Working for the circus

PTH2009

i wonder what its like to work for fossets or any other irish circus ???.

Id say its has its advantages such as seeing the country,meeting different people etc

Is there a Gypsey element to it. The performers would not stay in a hotel or anywhere fancy (stay in caravans on the site of the circus)

Know this had nothing to do with a circus but do they have the same type of workers that we see at amusement parks(Smaller ones eg seaside towns not the huge bigger ones) eg rough enough type. Im normally out at tramore amusement park in waterford every summer and theres a few scumbag types work on the amusements. There are also a lot of workers in these parks who are off lower class English decent

DeadHand

I stumbled upon a circus accidentally in my youth and soon blagged my way into work as a veterinarian- even though I had dropped out of college due to unforeseen family issues.

Sheep Lover

I made a living for quite awhile as a sideshow freakshow. I was the unmistakable Bearded Man. Yano the recent hipster trend of beards? I started that.

BorneTobyWilde

I too was in the Freak Show
I was an Invisible Man
It was quite handy as all I needed to do was not show up for work.

You wanna be a trapeze artist? Get a grip.

anncoates

'Seeing the country' = parked on a wet patch of waste ground beside Tralee LIDL x 32

osarusan

Do you know the carnie code?

Mr_Muffin

My GF of a few years back ran away with the circus and didn't even bother to tell me. One minute she was there the next she was performing all these acts on people.

BorneTobyWilde

Mr_Muffin wrote: »

My GF of a few years back ran away with the circus and didn't even bother to tell me. One minute she was there the next she was performing all these acts on people.

http://stevenarch.tymoon.eu/arch/src/131981552062.jpg

MadsL

My cousins were liontamers.
True story, bro.

FluffyAngel

from all your sweeping generalisations about the artists in the circus and the amount of bull you put in your post your halfways to a job in one ..


As a clown

MadsL

PTH2009 wrote: »

There are also a lot of workers in these parks who are off lower class English decent

The horror! I almost spilled my Billecart-Salmon Rosé reading that.

The Backwards Man

It's a circus in here most days!

mikom

PTH2009 wrote: »

i wonder what its like to work for fossets or any other irish circus ???.

I'd say it is a pain in the ring...

kneemos

By the looks of it it consists of a continuous cycle of setting up and dismantling their rigs.
The local one is either in the farmers mart or beside a warehouse.
If there's glamour it's not immediately obvious.

Arghus

I've worked for clowns my entire life.

Junkyard Tom

MadsL wrote: »

My cousins were liontamers.

'Animal torturers' would be a more accurate description.

Banjo String

I worked for a circus when I was nineteen as their human cannonball.

Didn't last long, I was fired on the first day.

Patser

I had a summer job as a student in a circus as a gymnast/acrobat on a trampoline.

It had its ups and downs.

gramar

My career guidance teacher told me that if I wanted to go places in life to join a travelling circus. That was 20 years ago and I'm stilt walking.

Sunnyisland

Is there not a circus on kildare St Dublin some months of the year. I found it to be quite entertaining at times. But it's mostly just sound bites for the audience benefits.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

realies wrote: »

Is there not a circus on kildare St Dublin some months of the year. I found it to be quite entertaining at times. But it's mostly just sound bites for the audience benefits.

There's always one!!

Sunnyisland

LexieOnRale wrote: »

There's always one!!

Always one what

Badly Drunk Boy

Nick Cave wrote a marvellous song about it, detailing the joys of such work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqfS7NdcwdM

somesoldiers

realies wrote: »

Is there not a circus on kildare St Dublin some months of the year. I found it to be quite entertaining at times. But it's mostly just sound bites for the audience benefits.

they're all in Donegal this week

Menas

somesoldiers wrote: »

they're all in Donegal this week

They are meeting in Lissadel house today...which is in Sligo.

The stupid thing is that Sligo County council lost €7Million of tax/rate payers money in a failed attempt to sue the owners of Lissadel house in 2014.
Circus indeed!

Flippyfloppy

Banjo String wrote: »

I worked for a circus when I was nineteen as their human cannonball.

Didn't last long, I was fired on the first day.

There goes the bango string

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

realies wrote: »

Always one what

A post that brings the government into something unrelated to the government

whiskeyman

How do you kill a circus?
















Go for the juggler!!

jamesbere

MadsL wrote: »

My cousins were liontamers.
True story, bro.

Did they use to be chartered accountants? Is going via banking a good route

Boom_Bap

It's a very intents job.

Fleawuss

It's not really relevant but the joke about former British prime minister John Major was that he was the only person ever to run away from the circus to become an accountant.

Tombi!

I imagine i would be very difficult. Constantly on the road. The setting up, dismantling of tents, equipment, etc.

Sunnyisland

LexieOnRale wrote: »

A post that brings the government into something unrelated to the government

ah jaysus lighten up, its after hours, its athread about the circus,
afterhours /circus/goberment 2+2= 5 :-) op its sounds exciteing, maybe it still is, but lots of hard work,12/14 hours a day work in the season,pay is not great plus circuses :-) are not the huge crowd puller they once were,

Menas

When I was a young fella I wanted to work for the circus. But my dad told me that I would probably end up having to marry the bearded lady.....put me right off.

Samaris

I'd assume it'd have its good sides and downsides, just like any other job. It's a dying tradition of entertainment, although they're still grimly hanging on. It's pure show-biz and I'd say there's a rush to performing in the ring to an audience. The money probably isn't amazing, and one bad season could mean people just can't stick it out, so there's not much security in it. But a good circus, just like any other small, self-reliant community is a bit of a family.

And there's the usual hazards and frustrations of an unusual job - like the blasted elephant's wandered off down Tramore prom -again- and is perched on a roundabout causing a traffic jam for the nth year in a row. The itinerant lifestyle is getting more and more difficult, even down to beaches tending to ban wild animals from being walked there, and they do still need their exercise.

The "glory days" of the travelling circus are over, the margins are tight and it's stressful, I would think. But just like any other niche job, there are those that couldn't imagine doing anything else.