By Jonathan H., Photo Editor

Older than baseball and Coca Cola, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, currently in its 141st year of crowd-pleasing antics and death-defying acts, just completed the “Fully Charged” edition of its show in Ohio, at Youngstown’s Covelli Center. Panther Press staff members Gabby Bradshaw and myself had a chance to experience first hand the true magnificence of the Ringling circus, which is said to be “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

After the show concluded, we interviewed two of the cast members to find out what goes on behind the scenes and in the daily life of a circus performer.  Brian Crawford Scott, the young, new ringmaster of “Fully Charged,” introduces acts throughout the performances and sings the catchy musical numbers. Only having the position of ringmaster since Nov. of 2010, Scott, a struggling musical theater actor living in Manhattan, NY at the time, found out about the auditions for a new ringmaster through an email from a friend. Not knowing what to expect, he reluctantly took the audition, and a couple days later received the news that he was chosen for the part. “It was really weird because it was a lot like a standard musical theater audition. They didn’t have me standing on an elephant or anything like that,” said Scott.

Now comfortable as ringmaster, Scott enjoys many of the acts, but says his favorite is in the second half of the show when Brian Miser, “The Human Fuse,” is launched across the arena directly over him. “It’s awesome!” said Scott. Although the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is a modern performance, Scott notices many aspects that are similar to the Benzini Brothers Circus circa early 1900s that he read about in the New York Times bestselling novel, “Water For Elephants.” “It’s funny because a lot of the vocabulary is the same; they have special words like cherry pie, extra work, and stuff like that is still here. But obviously the animals are much better treated and all the performers are paid regularly and things like that,” said Scott. However, disasters like those mentioned in the novel are a lot less common; Scott said he has never witnessed a major mishap. “That’s the thrill of live entertainment – you never know what you are going to see or what to expect when you are out there. But we take every precaution we can to make sure everyone is safe. All these people are very professional and very experienced in what they do,” said Scott.

Following Scott’s interview, Dustin Portillo, “The Boss Clown,” discussed his beginnings and current role in the Ringling circus. “It was always a dream of mine, whenever I was about four years old, to become a clown in the circus for Ringling,” said Portillo. The Boss Clown has many jobs involving the clown-side of the circus. “I help in creating clown gags, creating clown makeups, clown characters, everyone’s different personas, helping to keep the tradition of Ringling clowning alive,” said Portillo.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an event for the entire family. When asked about the economy’s influence on ticket sales, Portillo said, “No, we are actually seeing more people coming out to our show, because people want to escape from the everyday. So coming to the circus allows people to escape for three hours and fifteen minutes and watch entertainment that isn’t on a flat screen TV, but is 360 degrees.”

Although the circus has left the area, it will return to Cleveland October 19-23. For other dates and times visit www.ringling.com. In the meantime, Cirque Du Soleil’s performance of “Totem” will be in Pittsburgh, Pa. under the Grand Chapiteau in the Strip District, beginning May 12, 2011.