Paul Binder, Founder,
Big Apple Circus
by Tom Kertes
Paul Binder’s first “circus thoughts” came
to him during his stint with the San Francisco Mime Troup in
1970. “It had an outstanding circus training program,” says
Binder, now the Director of the world-renowned Big Apple Circus. “We
studied all kinds of circus things, such as juggling, trapeze
work, and aerials.” But how does a Dartmouth, and later
Columbia Business School, graduate find himself with a mime
troup in the first place? “I was working in television,
first as a stage manager with Julia Childs and then with Mike
Douglas as a talent coordinator. I was booking the more serious
guests, such as authors, so I felt fairly satisfied with my
accomplishments in TV. It was the 1960s,” smiles Binder. “A
restless time for most of us. And I was beginning to feel that
I was ready for a lifestyle change.”
Binder’s desire to be in showbiz led him to the Mime
Troupe on the West Coast. With his friend he developed a juggling
act that became so successful; it took them all over Europe.
They were a hit on the streets of Paris, “performing
in front of the Casino de Paris, passing a hat.” Being
in the right place at the right time paid off: the street jugglers
were discovered by the Neaveau Circus de Paris, which took
Binder and his nouveauupartner on a tour throughout France.
By now Binder, despite his outstanding
business background, got completely bitten by the circus
bug. He began to feel that bringing a different type of circus
to the United States—one
that Americans never had a chance to experience before—would
be an ace business idea.
Thus an American version of the “Circus Intimes” was
born. Instead of the huge three-ring Barnum & Bailey type
presentation, this would be a circus of theatrical intimacy,
a special kind of a performance where the audience would completely
surround the artist. “We wanted to create a powerful
connection between the audience and the performer,” Binder
says. “We wanted an almost visceral response, to make
a profound impact on the audience.”
Upon his return to the U.S., the
Brooklyn-born Binder began to research circuses—and he found that his idea would
be novel, indeed. “Growing up, art was always an enormous
part of my life,” he says. “I was in every school
play both in high school and at Dartmouth. And, as a kid, my
happiest memories were of sitting around on Saturday nights
with my family and listening to my Dad playing the violin.” Creating
the Big Apple Circus would be a way of staying in the arts
and, at the same time, making people feel good.
“The circus is a unique life-style; it’s like
living in a close-knit, international community,” says
Binder. “My wife, Katja Schumann, is from a fifth-generation
circus family.” Kids Max and Katherine work with horses
and perform a variety of other functions around the Big Apple
Circus. “I’ve never pushed them—it is a life
that is very different,” says Binder. “But Max
chose to work with the circus. And Katherine, who will be at
Barnard College in the fall, is talking of coming back.”
Viva la difference! The Big Apple
Circus, an enormous success, has been around for 25 years
now. “Each show is built
around a specific theme,” says Binder. “This year,
it’s a tribute to New York around the turn of the century.” Other
recent themes have been the Wild West, Big Top Doo-Wop, and
Jazz-Matazz.
The tent, which could seat 850 people
at the beginning, now seats 1620 in New York and 1750 on
the road. The 50-foot ring is “the perfect size to still make intimate contact with
the audience,” Binder says. “Circus is the original
theater—and I feel that we were a major force in reviving
the art form in the U.S. Now we are on our second generation
of guests.” Each year, a half million “children
of all ages” attend. “We live a very intense life,” says
Binder. “There’s a tremendous amount of training
involved. And yes, you can apprentice with us. But we have
no training-school per se.”
The Big Apple Circus also performs
the famous “Circus
of the Senses” (for children who are visually and hearing
impaired), and sponsors a Clown Care Unit in pediatric hospitals
around the nation.#
For information, or to make a contribution, call Tom Exton
at 212-268-2500.
