Rob Torres

ON JUNE 26, 2018, ROB TORRES SUDDENLY PASSED AWAY.   THIS PAGE IS A TRIBUTE TO OUR DEAR FRIEND.  YOU WILL BE MISSED ROB!

Born in New York, Rob Torres had the joy of seeing live shows at an early age, sparking his love for performing. Musicals were the main interest in his adolescent years but that changed in his late teens when his fascination for juggling, magic and circus began to grow. After graduating high school, Rob headed south to Venice, Florida where he attended the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Clown College and began his studies in circus and clowning. After his graduation, Rob joined the Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. Circus where he performed for 3 national tours. During this time, Rob’s hands-on training began as he studied with seasoned performers from around the world.

As he continued to work on his acrobatic and technical circus skills, Rob’s fascination with clown routines and creating comedy grew stronger, leading him to Mexico. Rob studed pantomime theatre at the Estudio Busqueda de Pantomima Teatro in Guanajuato Mexico with famed teacher and director Sigfrido Aguilar. It was at this time that Rob discovered his passion to blend circus acts with the stage works of pantomime and comedy. After leaving Mexico, Rob headed back to Florida to work at Walt Disney World Resorts as a performer. For the next 3 years, Rob created various routines, shows, and characters that he performed for the Walt Disney Company. During his time in Florida, Rob had the opportunity to head to the Celebration Barn Theatre in South Paris, Maine to study for a couple of weeks with famed clown Avner the Eccentric. This work laid another foundation block for his theatre work as a clown. He returned to Orlando and continued his development as a comic artist at Walt Disney World. His success in Florida led him to Tokyo, Japan where he worked for almost 2 years, appearing in a variety show and on a TV show called Talk and Talk for NHK Television for a season.

After leaving Japan, Rob headed to England for his first UK tour in a variety show for BH Resorts where he fell in love with the European style of variety circus and cabaret. Returning to New York after the tragedy of 9/11, Rob focused his attention on creating comedy performances to help with the suffering of the time. This fueled his passion for traveling the world to create as much joy as possible. He wanted his performances to be accessible to everyone, regardless of their economic conditions, and thus in 2002 Rob hit the streets making his living by creating that joy and passing his hat. He began in Central Park but soon branched out to other places in the U.S.A. then Canada, Europe, Central and South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. In 2008, Rob returned to the circus but this time in a much different way. He participated in the Budapest International Circus festival as a solo comedy/clown act. His performances were so successful that he won 4 awards and years of contracts in the best circuses in the world. Rob continues to earn recognition for his circus, theatre, and street performances not only through awards but through the laughter and success of his works. He is thrilled to be touring his production of "Room to Play" and looks forward to the continued success in creating laughter and smiles around the world.