TRITON TROUPERS CIRCUS RETURNS TO RIVER GROVE

Clowns, acrobats, jugglers, unicyclists, stilt walkers, and more will showcase their circus skills at the 50th Annual Triton Troupers Circus March 30-April 1 at Triton College in River Grove.

Performances are 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, and 1 p.m. Saturday.

Hannah Jeselski of Bolingbrook has been director of the Triton Troupers since the fall of 2019, but this is the first show she has directed because the circus was shut down from 2020-2022 due to COVID.

Jeselski became a member of the Triton Troupers in 2011 when she was still in high school. “As a kid, I wanted to join the circus,” she said, noting that because her father worked at Triton, she attended the circus each year with her parents. As soon as she reached the eligibility age of 16, Jeselski joined the troupe.

The director said the theme of the show is “Come back home to the circus because we’ve been absent for three years.”

“I’m a second-generation Triton Trouper,” said Aaron Wimbush of Hillside. “My mother, Marijo Fiacchino, back in the day used to be a clown and became assistant director and my father Elliot Wimbush is the ringmaster.”

This will be Wimbush’s ninth year performing in the show but because of the family involvement, he said, “I’ve been here forever.”

Initially, Wimbush worked behind the scenes but now his skills include doing a teeterboard act.

“And this year I’m doing an act called perch,” he said. “It’s where you stack a 20-foot pole on top of your shoulders and have someone climb it and do tricks at the top of the pole.”

Atala Pepperdew of Chicago joined the Triton Troupers Circus last year, inspired by his trapeze teacher at the Chicago Center for Dynamic Circus. “She’s a Triton veteran and she knows how much I love doing swing trapeze,” Pepperdew said. “She suggested that I start doing Triton so I can get more training in.”

It is turning out to be a great experience for Pepperdew. “I really enjoy everybody’s willingness to teach,” he said. Pepperdew noted that he has a circus background but a lot of the members of Triton Troupers are very new to circus arts. “Even incredibly new people are very excited to share whatever knowledge they can,” he observed.

Pepperdew has previously displayed his circus skills at parties and festivals.

At the upcoming Triton Troupers Circus, Pepperdew will be exhibiting several of his circus skills, including swing trapeze and contortion.

Jeselski believes that the Triton Troupers Circus has flourished so long because of its welcoming environment for performers. “You don’t have to be extraordinarily talented to join the circus,” she explained. “You can walk in off the street and we’ll teach you whatever you want to know. It’s definitely a unique opportunity.”

Pepperdew praised the fact that the circus is “very family-based, very community-based.”

Wimbush added, “We’re all just a bunch of average Joes doing a bunch of cool stuff. You don’t need to be a superhero to do these things but you can become one.”

Triton Troupers Circus

When: March 30-April 1

Where: Collins Center Gymnasium, Triton College, 2000 Fifth Ave., River Grove

Tickets: $6 cash only at the door

Information: 708-456-0300, ext. 3383; tritontrouperscircus.com