Circus Smirkus Homestay Handbook Rev

Page 1 2018 Homestay Handbook Contents Circus Smirkus Staff page 2 Local Homestay Coordinator Contact Information 2 Circus Smirkus: Mission Statement, History & Programs 3-4 What is a Homestay? 4 Guidelines ____________________________________ 4-5 Flexibility 7 Homestay Screening Process 8 In Conclusion 8 Circus Smirkus Contact Information Physical & Mailing Address: Circus Smirkus 1 Circus Road Greensboro, VT 05841 Telephone: 802-533-7443 Fax: 802-533-2480 E-mail: [email protected] URL: www.smirkus.org Circus Smirkus Homestay Handbook rev. 03/2/18 Page 2 Introduction This Homestay Handbook will provide you with the basic information you may want to know to determine if you can fulfill the needs required to be a Homestay provider and to serve as a reference should you become a Homestay provider. Circus Smirkus Staff Your Local Homestay Coordinator and/or the Circus Smirkus Homestay Coordinator will be your main contact(s) when discussing the option of being a Circus Smirkus homestay provider. These individuals will provide you with information and updates as your homestay application is processed. Our Trouper Head Counselor oversees all the areas involving troupers and acts as the primary Smirkus-staff contact person for Homestay Hosts and works with two additional trouper counselors once the circus is actually on tour. The counseling staff assists the trouper head counselor and may also have interactions with Homestay Hosts, especially when picking up and dropping off the Troupers. It is very important at the initial pick-up that you meet the counselors. The Trouper Head Counselor will be available to discuss any questions or non-urgent issues during pick up and drop off times at the show site. When Homestay Hosts pick-up their assigned Troupers, they will be provided with a list of information and instructions for contacting the Smirkus tour staff in case of an emergency. Homestays will be provided with 24-hour contact information for the trouper head counselor. (Troupers will have this information as well.) Smirkus Homestay Coordinator: Dani Kehlmann [email protected] Trouper Head Counselor: Casey Venturelli [email protected] Local Homestay Coordinator Contact Information ® - Returning Presenter Location Presenter Homestay Coordinator Greensboro, VT The Circus Barn Dani Kehlmann – [email protected] Waitsfield, VT Waitsfield Children’s Center® Kelly Schavone – [email protected] Essex Junction, VT Champlain Valley Expo Center ® Lisa Lopes – [email protected] Saratoga Springs, NY Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs® Fran Dingeman – [email protected] Manchester, VT Town of Manchester Meg Benasich– [email protected] Keene, NH Monadnock Waldorf School ® Kristin Froling - [email protected] St. Johnsbury, VT Catamount Arts ® Sarah Amos – [email protected] Hanover, NH The Circus Barn Dani Kehlmann – [email protected] Marshfield, MA Marshfield Education Foundation® Beth Winn – [email protected] Waltham, MA The Circus Barn Dani Kehlmann – [email protected] Northampton, MA North Star ® Sue Surner – [email protected] Newbury, MA Theater in the Open ® Sierra Gitlin – [email protected] Freeport, ME Maine Coast Waldorf School ® Mary Martin – [email protected] Kennebunkport, ME Kport Consolidated School ® Bill Dries – [email protected] Wolfeboro, NH All Saints Church Sarah Day – [email protected] Montpelier, VT The Circus Barn Dani Kehlmann – [email protected] Circus Smirkus Homestay Handbook rev. 03/2/18 Page 3 Don’t hesitate to get in touch with your site’s homestay coordinator with any questions about your role as a homestay family for Circus Smirkus. Circus Smirkus Mission Statement The mission of Circus Smirkus is to promote the skills, culture, and traditions of the traveling circus and to inspire youth to engage in life enhancing adventures in the circus arts. History Circus Smirkus is the brainchild of our Founding Director, Rob Mermin, who in his youth ran off to Europe to apprentice himself in circus life. Rob spent more than a decade performing as a clown and mime and went on to teach mime, movement, and circus skills for many years in schools and colleges in the US and abroad. He founded Circus Smirkus in Vermont to give kids the chance to run away to their own circus and experience a “living adventure” of their own. Smirkus Troupers (performers) range in age from 11 to18. The blending of ages and generations makes the company a real circus family, with older Troupers acting as mentors to the younger kids. Troupers are selected through an audition process that begins in November. Many of them begin training in our circus camp or in similar circus programs, and then audition for the tour after they've developed solid skills. The Smirkus troupe includes performers and coaches from around the world. Our guest foreign performers come from international circus schools through contacts within the circus communities in Europe, Russia, New Zealand and England. Since our founding, we have had Troupers and coaches come to us from Canada, China, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kazahkstan, Latvia, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Thailand and Ukraine, not to mention ten Native American nations and 20 U.S. states. At the International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap Performing Arts Park in September, 2000, Smirkus was introduced as "the United Nations of the Youth Circus World." Circus Smirkus can provide a stepladder to the professional circus world. Over twenty Smirkus Troupers have gone on to work as wire artists, clowns, aerialists, coaches, or crew members for Ringling Bros., Cirque du Soleil, the Big Apple Circus, Chicago's Midnight Circus, and Circus Smirkus itself, as well as many circuses in Europe and Japan. In addition, many of Smirkus’ Troupers have gone on to succeed in countless other fields. For more information about Smirkus’ history, programs, and related circus links, please check out our website at www.smirkus.org. Circus Smirkus Homestay Handbook rev. 03/2/18 Page 4 What is a Homestay? Homestay: noun, -family, -host. 1. A family or person with whom Smirkus Troupers stay as guests during their stay in a town. 2. A safe and welcoming home for Troupers during their time away from the show site. While on tour, the Circus Smirkus Troupers stay with families in the communities where the Big Top Tour performs. A minimum of two Troupers are assigned to each Homestay and spend two, three, or four nights with their host families depending on the length of the Tour’s stay in town. The job of a Homestay Host is to: → Provide nourishing meals and snacks as needed. → Provide a quiet location for rest and sleep, as well as an atmosphere where Troupers can comfortably relax and wind down after being “on” all day. → Ensure that Troupers are transported to and from the show site in a safe and timely manner. The Smirkus Homestay Program does more than provide Troupers with a comfortable place to sleep: at the end of a stay, the homestay experience adds a unique and personal experience for both the Troupers and the participating host families. Guidelines Meals and Food When on site during mealtimes, troupers are served from our pie car at the show site (usually two meals a day). Before arriving on site in the morning, homestays are expected to provide their troupers with breakfast, and due to the nature of their activities, most troupers will need a “second dinner” when they arrive at your home after performing all day (after all, most are growing teenagers). As a homestay host, you will be provided with information about your visiting troupers’ food likes and dislikes, as well as any allergies. Please be sure to talk to your troupers about what they need at the end of the day to recharge their batteries! Transportation As a homestay you must ensure troupers arrive on site for call times and picked up shortly after the last performance. On show days, troupers normally need to be dropped off at the site three hours before the first performance. On days that troupers are scheduled for set-up, drop off times may be earlier. Pick-up time is shortly after the last show of the day, with a later pick-up time the final night after tear-down. Drivers must be at least 21 years of age and cleared with Smirkus staff if they are not listed on your family’s application. Carpools are acceptable with other homestays so long as the Circus Smirkus Homestay Handbook rev. 03/2/18 Page 5 troupers and trouper head counselor are made aware of arrangements. Troupers should be picked up at the entrance to the Big Top, in the area between the concessions tents. Below is a general outline of what a transportation schedule might look like. The exact schedule depends on the show times for each venue. The Smirkus Head Counselor will provide an anticipated transportation schedule, in writing, for the troupers prior to their arrival. Any changes will be communicated when the tour arrives on site. Example Transportation Schedule Drop-off Time Pick-Up Time Monday – Saturday, with shows at 2pm & 7pm 11:00 am 9:30 pm Sunday, with shows at 11am & 4pm 8:00 am 6:30 pm Trouper Assignments & Bios Trouper assignments (and bios) as well as pick up/drop off schedule will be sent to homestays no later than 2 weeks before Smirkus arrive on site. Buddy System We require no less than two troupers per household to provide them with a buddy for any circumstance that may arise. Because of this, we require that homestay hosts are not home alone with one trouper or drive in a car with only one trouper. Evening Activities Troupers can decide, based on how they feel if they would like to stay up in the evening after arriving at their Homestay.

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