Q&A: Student magician reflects on life in the circus
Rockford junior Evan Priem (courtesy of Priem)
Retail and restaurants are the typical jobs college students are familiar with, but Rockford junior Evan Priem works in a more mysterious industry.
Priem is currently studying psychology with a behavioral focus, but he also performs magic at birthday parties, corporate events and conventions on the side. He has been performing magic professionally for about a year and a half and found his footing in magic after he joined Circus Smirkus, an international youth circus based in Vermont.
There, Priem spent his high school summers from freshman to senior year working as a clown and a juggler before gravitating towards magic. He sat down with Central Michigan Life to talk about his time in the circus and life as a part-time magician.
Those interested can visit Priem's website here.
Central Michigan Life: Why were you drawn to magic?
Priem: The community I grew up in was more conservative, and I wasn’t able to express myself as freely as I would have liked to. And so magic was always a way to be creative and have an unfiltered expression of what I come up with.
Do you ever get hecklers?
I think this is true for all of my magician friends too: every single show that involves children, kids say, ‘I know how you do it.’ It doesn’t matter if they know how you do it, they will say they know how to do it. And when that arises, you say ‘I do too! High five!’ and continue with the show.
How did you hear about Circus Smirkus, and why did you apply?
Growing up, my mom always did a good job at keeping me out of trouble by signing me up for summer camps. At a circus camp, there was this guy named Rob, Rob the Clown, and he said, "Evan, you should join the circus." And I tried to join the circus and somehow it worked.
What did circus life look like?
You pile into these vans with a bunch of other people and you go to the city and set up huge tents. You’re usually there for two days setting up the tents and then the next day, you have a show for a couple of days. You stay in the town for three to four days at a time, doing shows before you pack down the tent and go to the next place.
Any really memorable moments from your experiences?
There’s this man named Crosby. He was 4’9” from Louisiana, and he was heavily tattooed from his toes to his forehead. He talked with a heavy smoker’s accent combined with a Louisiana accent. I didn’t find out until halfway through the tour, but during the shows, he would climb to the top of the tent and stay there, look around and throw stuff into the audience like popcorn, just for fun.
Would you say you’ve met a lot of unusual characters from working in the circus?
It’s weird how in my friend group and community, I was the weird one. But then I went (in the circus), and people were like, “Evan, you need to loosen up. You’re way too normal.” And I had to work about not caring as much because I guess when you’re back home, you act a certain way, judging by the people around you. There, you act like how you want to act.
What did you do when you weren’t performing?
Besides (performing and rehearsing), you’re just hanging out with people. It’s kind of like dorm life. You go and visit people’s trailers and see what they’re up to.
Any on-the-road stories?
Usually after the show, we talk to the kids there or any parents, and then we all load up and go. The next destination was about an hour away, and about 30 minutes through, we heard something rustling in the trunk.
We open it up, and a kid tried to run away with the circus. There was child in the trunk, and he did not know his phone number or his middle name. He knew his first and last name, and that (experience) was stressful. We reunited him with his family, but his mom was not happy and his dad kind of yelled at us, even though it wasn’t our fault. He was about four. He had hidden in a juggling bag, and the crew members lifted it up and put it into the trunk. Apparently, halfway through, he got tired of being in the bag and tried to get out, and that’s when we noticed him.
Do you think you’re going to keep some connection to the circus?
There’s a good saying for circus people: they never say goodbye to each other, they say, "See you down the road." Because if you perform in the circus, you’ll always see other circus people again.
Would you say you’ve learned any valuable life lessons from the circus?
When I think of the circus, I think of a fun, chaotic time. I think that’s what most people think of, but everything is highly structured. There’s lots of rules during all rehearsals, and so I think being involved in the circus has also taught me a lot about how to structure anything that involves groups or how to structure my own practicing and planning and goal attainment.
Also, the people in there love the circus. I’ve never seen people that are more passionate about their job than in the circus because it’s a lifestyle. And because they love the circus so much, they love everyone within the circus a lot too, and every single person I’ve met there so far, they check in on you and make sure you’re doing okay. I feel like that’s something I’ve picked up on – always take care of the people you’re around.
