PROFILES
Quan Fields (aka Quany the Clown) on making it as a circus performer
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► BY NICHOLE CURRIE
h e n qua n f i e l d s was 12 years old, he was set on
auditioning to perform with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The closest one he found was in New York, but he was living with his grandparents in North Philadelphia, and they didn’t feel comfortable taking him. Plus, the audition was on a school day. ¶ But Quan was determined.
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QUAN FIELDS: I was up all night Googling how to get to New York from Philadelphia. The cheapest way was to go on the 11th and Market, and go on the Chinatown buses. And it’ll connect you from Chinatown, Philadelphia, to Chinatown, New York. So that day, he went to school, wrote his name on the attendance sheet, then left. Using saved up allowance money to buy a bus ticket, he made it to New York City. While waiting to audition, Quan accidentally photobombed a picture the Ringling Brothers staff uploaded to their Facebook page — just in time for his grandfather to casually scroll through his facebook feed and see it. Grandpa was not happy. He found a number to call staff at the Ringling Brothers audition. They pulled Quan out of line. But the 12-year-old had found his life inspiration. QF: And from there on, I knew it. I couldn’t work for anybody. I found my way into the circus. I gotta get there.