There is also quite a bit of audience interaction, although this is primarily the result of the intimacy of the BAC big top rather than a reliance on audience participation to fill gaps in the show. At several points throughout the evening the ring crew dashes around the audience frantically raising levers and pulling ropes to get the next act started—no machinery is used in the performances. Performers will also often play up to the children in ringside seats, and Act II begins with a cute exchange between Orville the Clown and a child selected from the audience.
Above all, the BAC is a child-friendly event. While little kids may not be the most discriminating fans, if the Big Apple Circus could manage to win over this skeptic who, incidentally, has a slight fear of clowns, then it must be doing something very, very right.