Ted Lawrence

Ted Lawrence graduated from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1986 and toured with the “Red Unit” in 1987 and 1988. He was honored to be invited back to Clown College as a coach in 1994 and has continued to offer circus coaching to kids and adults during the last three decades through his Van Lodostov Family Circus. Folks in southern Vermont may have seen Lawrence riding his unicycle on the VAST trails and dirt roads round about South Wardsboro and Dover.

Using his steamer trunk as a backdrop (the actual trunk he used when he was with the circus), Lawrence will share stories about living with circus animals, circus acrobats, circus showgirls, circus people from all over the world, and circus clowns. In the 1980’s the “Greatest Show on Earth” had two and sometimes three units touring the world. The unit Lawrence toured with hosted Gunther Gebel-Williams, 125 additional performers, 125 additional backstage workers (animal crew, ring crew, prop crew, wardrobe, train crew, concessions…), over 100 animals, and a train over a mile long. They performed a three-ring circus in buildings all over the US, staying in only a few cities for more than one week.

The mid-80’s marked the zenith of the Ringling Clown College as well as the beginning of the demise of the Greatest Show on Earth. Lawrence’s position in and, later, apart from the show allowed him a perspective on how it went from an American institution and the second most-recognized brand in the country to its extinction in 2017. “There were only about 1000 clown college graduates, and there won’t ever be any more. I’m part of a dying breed,” Lawrence laments. “But we sure had some great adventures back in the day!”

This program will be a “historical lecture” without any of the fanfare and spectacle of the real circus, although audience members will be treated to seeing an authentic “Ringling Style” clown makeup and musings from an authentic “Ringling Style” clown on what it means to be a clown, and what it really means to be “in a circus”.

For those of a certain age, this promises to be a nostalgic event as you reminisce about attending a circus performance from a bygone iconic American institution.