Clay Letson knows a smile goes a long way, which is why he is willing to go a long way for a smile.
Letson, a Tucson native, is the founder of Emergency Circus, a rag-tag group of performers who tour the country, visiting children’s hospitals, retirement homes, mental health clinics and other facilities where laughter is in short supply.
Over the summer, the group trekked more than 6,000 miles to 25 locations in an ambulance retrofitted with tools of the trade: megaphones, hula hoops, superhero capes, juggling scarves and “hats, lots of hats,” Letson said.
Their mission is simple: generate happiness, lots of it, no matter the cost.
“For me, it is a labor of love.” Letson said. “I don’t consider it work at all.”
The Emergency Circus crew is gearing up for another run this fall, and Tucson is one of its first stops.
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They will perform this Saturday on the Hotel Congress plaza, as part of the Comic-Con Cosmic Comedy Party, to raise money for their journey.
The funds generated will help keep the group housed and fed as they perform in cities from Los Angeles to their homebase in New Orleans.
They’ll also make stops at Tucson Medical Center’s pediatric unit and the Casa de los Niños Children’s Crisis Center while they are in town.
“Doing something like this has always been a dream of mine,” Letson said. “I still can’t believe it is happening.”
Letson, 32, has operated the Emergency Circus for nearly two years, but has more than a decade of experience.
Letson caught the acting bug as a student at Sahuaro High School and continued to hone his craft in vaudeville groups and theatrical bands well into his 20s.
After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in creative writing, he further developed his circus art skills in fields such as juggling, clowning and target whip cracking.
By the time he turned 26, he had joined up with the New Old Time Chautauqua. The nonprofit performance group, which travels the country performing shows for those in need, was founded, in part, by members of the Flying Karamozov Brothers and Patch Adams. Adams’ exploits as a doctor and a clown were the subject of a 1998 film of the same name starring Robin Williams.
Letson found the group’s brand of humanitarian aid a natural fit.
“We were doing shows in rural areas, prisons,” Letson said. “I found out quickly that this is where my heart is.”
Letson took the plunge and started his own group, the Emergency Circus, nearly two years ago, but continues to volunteer with other large-scale organizations.
In October of 2013, Letson traveled to Jordan as part of Adams’ Gesundheit Institute, which works in the same vein as New Old Time Chautauqua, to perform for Syrian refugees.
Emergency Circus works under the umbrella of the Gesundheit Institute’s 501(c)(3) status.
“We had a big yellow bus with 15 clowns,” Letson said. “We would pull up to a dusty huddle of tents, run out and start playing and singing. It was amazing what one little red nose could do.”
After Jordan was over, Letson stayed in the Middle East, where he hooked up with the international organization, Clowns Without Borders, to perform for refugees in Palestine.
He has been invited to join the group again in Lebanon this December, after Emergency Circus ends its run.
Stateside, Letson has recruited a rotating list of 50 performers and musicians, who travel and perform with him at different times as part of Emergency Circus.
Among one of his regular touring partners is Danny Wolverton, a levitation artist who goes by the stage name, Special Head.
Wolverton was born and raised in Tucson, and divides his time between the Old Pueblo and Los Angeles, where he is a musician and street performer.
In town, he earned a reputation on the local arts scene as founder of the Tucson Sculpture Festival. He gained national attention for his novelty act after appearing as a contestant on Season 8 of “America’s Got Talent” in 2013.
Wolverton and Letson have been friends for years. Letson met Wolverton as a tenant, renting a room in Wolverton’s Tucson home.
When Letson asked Wolverton to join him on his new venture, Wolverton was happy to accept.
“It is very fulfilling to cheer up people who are sick or down on their luck,” Wolverton said. “People go through hard times in their lives. If we can bring a smile to someone in need, it can help with the healing process.”
