May ‘25: Circus at the Symphony
On Mother’s Day weekend, I joined a local circus troop and a full orchestra for a weekend of collaborative shows at Little Rock’s historic Robinson Center. With two teams of performers working together, concertgoers witnessed a variety of circus acts, each accompanied by booming live music that filled every inch of the 2,000+ seat auditorium. As the juggler, my job was to give the audience some light-hearted relief between the beautiful Lyra dancing and gasp-inducing aerial stunts. To do the job, I brought along a new take on a trusty ball juggling act.
Arkansas Circus Arts is a local hub for talented aerialists, clowns, stilt-walkers, and other performers. They teach classes and host summer camps, book performing artists for private events across the South, and put on some of the most creative public shows I’ve ever seen—all of it is a spectacle. When I heard they were teaming up with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, I knew it would be a show to see. I was excited when I learned I’d get to see it up close, on stage and from the wings! I’m grateful the folks at ACA asked me to join.
My first task was choosing an act. Juggling balls are a classic circus prop, and I’ve been performing an interactive, slow-building ball juggling act for years, perfect for the playful vibe we were going for. When I do this one, I always start with a single juggling ball, then joke with the audience as we slowly add one ball at a time, until we’ve reached a climax of 8 balls (don’t be too impressed, 🎱🎱🎱). This act fit the bill, but to custom fit it to this specific show, a few changes were in order.
The first issue is that the humor in this routine relies heavily on verbal jokes, so I’d need to find ways to communicate some of the same comedic moments and the overall plot of the act without any speaking.
In fact, I had never performed this one to music of any kind (certainly no live symphony orchestra), so it would be important that I make careful tweaks to the act make it feel like it was always crafted for this specific song (The Entertainer by Scott Joplin, a classic).
Finally, it had to be BIG. For 4 minutes, I’d be juggling solo on the 60ft stage, and I’d need to make sure even the folks in the top balcony could see the juggling and follow the act.
I was listening to The Entertainer several times a week in preparation, sometimes playing it in the background while I talked through my typical routine, sometimes just throwing around juggling balls aimlessly, trying to find interesting moments in the music where a funny visual may fit. Starting several months before the show, I attended a series of in-studio rehearsals with the rest of the circus crew, and their involvement and collaboration helped me figure out which parts were landing, and which ones needed work. After each rehearsal, I’d go home and write down what the other performers laughed at, what made them gasp, and where they spontaneously broke into applause. When I was hired to do a short juggling act at a totally separate gig, I did this one (to different music), just to test out what parts were resonating most with the audience and give it some stage time before the big weekend. After months of studying and tweaking, by the time we reached our final rehearsal, I felt confident that the act I had been building would play well on stage with the orchestra and hopefully connect with the couple thousand audience members each night.
The week of the shows was full of buzz. Over the course of a couple days, I joined a quartet from ASO to tease the show on local television; the cast showed up the beautiful auditorium for a few dress rehearsals with the full orchestra; and we put the last few finishing touches on my costume, lighting, and other stage logistics. Oh, and those rehearsals were the first time we performed our acts in person with the band, not just a recording. There’s something truly special about live accompaniment; it elevates the performance by an order of magnitude and just generally brings more life to whatever is happening on stage. I wish I could have that at all my shows! At one point, Geoffrey Robson, the conductor, asked if I had any notes for him and the musicians, and I think I gave some useful and constructive direction like “whoa that’s perfect, oh my gosh it sounded so good. I love it!”
After months of anticipation, the cast of circus folks and musicians were full of energy on opening night. In my sparkly vest, I juggled flashy red and silver clubs in the opening number and thought about the many times I had been sitting in the audience at the Robinson Center, to see incredible magicians, comedy shows, jugglers, and musicals. The show was rolling, and before long, the familiar opening notes of The Entertainer were bustling through the auditorium, and I found myself centerstage, in the spotlight with an armful of white juggling balls. Despite my lack of microphone, the audience and I had no problems communicating. They were chanting numbers at all the right times and continually encouraging me to add yet another ball, and to my delight, they were responding to all the juggling gags without me having to say a word. Many of my favorite jokes landed just as well with the gestures I had worked on (all exaggerated of course, to make sure even the guy in the very back felt like he was included). To keep within the song’s time constraints, I was doing a simplified version of the act, so after I made it through some 5 ball juggling, I threw one high, caught it on the back of my neck, and was soon back in the wings fanning myself and getting changed for the closing number.
That evening, someone sent me a video of the act, which gave me a final shot to study what was working and what could play better the next day. Show 2 was for another full and lively crowd, and the whole cast was full of emotions, relief, and adrenaline. It went off without a hitch, and I was full of admiration for the team that made it happen.
Every performer in the show made genuine connections with the audience, and it was evident—from their pre-show anticipation, the laughs, the gasps, the after-show comments, and the applause—the crowd had been moved by the production. The standing ovations after each show made it clear. You don’t have to take my word for it: in her BroadwayWorld.com review, Theresa Bertram wrote “it was pure magic. From the soaring melodies to the jaw-dropping stunts, the entire evening was a breathtaking celebration of sound, skill, and sheer joy.” I couldn’t agree more. Kudos to Arkansas Circus Arts and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra for bringing magic to life!
