Venardos Circus — the Broadway-meets-The Big Top production — will make its Louisiana debut with a two-week run in downtown Shreveport.

Venardos Circus is slated for shows from March 4 to March 15 at Riverview Park, located at 601 Clyde Fant Parkway. The performance nights will be from Wednesdays through Sundays. The circus will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Ringmaster and circus founder Kevin Venardos,said the show is geared toward all ages. The fine-tuned theatrical show goes above and beyond entertaining audiences to make lasting impressions and convey life lessons.

“Things don’t come true until you really put in action what you feel in your heart,” Venardos said. “That’s a big part of the takeaway from people’s experience of this small but mighty circus.”

Venardos, a former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey ringmaster, launched his namesake circus five years ago. It has quickly become known for its magical atmosphere, production and high-caliber circus performers.

Admission begins at $15 for children and $25 for adults with VIP seating options available. Tickets may be purchased online at venardoscircus.com.

Showtime is from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., which is followed by on-stage cast photo ops.

However, ticket holders are encouraged to come early for the pre-show entertainment from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., an hour before the main show begins.

The preshow is first-come, first-served in the general admission seating area — so arriving early may mean nabbing a premier spot at the front. The preshow features displays of juggling, balancing acts, magic and a flea circus dubbed as “the greatest show you’ve never seen.”

The main stage production is packed with more amazing feats and visual treats. The evening includes aerialists, acrobats, juggling, balancing, comedy, daredevilry, magic, musical production, and more.

Venardos Circus is an animal-free circus, but there is a myriad of human performers ready to showcase their talents and skills.

Center ring

Venardos will be in town briefly to assist with the set-up of the circus, but he will not be the ringmaster for the Shreveport shows. Venardos will be home with his part who is expected to deliver the couple’s first child.

However, Venardos will leave the Shreveport shows in the very capable hands of his friend and industry peer, Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson.

Venardos and Iverson both broke into the Ringmaster and circus world through Ringling Bros., which is where they met.

Iverson was Ringling Bros.’s first African American ringmaster and the last one serving for the company before it folded in 2017. Iverson held the role for 18 years.

On a couple of occasions, Iverson has taken lead for Venardos Circus. Performing in a smaller arena with Venardos Circus offers a certain level of intimacy with the audience.

“It brings communities together that probably otherwise wouldn’t come together quite often,” Iverson said. “It’s a wonderful fellowship of wonder.”

Under the big top

As this will be the first time coming to Shreveport, audiences may be unfamiliar with how it will all go down.

Venardos Circus isn’t a conventional circus. It brings the nostalgia of the old-fashioned American Circus together with modern-day production value and Broadway flair—a nod to Venardos’ musical theater origins.

The show takes place under a 300-seat classic red-and-white tent where viewers are transported to a different time and world where any and everything is possible, he said.

“Wanderlust” is the theme, which is reflected in the show’s storyline, original songs and live awe-inspiring performances.

“We invite them to this world of very real fantasy,” said Iverson, who is also a professional opera singer. “There’s no CGI, no stunt doubles, no second takes.”

“Wanderlust” theorizes that everyone has a deep-down need for adventure, Venardos said. The performers represent those who choose to follow that yearning.

The audience will watch from inside the spacious, waterproof tent — shows go on rain or shine — in an intimate setting. Seating is about 25-to-30-feet from the stage — bringing viewers closer to the action.

“I believe the audience really, truly believes they’re a part of it and they have some stake in it opposed to the big, glorious shows of the past where there was distance,” Iverson said. “Everything looked so otherworldly and you felt like your transported. Here, we transport you but we’re there with you and you feel a part of the entire setting.”

Breaking into the biz

Venardos affectionately penned his company as “The Little Circus that Could.”

In 2014, Venardos Circus debuted as an act at the L.A. County Fair in California.

The Venardos Circus started out in debt, but the entrepreneur and his team had a lot of passion and didn’t let go, he said.

“We’ve turned what was five years ago a tiny, outdoor fair attraction into a 45-week nationally touring ticketed show,” Venardos said. “That has taken a lot of people and a lot of hard work to make that happen.”

Many years ago, Venardos wouldn’t have guessed he’d be ringmaster, let along running his own circus operation.

Venardos grew up in New Jersey and developed a love for musical theater through attending Broadway productions in New York. He studied musical theater at Ithaca College and spent the two years post-graduation auditioning for roles, hoping to one day be a Broadway star.

One day, he attended an open call audition for ringmaster at Ringling Bros.

“That totally changed the course of life,” Venardos said. “It was an amazing adventure traveling all across the country on a train. It led to all kinds of other amazing experiences and shows.”

Once that ride ended, he devised a way to remain in the spotlight as a ringmaster. He would start his own circus company.

“I wanted to have some sort of control over my future,” Venardos said.

Opening his own show allowed him to be in control of everything from artistic direction to business operations. He was able to be his own boss and hire his friends and other talented circus performers in a day when few circuses and work opportunities existed.

“The greatest joy I take from this entire endeavor is that I’m creating jobs for my friends and other people in the circus and their families. Also, that I’m bringing communities together under a little tent,” Venardos said.

Venardos Circus has a 15-person cast, making it an all-hands-on-deck work module. The performers are the same people taking tickets, ushering the audience to their seats, and selling merchandise at the souvenir booth, Venardos said.

“A group of 15 people make this entire operation happen from loading the show in to every aspect front-of-house to backstage and on the stage and loading the show out again,” Venardos said. “We make that together and I think that’s a really powerful message that we share not just with words. We give them a living example of what happens and what is possible when a small group of committed people decides to work together to make something happen.”

Breaking boundaries

The circus world creates a place of “enchantment” where all are accepted, and woes of the world are left at the door.

Venardos is an advocate for diversity and values what each member brings to the circus, he said.

“If you look at the cast, they’re from all over the world and we speak all kinds of different languages,” he said. “I’m proud to share a message of diversity wherever we go and it’s, in fact, the only way that we make the circus happen because of all of these different people…and that’s the way you make dreams come true — by working together with all of those talents.”

A circus is a place where athleticism meets performing arts to present a show that crosses all cultural boundaries, Iverson said.

The fact that Iverson is an African American playing the role of ringmaster remains significant as it challenges the antiquated perspectives of what a ringmaster should look like, he said.

“People see the ringmaster as the one in charge. He is in an authoritative position… Those are narratives that aren’t attached to black people, especially black men. It’s very important just on that alone,” Iverson said. “It does matter, not just for black people to see it but for everybody to see it. It forces audiences to see our humanity past what’s filtered to them constantly… now you’re escaping those worlds of ‘others.’ It’s hard to come to a circus and maintain any prejudices you may have of black people or immigrants or women or any supposed ‘other’ while you’re cheering for them (and) sitting there being amazed by the work that they do.”

Living the circus life

Venardos Circus’ highly trained and experienced team creates illusions for the audience, but the work to do it is quite real. As a member of a traveling circus, performers spend weeks at a time living in different cities and towns across the country. The hours are long, the work can take a physical toll, and the conditions aren’t always ideal, Venardos said.

“Living and working with a group of people, you’ve all got to face the challenges of the road together to deliver the show,” Venardos said. “You’ve got to do it again and again…and it’s really hot and sweaty and sticky and cold sometimes. But the intensity of that unique work of the circus you’re doing together creates a bond between the people who do it together, unlike anything I know.”

The prize is often simply recognizing the impact one show can make upon a person in the audience. He’s proud to take the show to small towns to inspire, he said.

“For many people across the country it’s their first and last time seeing live theater. It’s something that I’m proud to be bringing to many places,” Venardos said.

Iverson can attest to the demanding yet rewarding life as a performer.

“It’s a lot of hard work. It’s very grueling. The schedule is just exhausting—but in a wonderful way because you’re a peddler for joy,” Iverson said. “There’s no audience that’s more deeply diverse than a circus audience. Everybody likes seeing miracles so to be a facilitator for that, to be in the middle, is a wonderful thing. To be the voice of that is awesome.”

The Venardos Circus’ adventure in Shreveport will end on March 15 and the traveling troupe will continue its U.S. tour. Where the road will eventually lead them is a mystery. Venardos’ goal is to keep evolving and growing as a company and connecting with audiences in the largest cities to the smallest towns.

“I don’t necessarily equate growing with changing the size of this tent,” he said. “I love the small, intimate feeling and I think that’s what people love about us. However, I want to continue to reach more people and find more inventive, innovative ways to reach people online and in communities to inspire people to do more.”

IF YOU GO

Venardos Circus

7-8:30 p.m. March 4 to March 15, Wednesdays through Sundays (Closed Mondays-Tuesdays)

Riverview Park, 601 Clyde Fant Parkway.

Admission begins at $15 for children and $25 for adults with VIP seating options available. Tickets may be purchased online at venardoscircus.com.