“I have a circus, so I live on the road in a trailer and a box truck. I was 22 in New York with a musical theater degree and a dream of being on Broadway and being an actor to be someone else. I auditioned for anything anyone would pay me a dollar for, including singing at high holy services at a synagogue in Brooklyn and I am not Jewish. I had little living experience in anything and went to a random open call and got the job as ringmaster for the Ringling Brothers Circus and the circus is where the opportunities came to me. Standing in that ring is unlike any other feeling. I got to evolve as a performer and now look more at what people are thinking and feeling. The circus is a chance and take away their pain and give them a magical experience and bring them joy. I also have to make a business out of this and revenue streams for the midway because we have to feed ourselves if we are going to feed others with joy and wonder. I want to grow so we can give tickets away to underprivileged kids. Our circus is a celebration of the limitlessness of the human spirit and we need that now more than ever. I started out loving musical theater and the storytelling that happens there and we have that in our circus. Two years ago, were hired to make a version of the Wizard of Oz for the Great Gulf State Fair. I love this medium because we can make the stories about anything. This circus has been about creating opportunities and not waiting for someone else to give you a job but you would be nuts to do this if you don’t love it. I am proud to create something that is connected to the community. It is more than a circus to me and so much good happens through it. People coming here to spend time with us a huge success and helps the community. We believe in Mobile and have gotten a great vibe from the people. We want to give another reason to come downtown and have dinner and spend time here. We are buying things from local vendors and it all works together to help our show. I want to create a world where great people can function together and I need to keep bringing in people with great ideas and giving them wings. I listen to their goals and dreams and create a job that fits them. This production has 10 artists and my wife and I are the producers. My wife is my love and the circus queen and our kids are this circus. We all live and work together and sometimes things hit the fan and we are like a family to get through it. Our lives are in each other’s hands. The shows are still magic for me. It will never stop being magic and I have been doing it for 17 years, that is about six thousand shows. It has taken thousands of times to be comfortable in my own skin and learn to sing and speak better in front of an audience. I am very aware of mortality and that life is short and when I decide to do something, I stick with it and give it my all. It gets me through the failures. I have so much energy that I can barely contain inside of my body and it seems to fit in the circus. I have learned through moments of crisis and growth is not a straight line, there are some moments are when it seems like everything is falling apart. There are times when my family didn’t understand what I was doing and it has affected relationships. If you want to do something different like this, there is no instruction book. I have to learned to trust the voice I hear on my pillow at night. This will always be about giving other people escape and joy.”
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The Venardo Circus “Cirque du Mardi Gras is Feb. 1-14 at the Alabama Contemporary Art Center in Mobile.