Small-town shows delight circus manager

This structure serves as the backdrop, the bandstand and the stage entrance for the Gold Unit of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In the foreground is the lighting grid for the production, which later would be lifted into place overhead. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge]

Production Manager Jason Gibson, a 10-year veteran of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, says he enjoys traveling with the circus's Gold Unit to smaller markets like Shelbyville. The small-town crowds seem more appreciative than blasé big city crowds.

"It's a big deal," said Gibson as he toured media representatives around Calsonic Arena on Friday. The Gold Unit, which presents the show "An Upside-Down World," will conclude its weekend run at 1:30 this afternoon. Tickets are still available at the windows in front of Calsonic Arena.

The quarterdown limestone surface of the Calsonic Arena floor was designed so that it can be packed down or fluffed up depending on the occasion. Gibson said it's the first time he's had to set up a circus production on a surface other than concrete or a covered ice rink.

Aerialists and high-wire performers are involved in setting up their own rig, said Gibson, so that they can be certain it's done right. It's similar to the idea of a skydiver packing his or her own parachute.

Animals including horses, an elephant and a zebra must be fed and cared for. The elephant consumes up to 150 pounds a day of food, said Gibson.

Setting up the production is a huge undertaking. The circus brings its own lights and sound system, and even generates its own power. More than 120 cast and crew members are traveling with the Gold Unit, which is in the middle of a two-year tour that ends in November. There's even a school for the 12 or so school-age children traveling with the show.

Unlike the larger Red and Blue units, which travel on special train cars, the Gold Unit travels in trucks and recreational vehicles.

The Gold Unit, which is designed for smaller markets, has the same flash and high quality as the Red and Blue units but a more intimate setting. At a special all-access "pre-show," which begins an hour before show time, circus-goers can mingle with performers, collect autographs and enjoy clowns, jugglers and the like.

After today's performance, the Gold Unit will head for Ottumwa, Iowa, which "M*A*S*H" viewers will remember as the home of "Radar" O'Reilly. Gibson, however, has no problem with the itinerant lifestyle.

"I'm still enjoying myself," he said. "Why would I want to do something else?"