Where did Coaches Nick and Wendy disappear to and what are they doing? Here is their story in their own words…

Living on the road with the Zoppe Circus, and being part of a tented touring circus is a grand adventure! We see so many small towns, big cities, and all the land in between. We get to meet local residents from all around the United States and circus performers from all over the world. Our show takes place in our “home”, a beautiful four-pole circus tent. The show is an intimate one-ring family show with a sawdust ring. Our family consists of a duo trapeze act from California, a family teeterboard troupe from Spain, a dog act from Germany, a highwire walker, horse riders, and, of course, a clown. The Zoppes have been performing in circuses for over 170 years and 6 generations.

We live in a small motorhome. Our small home carries everything we need to live and perform comfortably while traveling across the United States. The hardest part of living in a motorhome is being able to cook home-made meals and store our food, but we are learning as we go.

We are in charge of the concession stand for this season. It is our way of earning extra money while on tour (also called “cherry pie” in circus lingo). We make and sell popcorn, cotton candy, lemonade, and bottled water. In a typical weekend, we will pop at least 50 pounds of popcorn, spin at least 450 sticks of cotton candy, and mix at least 30 gallons of lemonade!

Most of our weekends are filled with performances. On show days we usually wake up at 8:00 a.m. to start our preparations. First, we get ourselves ready: get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush our teeth and warm up our bodies for the day’s performances. Then we get the trailer ready: make the bed (it converts into our couch), wash the dishes, fill our water jug, sweep the floor. Then we get the concession stand ready: fill the lemonade containers, pop popcorn, get ice for the water, make the cotton candy, clean the counters and make it look inviting. Then we get show ready: Wendy always start with her hair and make-up. Nick makes sure the unicycle is in good working order, and the stage is set and level. Then we get dressed into our costumes for the opening numbers, and lay out our performance costumes so we can change quickly before our act. All of the performers gather in front of the tent thirty minutes before each show for the pre-show entertainment. During the pre-show, all of the performers get introduced to the audience gathered in front of the tent. We do tricks, play music, and interact with the audience before welcoming them into our home.

Once the show gets started, we spend the next two hours running back and forth between the ring and the concession stand. We have our first rush at the concession stand as the audience files into the tent and takes their seats in the bleachers. We then run into the ring for the opening group number. After that we rush back to the concession stand to restock everything before intermission. We then run around the tent to change costumes and perform our act. After that, Nick performs in a group juggling act while Wendy finishes prepping the concession stand for the intermission rush. Intermission happens, we close down our concession stand, and run back into the ring to help with the horse act and the group finale. After the show, all of the performers gather outside the tent to shake hands, give high fives, take pictures, and say goodbye to the audience. Once the audience leaves, we reset all of our props, and prepare to do it all again the next show. It’s a flurry of activity, and it always goes by so fast!

Our favorite part of being circus performers is listening to the audience react to our routines. Whether it’s cheers for a trick well done, or gasps for the close calls, it is so neat to have the audience in a circle all around us. They are so close, and we cannot hide anything. There are no fancy lights, or moving props or even a stage to put distance between us. It’s just Us in the center of the ring with the audience watching and cheering all around us. We come alive with total clarity, and feel the connection we have made with the audience…

A typical weekend will start with one show on Thursday evening. Fridays usually have one show in the evening, but sometimes we have an additional kids’ matinee or press event on Friday afternoons. Saturdays usually have three shows (at 1:00, 4:00, and 7:00). Sundays normally have either two or three shows. We start to tear down the tent immediately after the last show on Sunday. Actually, the crew starts to tear down and pack the trucks before the last show is even complete! We usually try to get the tent down and loaded onto the truck before we go to sleep Sunday night. Sometimes we leave some work to be done on Monday morning.

We will usually wake up early Monday morning, and start our drive to our next location. We travel in several small caravans. Our caravan usually consists of three vehicles: Nick drives a box truck filled with everything that goes inside the tent, and tows the living quarters for the crew. He is usually the navigator. Next comes Dennis driving the semi and flatbed trailer that carries the tent. After that is Wendy. She drives our home. We take either one or two days to jump to our next location, depending on how far we have to drive.

We arrive at the new lot on either Monday or Tuesday night. A few members of the crew measure and mark out the lot, putting a mark on the ground for every stake, tent pole, and other important landmarks for putting up the tent. We park all of the vehicles and trailers, and go to sleep.

We typically take two days to get the tent set up. We have a very small crew, and everybody in the show participates in getting the tent set up and ready for the performances. It involves a lot of pounding stakes, lacing canvas, raising tent poles, and many other things to get our home ready for each town, but it is a lot of fun raising our beautiful tent in some really beautiful places.

Our life on the is a lot of hard work, but it is very rewarding. It is an amazing experience being able to tour across this country with a tented circus show. We miss all of our SANCA family and friends in Seattle, but we are having a wonderful adventure with the Zoppe Circus!

SANCA has a new administrative manager; she may be new to her job and new to you but she’s no stranger to SANCA. Our sharply dressed captain of the office team did her first handstand spotted by Chuck and Jo in 2004. She started off as a student but by 2005 she had volunteered to help Tara whip our school into shape. She took home a mountain of paper waivers to input into our first computer database system.

With circus still in her heart Jenna shifted gears personally to focus on professional development. She headed off into the world to make it a better place through non-profit management. She spent 5 years working with The Center for Early Learning, helping to find funding and support for headstart and many other programs for pre-school age children throughout the State of WA. Because she can’t resist us Jenna was back again in 2011 as a Development Volunteer working with Jeff Deveaux. She worked on both SANCAthon and Up, with a Twist, helping us to make the money that keeps the lights on and the magic happening.

Working at SANCA brings together all her loves: non-profit management, creating educational opportunities for all children and circus. When I asked her how her new job was going she said ” I’m overjoyed. The work is challenging, the people are magical and the mission is inspiring. ”

In case you didn’t already know:
Mission: SANCA is dedicated to improving the mental and physical health of children of all ages and abilities by engaging them in the joyous creativity of acrobatics and circus arts. SANCA provides quality instruction in unique physical arts in a safe, supportive, nurturing environment that provides both challenge and reward to the student.

SANCA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to serving students from all economic backgrounds by providing tuition scholarships. Your tax-deductible donation supports SANCA’s Youth Scholarship fund and ongoing programs, so children of all ages may continue building success one step at a time!

Have you ever asked yourself, “Who are those people in the tent?! Where did they come from? How did they learn to fly and can they teach me?”

Meet Paul and Katie,
the powerhouse circus couple that run our amazing program for FLYING TRAPEZE!!!!!

Paul grew up in Davenport, Iowa. He has an athletic background but was never exposed to circus arts until he was in his early 30’s. He tried flying trapeze at Club Med in 1998 and was unexpectedly hooked. He went on to train as a catcher at the Club Med in the Dominican Republic. 

Katie was born in San Francisco and raised in L.A. As a child she was a participant in the circus program at a Club Med. Even though she wasn’t especially athletic her coach made her feel like a superhero. She never forgot how good that made her feel.
People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel.
~Maya Angelo

Paul and Katie met in 2007 at the Club Med Sandpiper Resort (about 45 min North of West Palm Beach). Katie started in child care then transferred to the circus program. Paul was the person that did most of Katie‘s early training. Romance blossomed in 2008 and they have been traveling the world flying together ever since. They have flown over 30 rigs worldwide, including a year-long stint on the Caribbean Islands of Turks and Caicos. Seattle is the last stop in this great journey—Paul and Katie have a signed a lease and they are here to stay.
Here is their master plan for the SANCA Flying Trapeze Program:
~ Make the fly tent warm and welcoming
~ Provide classes that make people excited and successful
~ Inspire students to continue



“I have an easy job. I share something I love and I want to spread that around. Every person walks away doing something they didn’t know they could do. It’s magical.” –Paul

If you are reading this and you’ve never done flying trapeze…why not? Every Friday from 5:30-7:30 the SANCA School of Flight has Pay-Per-Flight Fridays, a chance to get a taste of the flying trapeze without any commitment.