Free Roll for the Red Unit Clowns

Phineas did it....his goal was to get free roll, in this case a nice big plate of home baked cookies, to our friends on the red unit of Ringling Brothers. The Show for the 143rd edition is "Built To Amaze" and as usual they put on a great show with all the glitz and glitter and sparks and confetti cannon that we've come to expect from Feld Entertainment.
So here's what the deal is. We got there early, very early  so we could be first online to get into the arena and down to the floor for the preshow. We went right over to Chris who we met at the Dallas Pie fight and then spoke to again in Bridgeport at the end of the Fully Charged Tour. Then the other members of the alley we have gotten to know came over as well and we presented the free roll to the alley!
The other cool part is that Phineas spent a week or two just drawing cartoon versions of each member of the alley and brought it for them to sign. This drawing was cool and the clowns were excited to see it, sign it and some even took pictures of it with their phones. We talked for a few minutes but then they had to go back to work as the rest of the crowd was finding their way to the floor.
During the show my phone was vibrating every few minutes, Chris texted us to hang around after the show and then I got a bunch of Facebook alerts that the clowns were liking the drawing and Circus Bicuspid!
After watching the show we hung around as the arena empties out and Chris came to find us with backstage passes. We had a great tour of the backstage of the 143rd edition and got to spend time talking with the performers (and Phineas' future colleagues-we hope)
What a great afternoon, we appreciated the hard work the entire circus does in putting on a show and the clown alley for being "the pegs the circus hangs on"
To all of our friends in the Red Unit Clown Alley......see ya down the road!

keep 'em clean
Bruce Lish DDS aka "dr molar magic"

DRI- Carnival For A Cure

Once agian, Phineas and I performed walk around clowning and general stupidity at the Annual Diabetes Research Institute's Carnival For A Cure at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC. We really enjoy being a part of this event each year. Sometimes you don't realize how long you've been working with a group of people. They've had the same events company for years and the same staff run the games. As we walked in there were a lot of "Hi"  and "great to see you guys again" from everyone.

We got there a little later than in the past because we came in costume wearing our jumpsuits. These suits are great and like in the big shows they keep our costumes clean and under wraps while loading in (well for me they do because Phineas NEVER helps with load ins...there I said it!) and during our makeup.

We had a great day working with the crowd. My juggling was off for some reason, maybe there was excess gravity this year, maybe I need more sleep...or heck even more practice. I ended up sticking to the spinning plate for a lot of the event but it worked out because the kids loved taking it onto their own stick and letting it spin. Great parental photo op.

Speaking of photo ops, I think there were more requests from the staff and vendors to take photos with us this year than ever before. I even gained some new followers on Twitter from it. Check out this photo of us and Trader Joe's team.
Another cool encounter was with some staffers from Z100 in NY. They asked for photos with us and then we asked if they knew Wendy Wild the DJ who hosted the Big Apple Young Legends Show. They said they would see her Monday morning and we told them to send regards from Phineas! Great networking huh?

This evening we are off to see the ELEPHANTS WALK! Yes we are heading out to the Nassau Coliseum to watch the elephant walk from the train to the venue for the arrival of RBBB BUILT TO AMAZE. We are going to see the show on Sunday morning and it really looks great.

Wow that's a long post for me....
Keep 'em clean

Needle through the Balloon...

Phineas and I have been working a new comedy routine for the magical classic, the "Needle through the Balloon". We were asked to perform four our Synagogue this past Saturday Night as part of the Purim Holiday festivities. So we juggled a little, Pupperdoodle got out there and performed some magic, (way to go Pups!) we did some work with the audience and the bells and we debuted this routine. Its the simple relationship between Phineas and I. I'm the big shot magician and bossclown, he's the interrupting obnoxious teenager, always going for the laugh....ahhh how art imitates life. The routine finally ends, after popping many balloons with the actual successful penetration of the needle through the balloon. Funny and yes AMAZING! I really enjoy taking magic routines and "clowning them up" to bring out comedy. Our characters really help with this, and as I learned in Goof School (www.nygoofs.com) conflict in status can generate lots of comedy.
Speaking of the NY Goofs, they have their annual Winter Intensive  March 15th -17th in NYC. Train with them and you'll learn how to do it right, and wrong, and left and right again....and funny.
Next we are off to the SAM Parent Assembly #1 meeting this Friday because its OPEN MIKE NIGHT!  Phineas and I have decided to try the needle through balloon for this crowd....What the heck are we thinking?
Wish us luck, we'll need it!
Keep 'em clean

Just got home and the show was great

Well, we just got home from our weekend at Steve Kissell's Clown Jamboree in Mystic CT. The Friday night show that we were hired to perform went great! All of our stuff was well received with lots of laughs and we even got a standing Ovation. I love this crowd, they enjoy our work mainly because they have seen Phineas and Pupperdoodle grow up here. We got some video footage so we will probably put something up on our YouTube channel soon. This will be our 11th year attending this convention but this time we were the hired performers. This year was also the 20th Anniversary of when Doug Chapman and Sue Connely started this convention so they were there as the Honorees Saturday night. It was fun to see them and catch up with them and their family.  Staffing the convention, and lecturing this year were the one and only Joe Barney and his son Alex Barney. They are a real circus family....Joe plays PT Barnum for Ringling Brothers PR and Alex just came off 4 years as a member of clown alley in the blue unit. They performed and told circus family stories that we could listen to all night. Phineas spent the weekend learning the real deal about being in clown alley with the Greatest Show on Earth.  Overall a very nice relaxing weekend with good friends framed by great shows.
'till next time .....keep 'em clean

Last Minute Show booked

We just got a call from Steve Kissell who now runs the January Jamboree clown Convention in Mystic, CT. We've been attending the convention for many years when it was run by Doug and Sue of Clown City. We had decided to take a break and not go this year. And then at the last minute, we got a call that they needed a show for the Friday night spot and we were invited back! So after a few back and forth emails to set up the details we are on our way.
We will be performing some of our best stuff including material from our two off Broadway productions Circus Bicuspid-Almost on Broadway and Circus Bicuspid-Back for Seconds.
While there we will also be involved with the promotion and support of Camp Sundown's Clown Alley and Red Nose Response, two incredible organizations that do very important work.
We its off to pack the trailer and take the show on the road...

keep 'em clean
Bruce "Dr. Molar Magic" Lish

FourPaw back at work

Today Otto "fourpaw" was back to work at Brookdale's Nursing home facility making his Good Dog Foundation Visits. His first year of certification ended in November and just after he re-certified (passing with flying colors of course) Hurricane Sandy hit the area. Now that things have calmed down a bit we scheduled our regular visits. And BOY WAS HE MISSED! Many of the residents were very happy to see Otto and asked where we had been.....I gently explained that we were sidetracked with other things but now we are back.
One resident asked if she could give me a dollar to have Otto pick out a dog treat at the pet store. She told me that when her grand kids come to visit her she gives them each a dollar to get themselves a toy and since Otto comes to visit her she thinks he deserves the same deal. I thanked her respectfully but declined the offer as Otto gets plenty of treats. I gave her a treat to feed him and he was very happy to take it....all part of a day's work.
Some of the newer residents were happy to meet Otto and get his trading card and there were a few new staffers who were surprised that dogs were allowed in. I explained the wonderful training that Otto had through the Good Dog Foundation (www.thegooddogfoundation.org) to allow him into partner facilities to visit with the residents.
Everyone had a good morning....with lots of treats

keep 'm clean

Let's start the Show!

As the calendar turns the page to 2013, we get to look back and see all the great work we got to do in 2012. We had our regular yearly venues, like the Diabetes research Carnival for a Cure, the Autism Speaks walk, etc. Then we got to do new events like doing the ACS Bark for Life walk as Circus Bicuspid in Clown....you know we are doing that one again!  We are grateful for all the work we had and look forward to doing more in the year to come. We also all agreed that we want to perrform more in general..... So we brainstormed and came up with a great idea. We have started to reach out to organizations like synagogues, churches, and community groups to offer our show as a fundraiser for them. Here's how it works.
We bring the show to your venue and you sell the tickets for whatever price you'd like and however you'd like. We keep a small percentage of the price for each ticket and the rest goes to your organization.....great show, great fundraiser. Our hope is to keep this very easy for the organizations. All we need is a plug and a stage and we are ready to make any audience laugh and cheer.

The first mailings should go out by the end of the month introducing ourselves and the offer and as the shows start....we will post them and share them with the blogosphere.

Happy New Year and keep 'em clean