You enter the showgrounds via the midway, which is an area outside of the main entrance lined with concessionaires, rides, and in many shows a sideshow or menagerie. You buy your tickets at the ticket wagon, and get in line to enter the big top. When the doors open and you are ushered into the big top, you'll notice the performance rings in the middle of the tent, surrounded by a hippodrome track. The performance itself is conducted by a ringmaster, traditionally attired in colorful top hat and tails, who uses a whistle to signal the start of each new act. A live circus band, heavy on the brass, plays lively music, including traditional marches from John Phillip Sousa.
Most performances conclude with the circus elephants.
Circus Life Circus life is not nearly as glamorous or carefree as it may seem. Circus folk typically work 11 straight months without a day off, with the show shutting down only for a few weeks around Christmas to ready for the new year's edition. Set-up is the most grueling aspect of circus life, in which the equivalent of a small town must be erected in the span of only a few hours before the public starts arriving for the first performance. Performers are typically responsible for setting up their own rigging at the appropriate time. Typically there will be one or two performances on set-up day, two performances on weekdays, and three performances on weekends.