juggler who finished his set up in 5 minutes.
3. A circus 'tour' may mean a traveling to a different town everyday, most likely in trucks with no air conditioning, driving all night after tearing down equipment with only a few hours of sleep.
4. Get a tetanus shot, just to be safe.
5. Bring baby wipes and lots of deodorant, since you might not have time to shower after rigging or before heading on the road again. (You'll get to shower eventually)
6. If you are not religious, I suggest finding a religion and start praying.
7. Circus tents are hot, and the aerial acts are even hotter. If you plan on performing in a circus in Texas in the summer, practice by exercising in a sauna. And make sure any metal parts your hands come in contact with is taped, because heat rises.
