Blog du Wren

Skagit County Fair 2021

Ten years ago, I was not a performer. Anyone that knew me knew not only was I not a performer, but I was emphatically not a performer. Then I met Della. Then I learned to perform and really grew to enjoy it. Then came the Wren and Della brand and performing became my livelihood. Then it was all taken away and I was faced with the daunting decision of rebuilding a performance life or not. This question was tested recently at my stint at the Skagit County Fair.

I've done a few little gigs earlier this year: a in Leavenworth, a in Kendall, a in Bellingham, and the In show at the Bellingham Circus Guild. But the Skagit County Fair was different. For one, it was a gig that Della and I have done for years together. The people there know us as, well, us. For another, the booking required me to cover 7 30-minute stage shows, something I've never done without Della. Thirty minutes is a long time. And me and Della's show evolved over years to become what it was. The Skagit County Fair was the first real test of the daunting decision of whether I was going to embark on the path of rebuilding a performance career.

The verdict: hard but good. It was hard because memories were everywhere, I didn't have my partner to help make the work less worky, and I had to share the news about Della to so many people who hadn't heard yet still keep an entertaining facade. It was good because everyone was so super supportive—from the fair staff and volunteer to the other performers that Della and I have performed many times with to the booth vendors who saw our roving enough times to learn our tells to the fairgoers who came to my show just so I would know I could do it. The stage shows were hard; I lost about 2 gallons of sweat running around in the sun with the stress of "is this good enough?"* The roving was good; I posed for , wowed people with my , and even got quoted by the .

Getting back on the horse seems like an apt analogy to my time at the Skagit County Fair this year. It was scary and daunting, but I did it. I'm a different guy than I was 10 years ago and maybe one of those differences is that I am a performer now. For four days at the Skagit County Fair I was, at least. As for the future, only time will tell.

Sunday August 22 2021

File under: circus, Della

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on Wed 22nd Sep, 2021 05:54 pm EDT Robyn Albro said:
Wren, so glad you got back on the horse! Wish I had been cognizant enough of the world to know you were performing here. I would have come to support you!
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