How to Become a Circus Performer

As ridiculous as this article headline may seem, becoming a circus performer is a completely plausible and viable career. There's a lot of perks to joining the circus; you get to travel, meet interesting people, and entertain others. This article sums up pretty much everything you need to know about how to join the circus.

Perfect Your Skill: The first thing you'll need to do, is master a talent. The more difficult and rare talents are usually the skills that are in highest demand. These skills would be tight rope walking, trapeze arts, and fire eating. Some other more common skills that circuses are typically looking for are juggling, stilt walking, and acrobatics. There are also many non-performing jobs at the circus, such as animal trainers, roustabouts, and general laborers. Find the skill that suits you, and perfect it.

Go to School: Well, not an ordinary school. You should consider enrolling in a circus school. They're not as uncommon as you would think. California has a few different circus schools, there are some in Virginia, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina, as well. You can easily search for these schools on the internet. Just type "circus school." You could also check with your local community college and ask them if they offer any classes in the circus arts.

Find a Circus to Work for: Going through circus school is kind of like going through the police academy. You see, when someone graduates from the police academy, they don't just automatically start working as a police officer. They have to apply to different police departments, and hope they get hired. When you graduate from circus school, you'll have to pick a circus and apply to work for them. The circus school will provide you with job placement assistance, as well as what you need to know about the application process. By the time you graduate from circus school you may even decide that you would rather work somewhere else than a circus. For example, you could work for an amusement park, or become a circus teacher.

Well, that's about everything there is to joining the circus. It's probably a lot less wacky than you would have imagined. Remember, circuses are a part of the entertainment industry, so expect some competition, and don't be discouraged if at first you don't succeed. You may have to start at a low level position and work your way up, just like in any other line of work. Good luck.