CFA News
Amadeus Lopez and “Ruby Quinn” perform during a dress rehearsal on Wednesday at Circus Flora in Grand Center.
Jack Marsh has grown up around the circus.
When he was just 2 years old, he rode into the ring on a Clydesdale, also named Jack. After earning a bachelor’s from Harvard University and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin, Marsh worked as a corporate attorney in New York. Now 39, Marsh drives the artistic and organizational vision behind one of St. Louis’ beloved arts institutions — Circus Flora — as its artistic and executive director.
Doing both jobs is a juggling act he enjoys and does well. “It’s going great. I love all things Circus Flora,” Marsh said. “It's something that takes up the whole of the brain — figuring out how to make a circus and sell it to a modern audience.”
Marsh also cherishes the opportunity to work with his mother, Cecil MacKinnon. MacKinnon is Circus Flora’s longtime narrator, Yo-Yo the Storyteller.
“I feel really lucky to be seeing Jack take over,” she said, noting how gratifying it is to experience “starting to be guided by [Jack’s] own artistic choices in terms of acts and knowledge of the breadth of our industry.”