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<title>Rob Mermin</title>
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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Mermin</span></span>
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<div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content mw-content-ltr" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><p><b>Rob Mermin</b> is the founder of the award-winning international touring youth circus <a href="Circus_Smirkus" title="Circus Smirkus">Circus Smirkus</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Biography">Biography</h2></div>
<p>Rob Mermin grew up in a lively Jewish family, and in 1969 Mermin ran off to join the <a href="Circus" title="Circus">circus</a>. He clowned with various European circuses including England's Circus Hoffman, Sweden's Cirkus Scott, Denmark's Circus Benneweis in the Circus Building by the Tivoli, the Hungarian Magyar State Cirkusz, and circus palaces throughout the former Soviet Union. His formal training includes mime with masters <a href="Marcel_Marceau" title="Marcel Marceau">Marcel Marceau</a> and <a href="Etienne_Decroux" class="mw-redirect" title="Etienne Decroux">Etienne Decroux</a>, and a degree in Drama and Literature from <a href="Lake_Forest_College" title="Lake Forest College">Lake Forest College</a> in 1971. He is former Dean of the <a href="Ringling_Bros._and_Barnum_%26_Bailey_Clown_College" title="Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College">Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College</a>, and President of Blackfriar’s Summer Theater. In 1987 Mermin founded <a href="Circus_Smirkus" title="Circus Smirkus">Circus Smirkus</a> in <a href="Greensboro%2C_Vermont" title="Greensboro, Vermont">Greensboro, Vermont</a>.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Awards">Awards</h3></div>
<p>Mermin's awards include Copenhagen's <i>Gold Clown</i>;<sup id="cite_ref-memo_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-memo-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Vermont's <i>Bessie</i> Award;<sup id="cite_ref-memo_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-memo-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <i>Best Director Prize</i> at the International Circus Festival on Russia's Black Sea;<sup id="cite_ref-memo_2-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-memo-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the Lund Family Center's "It Takes A Village" Award;<sup id="cite_ref-Lund_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lund-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the Vermont Arts Council Award of Merit;<sup id="cite_ref-VAC_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-VAC-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Lake Forest College's Outstanding Alumni Leadership Award;<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the 2008 Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.<sup id="cite_ref-VAC_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-VAC-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Personal">Personal</h3></div>
<p>As of 2016, Mermin resides in <a href="Montpelier%2C_Vermont" title="Montpelier, Vermont">Montpelier, Vermont</a>. He is <a href="Jewish" class="mw-redirect" title="Jewish">Jewish</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090501034427/http://www.circussmirkus.org/htm/about/history.html">"A Brief History of Circus Smirkus"</a>. Circus Smirkus. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.circussmirkus.org/htm/about/history.html">the original</a> on 2009-05-01<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2009-04-19</span></span>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-memo-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-memo_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-memo_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-memo_2-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation document cs1">"Memo, Shmemo" (Document). Greensboro, Vermont: Circus Smirkus. 2006. p. 34.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-Lund-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Lund_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.7dvt.com/2004/balancing-act">"Balancing Act"</a>. Seven Days<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2009-04-19</span></span>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-VAC-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-VAC_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-VAC_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090511224616/http://www.vermontartscouncil.org/About/VACAnnualAwards/tabid/99/Default.aspx">"Vermont Arts Council Annual Awards"</a>. Vermont Arts Council. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.vermontartscouncil.org/About/VACAnnualAwards/tabid/99/Default.aspx">the original</a> on 2009-05-11<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2009-04-19</span></span>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100602020349/http://www.lakeforest.edu/alumni/homecoming/2006/1971/default.asp">"Class of 1971"</a>. Lake Forest College. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lakeforest.edu/alumni/homecoming/2006/1971/default.asp">the original</a> on 2010-06-02<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2009-09-17</span></span>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.jta.org/2009/06/29/news-opinion/the-telegraph/rabbi-blesses-the-circus">Rabbi blesses the circus</a>. Harris, Ben. <i>Jewish Telegraphic Agency.</i> JTA.org Published June 29, 2009. Accessed January 8, 2016.</span>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>
<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.robmermin.com">Rob Mermin</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://smirkus.org">Circus Smirkus</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.vpr.net/episode/42198/">An Audio Remembrance of Marcel Marceau</a> by Rob Mermin</li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://video.vermontpbs.org/video/rob-mermin-bqivs7/">A 2006 interview of Rob Mermin on Vermont Public Television's show <i>Profile</i>.</a></li></ul></div><!--htdig_noindex--><div><div class="zim-footer">
This article is issued from <a class="external text" title="Last edited on 2025-02-17" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/?title=Rob_Mermin&oldid=1276282243">Wikipedia</a>. The text is available under <a class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0</a> unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.
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