For a number of years now, Cirque members have not lived on-site, instead staying at a nearby hotel or apartments. The rationale, says Leclerc, is that people can re-create a feeling of home. Some people take around decorations, like screens, to build an air of home. It seems to suit most people, although drummer Fred Charest remembers fondly the past two years when the cast and crew of Alegria were based at the US casino town of Biloxi. By daylight the area surrounding the village resembles an animal carcase.
Cables trail randomly and pipes veer at odd angles.
Bobcats constantly hum as they move around the supplies necessary to keep the machine going. The village is slow to come to life on any of the four days without a matinee performance. The 17 under-age members attend their own school, the classroom provided by a large shipping container. But the rest of the cast spend their mornings as they wish, slowly drifting into the site during the afternoon to prepare for the evening show. A whiteboard in the artistic tent where they warm up sets out practice times for the tour's 57th show.