Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour: Creative Director Jesse Dryden

"The vastness of the ocean and the mysteries of the deep make for a theme with fathoms of possibilities..."
-Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour Creative Director, Jesse Dryden on the 2014 Big Top Tour, Anchors Away for Atlantis

Jesse Dryden conquered his fear of clowns by becoming the first Canadian Graduate of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. Due to his tiger allergy, he was forced to pursue the craft of clowning elsewhere. Through a buffet of subsequent festivals, prestigious opening events, street shows and various tours in Canada, the US and Europe, Jesse discovered his aptitude for ridiculous facts and the joy of sarcasm. He has also spent the past fifteen years with Vermont's Circus Smirkus and is currently the Creative Director of their Big Top tour. In between he took some time to perform with Cirque du Soleil and do outreach circus in Africa. He is a guest creator and instructor at the National Circus School in Montreal, as well as the primary character of Cirque Mechanic's "Birdhouse Factory". He is passionate about inspiring and teaching artists to access their own internal creativity with playfulness and emotional perspective to best impact an audience. He lives in Montreal with his wife, Alisan and their pet tortoise.