Cirque Du Suck

Thursday, October 22: Wheaton, MO-4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Back to rainy weather today; I just knew we couldn't go the last week of tour without running into our old "friend" again.

Casey, Radar, Jody (Radar's friend from a zoo in Kansas), and I went to breakfast up the road from the lot.

I didn't have so much luck later in the day when I tried to find lunch. One place that came highly reccomended to me by the locals closed at 2 p.m. An Asian deli in town no longer had a deli. I finally settled for eating at the gas station (one of three places that served food in town). While there I learned about Gizmo, a rodeo clown that is a local celebrity. They even named the event center, where we are showing, after him.

It was muddy as hell around the tent; a good excuse to use my brand new mud boots! My old ones had holes in the heels, which defeated the purpose of wearing boots.

We had a good sized crowd for the first show, but despite their numbers, they weren't very lively.

I was thinking that Missouri crowds don't like to react, but the full house for the second show proved me wrong. They were very responsive and we got great reactions for our gags; it was so nice after what we have gotten recently.

By the end of the night it was a muddy mess in the back door. I was less than thrilled when my hanger broke and my agent suit pants fell in the mud on the Alley floor. Grrrrrrr.

At the BBQ tonight we tried to get Radar to let Casey hit him with a burning board that we pulled from the grill's fire. For some reason he wasn't hip to the idea....

Friday, October 23: Fort Smith, AR-7:30 p.m.

We had a 130 mile jump this morning to Arkansas. When we got to town, everyone pulled in to a parking lot while a new lot was found. I guess the one we were going to be on was way too small. The sponsor didn't realize that the show had trucks and trailers that needed to be by the tent....

Why they waited until everyone arrived to find a new lot I can not imagine. But what do I know? I just hit Ryan with a shovel.

Luckily the new lot was nearby and we were on grass. The best part: there was no mud in the tent or back door for our last three days. Hallelujah! 

It was an overcast, cold day, so I stayed in bed until show time so I could keep warm.

It felt strange only having one show tonight. Around 4:00 p.m. I started feeling very anxious and felt the need to get into make up.

I wish I could have enjoyed our one show day more, but I felt pretty lousy and had a vicious headache.

We had a good sized crowd, and they enjoyed the show. I finally got to meet Becky Raborn, who has been taking good care of me all year by sending me books. 

After the show we raced to a nearby movie theater to see the movie Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant.

The film was a major let down; I think Casey was the most upset, since he is such a rabid fan of the book series.

The Ol' Switch A Roo!

Wednesday, October 21: Republic, MO-4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

This morning Casey, Ryan, and I had breakfast with Lucky, Vicky, and Mr. North. There was nothing at all near the lot (or so we thought), so we ended up driving a long way before finding a place to eat. Mr. North was nice enough to pick up the bill at the conclusion of our meal.

Casey, Ryan, and I got incredibly lost on the way back to the lot, but once we got back on track, we realized that there was actually a ton of stuff right by the lot in the opposite direction of where we went. Figures.

At least we found a laundromat not too far away that Natalie took us to.

It was overcast today, but there was no rain...a miracle! Another plus was that we were playing on a nice grassy lot.

Sadly, we had very small crowds at the two shows, maybe 30 or so folks at each performance.

Because of that downer, we decided to switch things up a bit and have fun in the second show.

In the sink gag Ryan and I swapped wigs and played each others parts; I was the straight man, and Ryan was the idiot (just like in real life!).

I was nervous doing a different part after becoming so used to my actions and reactions after hundreds of shows, so I was very uptight during the gag.

When I kicked the pipe wrench out from under Ryan, I almost sent it flying into the audience. If the motorcycle's rigging hadn't been there, I would have taken out a couple of senior citizens in the front row.

At the end of the gag, when I knocked the foam faucet off the sink, I sent it flying all the way back to the band (and broke the foam in half), and then I about split Ryan's skull open with a PVC "pipe".

I would like to say that I enjoyed our little exercise in role reversal, but I was so concerned about my performance and our timing that I was very disappointed in myself after the gag.

At least Mr. North, Lucky, Vicky, Radar, and anyone else who saw the gag thought it was funny. The audience didn't laugh, but judging from their reactions to the rest of the show, I think that was a given.

At the BBQ we were going to watch the gag (which Casey videotaped), but I broke his camera's USB connection and the video is now trapped in limbo.

Whoopsee! 

WE ARE DONE!

I think this sums up how happy I am to be done.

I wish I could say we finished with a bang, but it was definitely a whimper. We played to a small crowd that was probably one of the worst as far as reactions are concerned. What a shame.

The important thing is, we are done! I will get the last half week of entries up on here as soon as I can. Right now I am completely overwhelmed with the thought of packing up all my belongings tomorrow and renting a car for a estimated departure date of Tuesday. Then it will be a 26 hour road trip to get Radar, Ryan, and myself where we need to go on the east coast.

So please forgive me if I'm not punctual with updates...

Something to look forward to: I made a video in finale of the last show just for you faithful blog readers so you can experience the end of the season from inside the ring.

Good night!

Kitty Chow

Tuesday, October 20: Willard, MO-4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Today Casey, Natalie, Ryan, Geneivive and I loaded up to go to the mall while Georgia was on a field trip with the other circus kids.

I almost bought this pimpin' hat, but good sense prevailed and I put it back on the rack.

Once again it was a beautiful day; there is no way this is going to last the rest of the season!

We had average crowds today. Some friends of Crystal's: Jenny, Claire, and Andy, came to see the second show, where they witnessed me almost getting mauled.

During our opening when the tigers are released, I saw one of the cats charging at me out of the corner of my eye. 

I did my usual bit where I get scared and jump towards the audience. When I turn around I see someone in the audience and get more scared and jump back to the cage.

Tonight when I did that I turned around just in time to see one of the tigers with her arm almost all the way out of the arena trying to grab me. I think I need to pay more attention for the last few days of the tour.

At least that incident was exciting; the rest of the show...not so much. I'm sorry that Crystal's friends had to see the performance with such a lousy audience.

October 24 and 25: Fort Smith, AR

They Say It's Your Birthday

Monday, October 19: Marshfield, MO-4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Today was my 26th birthday. Whoo hoo! I couldn't have asked for a better day; it was beautiful weather, sunny and warm, and we were playing on a nice, grassy lot.

Casey took me and Ryan shopping in Springfield. We went to Barnes & Noble where I bought the book, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, with the money that Radar gave me. Ryan got me the movie, Drag Me To Hell, which I enjoyed immensely in theaters, and Casey bought me a book of short stories called "The Greatest Circus Stories Ever".

Next we went to the mall across the street where Casey bought Natalie some clothing as a gift since she didn't get to come to the mall with us.

He also treated me to a sushi lunch before we went back to the lot.

The Fusco family is with us until the end of the tour, so Ryan is happy to see his girlfriend, Tatiana, again.

We had average sized audiences tonight. The first crowd was pretty responsive, but the second crowd left much to be desired.

Between shows Valerie (themudshowdiaries.blogspot.com) interviewed me for her circus audio project. It was fun recounting my path to where I am now.

At the BBQ tonight I got a little buzzed thanks to a shot of Jack Daniels and a beer (hey, it was my birthday!), and after we were done eating I stumbled into town to find a circus poster with my birth date on it. Sadly all the posters were on the insides of the closed shops' windows; guess I will have to wait until next year.

October 22-Wheaton, MO October 23-25-Fort Smith, AR

Nuts To You!

Sunday, October 18: Bolivar, MO-2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

The route slip this morning warned us of another muddy lot, but it wasn't bad at all. The only mud was on the edge of the lot; the rest of the ground was covered with thick clumps of grass that were all frosted over.

Luckily the day turned out to be beautiful and sunny, so the frost was long gone by mid morning.

Ryan was walking around outside while on the phone when he almost stepped on a snake. It was a little over a foot long and no wider than a marker, but it was alive! A truck must have run it over though, because it was injured. Ryan had Radar come over and shoo the snake away. 

And here I was thinking that we were safe from snakes due to the cold weather!

I had a miserable shower before the shows; there was no water pressure, so I was bathing under a drip of scalding hot water. Oh well, at least it wasn't cold!

We had small crowds at the shows today (seems to be a recurring theme). It was tough working in the ring because of the unevenness caused by the thick grass.

The only noteworthy thing that happened was when a kid was throwing peanuts at me during Intermission (what is it with these yokels and throwing stuff at clowns?!).

I asked him for a peanut and he threw it at me hard, but low to the ground. "Oops, I missed," he said sarcastically.

"Wow, you throw like a girl!", I replied. 

He then tried to hit me with a nut, which I easily deflected with my handy Sociology book.

"Man, what a sissy throw! You should go back to the store and get that sweater in pink", I jauntily observed about his clothing.

He finally wised up and admitted defeat when he realized he couldn't out smart ass me.

October 21-Republic, MO October 22-Wheaton, MO October 23-Fort Smith, AR

Happy Birthday To Me

I'm 26!

Card by Alex Zaprudsky