Troupe Raises the Big Top in Simi Valley : Circus: Adults and children flock to buy tickets. Tonight’s show is a benefit for the Santa Susana Repertory Company.

Those accustomed to fast-paced video games and high-tech amusement park rides may have paid little attention when Circus Vargas, an old-fashioned animal and acrobat show, rolled in to Simi Valley on Tuesday.

But to die-hard circus lovers, the raising of the big top on Tapo Canyon Road at the Simi Valley Freeway triggered a major thrill.

“My husband called from work and said, ‘Run on down and buy some circus tickets,’ ” Shawn Morrison of Simi Valley said as she hustled up to a ticket window with her son Corey, 6. “This is something you can do as a family. I think a circus like this can be more fun for the family than sitting around watching videos on TV and not talking to one another.”

Her son was simply anxious to see the clowns. “They’re so silly,” he said.

Another Simi Valley resident, Donna Tatum, bought tickets because her daughter, Sarah, 11, loves to see the elephants.

“I like watching the kids’ faces when they’re watching the acts,” Tatum said. “But I’d probably go even if I didn’t have children.”

Children and adult fans watched Tuesday morning as circus workers raised the giant tent and set up seating for up to 3,000 spectators per show. Circus animals were put on view as clowns passed out milk and cookies.

When Circus Vargas ends its three-day visit Thursday night, it will leave behind a financial boost for a local entertainment troupe. Tonight’s show will be a benefit for the Santa Susana Repertory Company, which presents musicals and dramatic plays in a former courthouse using local actors.

“Fund raising during a recession is sort of like trying to ice skate in a muddy field,” Lane Davies, Santa Susana Repertory’s artistic director, said in a written statement. “It’s not totally impossible, but it sure isn’t much fun. The Circus Vargas performance is our single largest corporate donation, and it in turn encourages donations from other companies who buy blocks of tickets.

“The circus has become the cornerstone of our yearly fund-raising efforts.”

Sharon Adams, administrator of the repertory group, declined to say how much the organization expects to raise through the performance.

Circus Vargas, founded in 1969 by the late Clifford E. Vargas, is one of the last major troupes carrying on the traveling tented circus tradition. The Thousand Oaks-based troupe has 400 performers and crew members.

The circus, slated to present 600 shows in more than 100 cities nationwide this year, is scheduled to perform in Oxnard and Ventura in May and Thousand Oaks in June.

Among the troupe members is Manfred Valdo, 59, of Germany, a circus performer since he was 15. After many years as a high-wire artist, Valdo recently opted for less dangerous work as a clown.

“Since I was born, they called me a clown,” he said Tuesday. “So I thought, why shouldn’t I make a little money with it?”

Valdo said live circus performances surpass television and movie thrills, which often rely on trick editing and special effects. “In a circus, you cannot cheat,” he said.