Columbia Clown Finds Clever Way To Entertain During Coronavirus

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Clowning around isn't a hobby but rather a way of life for a Columbia man who has been sharing his mood-lifting talent in innovative ways during the coronavirus pandemic.

Greg May performed as a clown with Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey circus in 1991, 1994 and 1995. May told Patch that as a clown, he parodied other acts, so he had to learn an abundance of tricks and skills.

May and his wife performed in the circus together; she was a dancer and an elephant rider. He also owned Center Ring Circus School based in Columbia, where he passed along years of knowledge in clowning to kids and adults.

Now he performs live for others as Circus Greg and spends most of his time working within a two-hour radius of his home base, although he has traveled to entertain in places such as Vermont, Rhode Island, New York and even overseas.

But when the new coronavirus spread into Maryland, May's business, Gregory May Circus Arts, suddenly found itself without gigs. Still, there was no way he was going to sit idly by and do nothing.

"For the first week, I was just hanging out at home feeling very unhelpful. I finally decided I could at least do a show on my cul-de-sac for the neighbors’ kids who would watch from their own driveways or their cars if they drove down from up the street," May told Patch. "It seemed very well-received. Everyone was happy to have something silly to break up their day while still learning a little science."

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Before the stay-at-home order took effect, May entertained the community from a safe distance and abided by proximity guidelines, doing 10 shows in six days. However, he had 16 shows booked in an eight-day span when the order was implemented.

But he wasn't about to give up. He decided to offer a virtual option to be entertained from the comfort of their homes.

"I couldn’t stand having to just cancel everyone, so I wanted to offer them some sort of other option," May told Patch. "About half of the shows I originally booked have decided to do the Zoom version; but once I am done with rebooking these people, I will reach out to the many emails I received from people around the country. I had to tell all of them that I couldn’t drive that far. I got some emails from as far as Colorado. But now I have an option for them, too."

As people learn to adapt to the changes being implemented around them, businesses are trying to do so as well.

"In the 24 hours after that first show for my own neighbors, I completely transformed my business into the cul-de-sac circus," May said. "That lasted for six days, and now I am transforming it again to a completely online business. If things shift again, I will adapt again. Circus people are good at that. And, though I have no idea when this whole thing will be over, I do know that today, we are one day closer to that ending. One day closer. Day by day."

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