STEP RIGHT UP! A 3-RING, HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE FOR SMALL FRY UNDER THE BIG TOP.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

For any kid who ever dreamed of running away with the circus, the ultimate rush could come before the Greatest Show on Earth even begins.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey lets ``children of all ages'' get up close and take in the roar of the greasepaint and the smell of, well, the elephants, through its hands-on, behind-the-scenes preshow experience called Three Ring Adventure.

It seems kids are losing their ability to ``ooh'' and ``aahh,'' unimpressed by stunts and spectacle as much as parents complain they are being desensitized to violence. Three Ring Adventure is an antidote to that problem.

It gives circusgoers a chance to talk with and, in some cases, play with some of the 100 or so performers, humanizing them and making their acts later even more impressive.

Watching a band of clowns jump, bump, stumble, spray and slide through a routine during the show itself is a pleasure. But meeting them, watching them put on their makeup and being close enough to see the stitches in their costumes and feel the spray from their seltzer bottles - that's great.

Last week, I took my daughter, Renee, and her friend, Talen Weinman, both 6, to Long Beach Arena for the opening night of Ringling's latest Southern California visit. (The troupe is in Anaheim this week and Los Angeles next week.)

They were excited but leery at first of our escort, a bespectacled, red-nosed fellow with a bright yellow vest and huge shoes. But this young clown, the appropriately named Josh Zehner of Fullerton, knew instinctively how to handle them. He avoided clowning for them and instead behaved like a regular guy who just happens to wear funny clothes to work.

They eagerly went wherever Zehner led them around the arena, getting a personal introduction to Ringling's towering new ringmaster, 30-year-old Michael James McGowan.

``To me this is kind of a highlight because you get to see up close what I call `saucer eyes' on kids,'' McGowan said of the preshow, ``because you get kids who aren't provoked by their parents and they're just totally amazed. It's like they don't know whether they should run up and hug you or run away because everything is so amazing.

``Also I think you can learn a lot about the animals, you can learn about clowns, you can learn about how things are done in the circus, so then when you see the circus you have that much more information with you,'' McGowan said.

We walked past an acrobat from China spinning plates on sticks, then met Todd Zimmerman, a Clown Alley veteran who was painting his face as passersby watched.

``It's just baby powder,'' he said of the white cloud that hung around his head. ``That's how we keep our makeup on.''

Then it was on to Ring Three for another introduction.

``Do you want to meet Karen? Do you know who Karen is? Karen is one of our elephants. Come here,'' Zehner said, pulling Renee and Talen along without giving them much chance to chicken out.

``Aaagghh!'' Renee shrieked, smiling all the way.

``I promise you we'll stay back,'' Josh said.

``Good,'' Renee replied. ``I'm not going to shake hands!''

Karen's handler did not demand anything of the pachyderm - she was saving the best stuff for the show - but Karen stood by docilely as the handler spouted information: At 31, she is the youngest adult performing elephant in the troupe, weighs a dainty 8,500 pounds and packs away about 250 pounds of food each day.

Next came the costume rack, where about a dozen pieces from past productions wait on hangers for fans to examine, touch or try on. It was a popular attraction, but not swamped by people.

Talen, who already had adamantly refused to try on a rubber nose, declined the invitation to wear a costume. But Renee, whose passion for jewels, beads and sparkles knows no limits, put on a sequin-covered tailcoat.

Zehner explained that the costumes are hand-stitched and very hefty - this dancer's coat must have weighed about 20 pounds - because of the demand for durability through hundreds of performances.

Ring Two had kids taking turns on the rola bola, a simply designed balancing trick involving two boards with a cylinder in between. They were given as much support as they required by two Ringling acrobats. The idea, after all, is to have fun, not to get bruised.

Then it was back to Ring Three for trainer Hans Suppmeier's demonstration with some of his liberty horses, which Talen was eager to see.

``When you train an animal, you must build up trust first,'' Suppmeier said in his German accent as he put the horses through a limited routine. ``Once the animals are trusting you, you can teach them anything.''

After the horses stepped out, it was time for Josh and some of his Clown Alley colleagues to take the floor, with props ranging from seltzer bottles and rag mops to plungers and toilet seats (the latter serving as lances and shields in a mock joust). A pair of clowns brought out two trained pooches, four-legged clowns themselves, and enlisted a 12-year-old boy from the crowd for their short act. Later one of the clowns got a ball spinning on her fingertip and then had Renee and Talen take it on theirs.

The kids loved watching their buddy Josh perform during the Three Ring Adventure and delighted in spotting him several times in the show.

That, Zehner said, is the idea behind Three Ring Adventure.

``It's to personalize the show,'' he said. ``Our loyalty has gone up. We have people who have come back and remember specific clowns and specific dancers. And it makes it more fun for the performers too.''

Zehner, 21, was in the last graduating class of Ringling's famed Clown College, which shut down in 1997 and may reopen in the future after some reassessment of the program's goals.

One problem Ringling faces is keeping its performers long enough to warrant the nine-week intensive training. Career clowns like Emmett Kelly are a rarity now. Zehner said there are some in Clown Alley who have been with the circus as long as 10 years, but the average endurance these days is one to five years.

``You're asking people to give up everything for at least a year. No car, no home, you're living on a train,'' he said. ``One thing I've found with circus life is you either love it or hate it.''

Zehner was recruited by Ringling during his senior year in high school after circus representatives learned of his improvisation talents. He found out only after graduating from Clown College that his great-grandfather had been a Ringling clown as well, and his great aunt was a daredevil circus performer.

``It's a neat thing to brag about around the show if you have circus blood,'' he said. Just the same, he's not sure how long he'll continue in this line of work.

``I'm really enjoying myself right now. I'll stay with it as long as it's still fun,'' Zehner said. ``No matter now emotionally sound you are, you can't be happy every day. It might sound cheesy, but when you get out there and start having fun, it makes you happier.''

Who knows? There may have been a few kids running and laughing through Three Ring Adventure who will grow up to be Ringling performers.

It's too soon to say whether Renee and Talen have what it takes. But they aren't scared of clowns anymore.

The facts

--What: The 130th edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

--Where: Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim through July 31, Los Angeles Sports Arena (bilingual Spanish performances) Aug. 2-6.

--When: Evening performances at 7:30 p.m. plus various matinee shows. Three Ring Adventure is open for ticket holders one hour before each performance.

--How much: All seats Aug. 2 are $10. Prices on other performances range from $10 up to $35 for VIP seating. Tickets available though arena box offices or by calling Ticketmaster at [phone].

CAPTION(S):

8 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Clowning around

Kids get an up-close look at the circus

(2 -- color) Ringling Bros. clown Josh Zehner, center, introduces Talen to Ohio circus clown Todd Zimmerman.

(3 -- 4 -- color) Above, Zehner introduces Renee Kuklenski and pal Talen, both 6, to Ringmaster Michael James McGowan, right. Below, Bill Smith photographs his daughters Cera, 7, center, and Kelley, 5, backstage.

(5 -- 7 -- color) Above, Danielle Ruiz, 12, participates in the preshow activities. At right, a trainer goes over a routine with an elephant. The Quiros troupe, below, keeps audiences on the edge of their seats during a high-wire performance at the Long Beach Arena.

(8) Children follow a clown's instructions as they join in some pre-circus ringside fun.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer