Ever dreamed of running away to join the circus?
Here’s a way to try it out first. Come an hour before the show.
Try on a ringmaster costume. Jump rope with the unicycle bicyclists. Walk on a low wire. Watch an elephant paint a picture.
The pre-show “Super Circus Hero Training Camp” starts an hour prior to the start of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum &Bailey Circus “Built to Amaze.”
The pre-show is free for ticketholders.
“It’s a big party,” said Ashley Vargas, 28, pre-show hostess. “It’s a really hands-on experience. They get a sneak peak before the show to see how things are built.”
It’s a meet-and-greet with the cast. A chance to ask questions, such as: “How do you get the animals to do what they’re doing?” And “Is it scary to ride a motorcycle on a high wire?”
Mingle with the critters.
“Two of the traveling dogs come out to do a little routine to show off their skills,” Vargas said.
Elephants April and Asia get in the ring.
“They are so close you can smell them,” Vargas said. “They get daily baths.”
Five-year-old April plays the harmonica, kicks a soccer and tosses a ball in an elephant way. Asia, a 47-year-old elephant, is the painter.
“She dips her paint brush into the paint and applies it to a canvas,” Vargas said, who compares it to the same behavior as elephants dipping their trunks in mud. The painting will be given away during a drawing held during each show.
The elephant draws the line at signing autographs, but there are plenty of performers who will sign programs.
“I get asked to sign a super lot because I have a microphone,” Vargas said.
That’s not all she does.
During the show, Vargas also holds a balloon in her mouth which is the target of arrows by sharpshooter Crossbow Casanova. She’s his lovely assistant.
Vargas got her start in the circus when in college she met a guy who was a trick horse rider.
“It was enchanting. I fell in love with horses. I made the transition from prelaw to the circus.”
What became of the trick rider?
“Now we’re working together,” she said. “It’s funny how it comes full circus.”
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.
If you go
Ringling Bros. and Barnum &Bailey Circus “Built to Amaze” is Oct. 1 through 4, Xfinity Arena, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett. Tickets are $20 to $70, with discounts on special shows.
For more, go to www.xfinityareaneverett.com or call 866-332-8499. The show started its Northwest run Thursday at the Showare Center in Kent. It runs through Sept. 27 at the Showare Center.
Other acts
Master of the ring Andre McClain, the singing cowboy ringmaster whose background includes life as a rodeo competitor.
King Charles Troupe from New York City brings one-wheeled basketball to the ring with a spirited and comedic basketball competition featuring 10 whirling unicyclists.
Supersonic Skyscrapers aerial casting act toss and flip through the air only by the catch and release of each other’s hands while standing on a stilt-like platform. A single trapeze act features female aerialist Electra doing high-flying release moves.
Inside the Globe of Steel, daredevil motorcycle riders do high-wire tricks on the Dual Wheel of Steel.
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