___Name: Philip Wm. McKinley
___Title: Director
___Time in Circus: 9 years

___Sitting high above in the seats, overlooking all the acts and animals, sits Director Philip Wm. McKinley, working non-stop as the rest of the participants rehearse for the upcoming season.

__ He considers his job the most "amazing and fun-filled" job a director can have.

__ "You're part of an amazing tradition, something that has existed for 135 years, a year older than baseball," he says about directing the Greatest Show on Earth. "To be a part of an event that has lasted through time so long is just very rewarding, very gratifying.

___Catching a glimpse at his work station, one can see piles of papers and a laptop, displaying the show's latest additions, rewrites and directions. As deep-rooted in tradition as a circus is, you can always expect completely new acts and new concepts. This season, expect a more personal view of what it takes to put a show together.

___"This show delivers an incredible amount of an inside look," Mr. McKinley explained. "The audience is going to have the opportunity to ask questions to the performers while they're performing. So you get a very inside view and a very personal view of the circus than has ever happened before."

___Why come see the show?

___Mr. McKinley: "Energy. Boy, this show is about the energy. You won't need to take your energy drink or energy bar to come to this show -- we'll provide all the energy and power the audience will need."

To learn more about the circus coming soon to Tampa, click here!

___Name: Tim Holst
___Title: VP of Talent and Production
___Time in Circus: 34 years

___Who better to scout talent for the circus than a former clown and ringmaster?

___ One can imagine the resourcefulness and patience required to seek out talent from across the globe; to find the "best of the best" and give them a chance to travel with the Greatest Show on Earth. 34 years strong in the business, Tim Holst seems not only perfect for his job, but in love with it.

___"What I bring to the cake is some of the basic ingredients: lions and tigers and elephants and acrobats and jugglers and clowns," he explained. "My job is to travel around the world, along with the Associate Producer, to continue to bring new talent to the American audience --and in particular the first time to the Tampa Bay area. So I have the best job in the world."

___Mr. Holst was fond to remember his days starting out as a clown, and then as ringmaster.

___"That was a dream job..." he recalled. "I got to act like I owned the whole circus and kids would come up an ask 'are you Mr. Barnum or Mr. Bailey?' and I said 'Yes I am!'"

___Why come see the show?

___Mr. Holst: "This show will crisscross the country and perform for audiences that will well exceed 11 million people in 90 different cities. It's a lot of fun."

To learn more about the circus coming soon to Tampa, click here!

___Name: David Killinger
___Title: Musical Director
___Time in Circus: 15 years

___After 15 years and 7,500 shows, David Killinger shows no loss of enthusiasm for his role in the circus production. He works with the producer and director to formulate the musical score and direct the musicians. One must not take for granted that a show, with all its visual glory, is nothing without the driving music behind it.

___ As busy and complicated as it is to score and direct a show's live music, Mr. Killinger is eager to point how much he enjoys his role.

___"It's a fabulous job," he explained. "A labor of love, so to speak, whenever you can go to work everyday knowing that what you produce directly effects millions of people across the country each day. In other words, they come to our show and they smile and that's a great feeling."

___Live music is slowly become a rarity these days. In many cases musical productions, casinos, cruise ships and other venues that have once had a historic bond with real musicians are now downsizing or eliminating their orchestras. Not true here.

___"Our producer has a very strong commitment to live entertainment --we are the world's largest producer of live entertainment-- and live music is a large part of that," he then smiled proudly. "It really helps drive the show."

___Why come see the show?

___Mr. Killinger: "It truly is the Greatest Show on Earth. It's one-of-a-kind in the world, all the way from the number of people, to the costumes, to the animals. Every person in the show is the best at what they do. It's really unbelievable."

To learn more about the circus coming soon to Tampa, click here!

___Name: Kelly the Clown
___Title: Boss Clown
___Time in Circus: 5 years

___Kelly is one of those lucky people who do for a living what they are in life. He'll trip, tumble, twist your words, and joke endlessly for one purpose: to make you laugh. He is a man who will take anything in earshot and turn it into a comedic routine, a trait not just suited for any clown, but the boss clown.

___ What is a boss clown?

___"I am the head goof-ball in charge of all the goof-balls in the show. I'm pretty much the management in Clownville." That is as straightforward an answer as you'll get from a man with a red ball for a nose. If you ask him how he keeps the other clowns "in line", he'll tell you. "Pizza. That's right! I give them pizzas."

___He was, however, very eager offer details about the "All-Access Preshow", where audience members can arrive an hour early to meet and see "the Chinese out there demonstrating acrobatic moves... we have the trapeze artists, acrobats, hand-stand artists, clowns, and we have a painting pachyderm. Asia the Painting Pachyderm. One lucky audience member gets to have one [painting]."

___Kelly speaks quickly with a smile, and moves about as naturally in his over-sized shoes as did Charlie Chaplin. A former comedian, he admitted to being a clown pretty much his whole life --just not always with make-up. You can catch him and his whole clown company starting January 5th in Tampa (details).

___Why come see the show?

___Kelly: "We bring acts from all over the world. We bring the best of the best, so what you're seeing is the Greatest Show on Earth!"

To learn more about the circus coming soon to Tampa, click here!