Behind the Scenes: Making the magic of the Ringling circus come to life

The Greatest Show on Earth is officially back after kicking off its national tour here in Tampa in early January, and if you went, we know you were wowed by the experience. Even before the historic Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus launched its all-new show, we got a chance to sit down with some of the stars of the show at Feld Entertainment headquarters in Palmetto, Florida, to learn more about the journey that led them to the role of a lifetime.

And don't forget–we also got a chance to go one-on-one with show producer Julliette Feld Grossman, who shares more about the vision of this all-new show and the circus legacy that spans an incredible 150 years.

Meet the Modern Day Circus Clown, Nicholas Strubbe (Nick Nack)- pictured at top of post

The evolution of the circus clown is front and center at Ringling. No longer are clowns sporting extravagant makeup and big red noses. Nowadays, they look a lot like…us, serving as a representation of all that's silly within all of us. This is the role taken on by Nicholas Strubbe, who stars as Nick Nack alongside the very popular Bailey Circuit, robo pup!

TBPM: First, can you tell us a little bit about your character?

NS: I play the character of Nick Nack. I'm the clown and part of the comedic crew. So we are moving set pieces, but then we get into hijinks along the way. And with me is Bailey Circuit, who is my robo puppy, whom Nick Nack has invented to help out with everything at this circus. So as smart and capable as we all are, sometimes we make mistakes. She helps us out of them.

TBPM: Is this your first time performing with Ringling?

NS: This is actually my first season with the show. But I have worked in circuses for a couple of decades now, and working with Ringling has always been a dream. So it's just magical to be here, and to be part of this cast and company, and the legacy of the company.

TBPM: Let's talk about the journey that brought you to this dream role.

NS: No circus has done more for the North American art form than the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey show's 150 years of productions, but also the way it's influenced the whole field. I came into the circus as a young adult, went through clown school, theater school, mime school, puppetry school, trapeze programs, juggling, all that.

But the common thread of it all was finding the comedy that could bring people together. And in the circus, particularly a place like Ringling, we have 65 performers from 13 countries at the top of athleticism and art, and the clown gets to be the human among superhumans.

And this, for me, is just incredible that we get to represent the aspirational and the foolish inside all of us. So getting to do that here on this platform, I couldn't be happier.

TBPM: You and your fellow performers are making history once again with this show. How does that feel?

NS: Yeah, it’s humbling. As a circus nerd, I look back at all the clowns in this show and others, and how the form has evolved over the years, and we're part of that. But honestly, I just take it a moment at a time, try to do my best to serve the show, serve the audience, serve my scene partners like Bailey here, and just enjoy because it's all for bringing that joy and release to audiences in whatever way we can.

TBPM: Your role is also unique because you get to work with a robot dog, Bailey Circuit!

NS: Yes. I mean, welcome to the future. This is such a fascinating thing to have human partners on stage, and also this, you know, dynamic, like a very modern technological marvel that we also can relate with. We live in times that are changing so quickly, to be able to find the human everywhere in the modern and the classic is, I think, the job for this generation.

TBPM: And there's no more extravagant clown makeup now!

NS: The form evolves. I think we have a real gift in the technology of screens, microphones, and this, because a lot of the clown makeup was to serve distance. It was to reach people in the back of a big tent or a big arena. And now we have cameras to get close enough. We have microphones to project our voice.

We also have such a landscape of media to draw on, where we can be more like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, a silent comedian, we can be more like a cartoon, and we can be more like a circus clown in how we get there. But as long as people are laughing and connecting, we can just be us. And it's even closer to that thing of realizing, “Oh, I'm like them. I, too, am silly, but look at them having a blast.” And that's, I think, where clown, or at least where our version of clown is going. And it's beautiful.

TBPM: It must be the best job.

NS: I am grateful every day. Yeah.

TBPM: For kids who may want to aspire to do what you do, even performing in general, what's your advice to them?

NS: I came up through just school theater programs, summer classes, that kind of thing. If you have a passion, whether it's for dance, theater, comedy, circus, or anything, just put in the time bit by bit and take the risk. If you're feeling shy or if you're feeling like, “Oh, maybe I'm not good enough yet”, there's a yet there. You might not always feel it, but just keep moving forward, keep breathing into it, surround yourself with people who care for you and will push you for that next step in a supportive way, and you'll get there.

Not yet becomes finally. And that's when the dreams come true.

Meet the Modern Day Circus Ringleader, Lauren Iriving (Show Guide)

You won't find a ringmaster at the new Ringling circus, but you will find uber-talented show guides whose powerful voices take you on a journey through music as they guide you through the incredible acts by performers from around the world. It's a task Lauren Irving took on when the Ringling reinvented itself after a multi-year hiatus in 2023, and now she's back with another ALL-NEW show!

TBPM: Lauren, let's talk about the show. It is incredible. What is it like to be a part of history?

LI: To be a part of this new edition is an honor. Being from the edition before, the 147th edition, and now being a part of the 148th, it really feels like I am a part of history. To be a part of it is almost too overwhelming, in a beautiful way, to express with words, but it's just this feeling of I'm a part of something so big. It’s over 150 years of history, so it is just tremendous to be a part of that thread and to be a part of that storyline and hopefully to inspire future generations, just like what happened to me when I got to go see a show when I was a little girl

TBPM: You're not just a part of history, but you may be inspiring a young child, just as you were, in the audience. What is that feeling like? 

LI: I think it's important for us to see each other in spaces. And especially for little girls and little boys who want to be a part of something like this and fit in in the way of with music or singing or rapping anything. And to say, yes, it's possible because I saw her do it, or I saw him do it. It's just a great opportunity to put that spark and plant the seed in someone,

Even adults. There are so many adults who may have put their dreams aside because of life or things that have to happen. And I think that just to come to this place and to get your mind off the world for just a minute to feel inspired and to hopefully continue your passions and what you want to do, and what makes you happy, is such a great thing.

TBPM: Tell us about your journey to this role.

LI: Coming to Ringling was actually because of one of my favorite managers at Disney. She was absolutely incredible, and she heard that they were looking for someone to fulfill this role, and she was like, I know someone. And that alone was such an honor.

And later, we had some FaceTime audition time, just chatted with the team, and it felt right to me. I left that moment saying, even if this doesn't work out, this reminded me why I love doing what I do. And then it happened to work out so I'm here, and I just could not be more thankful. I’m full of gratitude each and every day.

TBPM: Were you always performing even as a kid?

LI: Yes, as a child. So I have my older sister, she's about nine and a half years older than me and so she was the singer of the family, the performer. I was always very nervous. I was like, how was she going in front of people and singing, and just in awe of her? So inspired.

And I was like, okay, I'll start with the chorus. And then, as time went on, it was time for me to step away from the group. And I think just over the years, I've just been so thankful for the experiences that have led from that one moment of me just wanting to be like my big sister.

TBPM: Where did your professional career begin?

LI: My career began out of college. I performed at Walt Disney World in Orlando and Universal Studios in Orlando. And I also did some agency work here and there with film, television, commercial stuff like that. Then I went to Japan for about three years and lived in Osaka, and it was one of the best experiences in my life. I did cruise ship work.

I learned so much about myself, the culture, the beauty of people, and how music is such an international language. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know exactly what someone is saying, but the power of what music can do is so beautiful.

The last thing I did before Ringling, I was Catherine of Aragon in SIX the musical for Norwegian Cruise Lines, and here I am at The Greatest Show on Earth. I’m just thankful.

TBPM: What's your advice to kids who want to follow in your footsteps as a performer?

LI: My advice to anyone who wants to start their path in performing or being in entertainment, or even just music in general, is to first of all take care of yourself. You obviously want to get plenty of rest, you want to drink water, it sounds cliché, but it's true, you've got to rest, you've got to drink water, take care of yourself, but also just follow what your heart says to do.

I'm a believer. I pray, I just trust God for everything. I also know that if you have an instinct about something being right, your creativity has been given to you for a reason. I’ve taken a different path than what I went to school for, Musical Theater. I’m not doing Broadway in New York. I’m having the time of my life here at Ringling. I could not be more thankful, so don't give up and keep creating.

Meet the Ringling Director of Casting and Performance, Sarah Davison

There are 66 performers from 17 countries around the world sharing the stage during the latest production of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's The Greatest Show on Earth, and it was Sarah Davison's job to find the greatest talent on Earth. This task took her on a tour around the world to find the best of the best, and we're pretty sure she nailed it!

TBPM: What's it like to be the casting director of The Greatest Show on Earth?

SD: It's the greatest job in the world. I literally am the lucky person who gets to tour the world, discover talent, and figure out who is going to be starring in our next show.

TBPM: Talk about what you were looking for in the performers?

SD: So the task at hand for The Greatest Show on Earth moving forward is really to find not only the most wow, exciting, unique performances, but also find performances that are relatable because that's really something that the brand is pushing for, to make sure that our audience can relate to us.

So they are exceptional, but they are also using apparatus and things of everyday life, which we think is going to really relate to our audience.

TBPM: It must be a challenge to compete with the wow factor kids encounter every day online.

SD: We live in a world where everything is accessible to everybody. If you have internet, you have seen everything. So my job gets harder and harder because to find a unique act that has never been seen before, I really have to go and dig into the depths of everywhere. So yeah, so it's a fun challenge, a wonderful challenge, and challenge accepted.

And you did it.

SD: Yes, I think we've done it for this show.

I think the show is just such a vibe. The performers are all extremely talented and so unique and so special in their own special way, but the way they are all brought together and the way we are having them share the stage when you would have never had this troupe from this place and this troupe from that place, and they are on stage together. That's truly special.

TBPM: What is your casting process like?

SD: So they are with us for a year and a half, and this is a very different life. We have an online application system where we have constant applications, I mean, a dozen a day. And then we travel all around the world. So we have a very specific network of partners across the world that are our eyes on the ground. And then I get to go to all the major festivals, all the big sports events, and just get to meet the people. Last year, I spent five weeks in China just visiting every troupe possible to figure out who was going to be the one that fit for us. It's a hard task, a lot of work. But so, so worth it.

TBPM: What are the unique talents you are looking for in a performer? 

SD: Obviously, the first element is the technical skills. We want the highest trained people who will be able to perform that skill 10 times a week if need be. But we also look for special humans. They have to have the ability to connect with the audience. They have to have the ability to share the fun, to take us into the truly exciting.

TBPM: What inspired your career as a casting director?

SD: So I performed. I was a dancer for my whole life, and I had a wonderful, exciting career. I worked with Celine Dion and Cirque de Soleil. I performed for about 17 years of my life, and when it was time to start looking for something else, casting kind of fell in my lap.

I'm lucky to have, apparently, a keen eye for talent. I have tried to go to different avenues within the creative world,
but casting has called me back, and that's why I joined Feld Entertainment two and a half years ago. I truly, truly have the greatest job on earth because I literally get to discover talent and give them their shot. So it really is special and a privilege. As a former performer, it's even more special to share that with them.

But it's a team effort. I go and find the talent, and then I come back and have the conversation with the leadership team, and we have a really deep conversation, like, is this going to be a fit? Yes, they're wonderful, but are they really truly Ringling? So it's not just about talent, it really is about the Ringling brand and the fun and the energy that we really want to portray on stage.

TBPM: Since you have the greatest job… if there's a kid out there reading this who may want to do what they do when they grow up, what's your advice? 

SD: Yeah. It's so interesting because there's no school for what I do. There's no training. There's no college degree for this. It really is a job of- it's not about you. I think if you can see the vision and the talent, and make it about them, not about you, you can be perfect for this job.

The biggest thing is don't take no as a no. Take a no as an opportunity to grow, because there are many, many nos for one yes, but the one yes is going to be the right one. That was my journey, and that landed me here, so it can't be that bad.