First of Mays 1993

First of Mays for 1993 Back Row L to R: Aaron Schettler, Edzui (Edge) Szumowski, Benny Schultz, Me.
Front Row: Keith Alexander, Chad Miller and Lisa A. Chapman.


A person that is new to a circus is referred to as a First of May, which, traditionally, was the month that circuses began touring back when circus shows were presented under a tent. The clown alley for the red unit of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus had seven new additions in 1993. We came from all over the country with one common interest: to be the best clowns we could possibly be. We were an eager bunch ready and expected to prove ourselves not just to the rest of the clowns but to the entire cast and crew of the show.

As First of Mays we worked harder than we ever had, sometimes performing while injured or ill. But none of us complained because we were having the time of our lives performing for thousands of people in arenas across the country.

We had studied hard at the Ringling school and continued learning on the road. At intermission some of us would go out into the stands to work the crowds testing out new material or improvising. In between shows on a three-show Saturday we practiced in the ring or in whatever space was available backstage developing new skills and material that could be used for the coming season.

I loved doing pratfalls and I did them every chance I could especially my first year. It's not something you just do. It's a gradual process developing the coordination and control needed to perform it correctly and safely but a pratfall done the right way is a beautiful sight to behold. It's pure visual poetry. I've never felt so good as when I did a pratfall. I'm not talking the kind one is accustomed to seeing in today's comedies. We did them the right way; the old school way like the kind Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, to name a few, could do. The falls have their proper names too like the 108( one-o-eight), the toothpick, backfall, stair falls, the Bumpsy (Named after clown Bumpsy Anthony) and other falls that defied naming.

So much was learned that First of May year and I've never forgotten those lessons. Even though we haven't performed in the circus for a long time now, Pam and I try to keep that circus work ethic alive in our life away from the circus. We've ruffled feathers keeping to our circus work ethic but we wont abandon it. It's never failed us.

And we stay in touch with our fellow circus clowns. I've lost touch with a good many school friends over the years but not with my friends on the circus. Those bonds are strong and withstand the passage of time.

Being a First of May was a year-long test of endurance that prepared us for the challenges we would face for the rest our lives. If you could do that you could do anything. We earned our place as clowns on the Greatest Show on Earth. It was our world. We loved it and we never took it for granted as we traveled across the country on a circus train going north, south, east and west living in a waking dream.