POCATELLO — As a ringmaster for the El Korah Shrine Circus, Tess Emerson has a motto she’s come to work by.

    “Just keep smiling, just keep singing and just keep talking,” she said with a smile. “No matter what happens.”

    And with live acrobatic, aerial and stunt performers — not to mention a host of different animals — included in the Shrine Circus, a lot can happen.

    “It is a live performance, so you never know what is going to happen,” Emerson said. “You always have to be ready for anything — to cut this act, to get this act on. I have a lot of people helping me, but ultimately, I am responsible for letting everybody know what is going on.”

    As ringmaster, Emerson is literally running the show. She’s not just standing out there letting the audience know what is coming, she’s making the decisions based on some of those unplanned circumstances.

    The Shrine Circus, which hosted two shows at the Bannock County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, is often performing outside, making weather one of the most unpredictable of all the variables involved. Based on that weather, Emerson sometimes has to make the call to cancel a particular performance, or shuffle the lineup in hopes of avoiding or waiting out certain conditions.

    “You really have to have good judgment,” she said. “It is stressful. But it’s part of the job, it’s what is required. I would be in the position if I couldn’t do it and I know that our owners have a lot of trust in me.”

    And it’s trust she’s apparently earned relatively early in her career. The fact that she doesn’t fit the stereotypical mold of a circus ringmaster — an older, well-seasoned male — is not lost on Emerson, who is still a few months shy of her 30th birthday.

    “It’s definitely very different,” she said of being a woman ringmaster. “I do get a lot of positive feedback, especially from moms and little girls. They are so excited to see a woman in charge of things, and running things.”

    Becoming a ringmaster wasn’t something Emerson ever intended to do. But then, she never left college with a bachelor of fine arts in musical theater performance thinking she would one day join the circus.

    The Columbus, Ohio native, after earning that degree, packed her bags and headed to New York City, bound to pursuing a career as an actor. A man she was dating at the time found work as a musician with another circus and she went to see him perform one day.

     She saw the women performing on the aerial rings and became fascinated, wanting to learn how to do it. Her first instinct was that there had to be a place to learn the skill in New York.

    She found one in Queens.

    “I trained for about 40 hours a week, for about two and a half years,” she said. “I was a bartender full-time too.”

    She joined the circus five years ago, and was working as a showgirl for the Shrine Circus, performing on the aerial rings last year when she suggested she could sing the National Anthem if needed.

    “They said sure. I sang the National Anthem and they said, ‘Oh, you really can sing,’” Emerson recalled. “A few weeks later, they called me into the office and said, ‘We want to make you the ringmaster.’”

    Emerson credits her speaking skills, her ability to keep calm under pressure and her love of performing for carrying her through the first few performances.

    “It was definitely a challenge and I am still learning a lot,” she said. “But there was really no time to be nervous. I really got thrown into it. They said, ‘Here’s a microphone, here’s a sparkly dress, go,’ and the spotlight came on.”

    While dealing with the unpredictable events can be the most difficult part of her job, Emerson says the best part is performing in front of a live audience.

    “If they weren’t there, I wouldn’t have a job, so they are everything,” she said. “Hearing their reaction and what they have to say about the show — what keeps me going is the audience, especially the kids.”

    The Shrine Circus leave the Gate City today, heading for Twin Falls, where they will perform this afternoon and this evening. After a day’s rest, they open a series of three days in Boise.

Click here to view a photo gallery of the performance.