Pre-production

Over the last several months, meetings have been held, emails have flown back and forth, budgets have been examined, and dropboxes have been filled up. Standard fare for a theatrical production, and in this way the circus is no different.

The pre-production period includes everything from choosing and hiring acts to creating design sketches and models to composing music to revising the script to rounding out the full production team. This process has been ongoing for the past couple of years, and is rapidly coming to an end.

Model of the set

As we get closer to rehearsals, my brain feels like it is stretching and expanding in a way I haven't experienced in the theatre. As we put together a master schedule, the complexity of putting together a circus becomes clear, with many questions to answer: When will the tent be up and running? How much time do the performers need to warm up before their acts? When will the ring crew be available for transition rehearsals? Can lighting only happen at night due to sunlight bleeding through the tent? When do we have the band? When do we schedule the animal training in the ring? 

Integrating all of the elements - acts, animals, set, lighting, costumes, props, music, sound, crew - is a huge part of my job. While it's true that the acts arrive fully developed, it's also true that the Big Apple Circus imposes costumes, music, and an overall theme onto these acts, something that requires a great deal of forethought and finesse to achieve. A full company opening and closing number have to be staged, and all transitions worked out for safety and speed. 

And that's just the beginning. 

Much of pre-production has taken place at "Winter Quarters" in Walden, NY - a tiny town about 90 minutes north of NYC. Winter Quarters is a term referring to the location where a circus regroups and prepares for the following season, usually during winter months. Because the Big Apple Circus tours during the winter and rehearses in late August/September, they could actually refer to Walden as "Summer Quarters." But the idea remains the same.

The big top in its Winter Quarters home, Walden, NY

One thing I look forward to in Walden is living - if temporarily - the true circus life. I'll be in a trailer, eating my meals with the cast and crew, enjoying campfires and late-night get-togethers, and living and breathing circus 24/7. 

Just need to get through pre-production first.