"ketchup" & "boo boo" are the nicknames of two clowns here on the show, and good friends of me and my neighbor, John Fulkerson - resident Greatest Trombone Player on Earth.
Their real names, of course, are NOT "ketchup" and "boo boo." They are Akosh and Gabor, respectively, and are just two normal twenty-something guys who also happen to be clowns. We still CALL them boo boo and ketchup though, i rarely hear anyone call them by their real names except each other. their real names are Hungarian, because that is where they are from, Hungary.
now, boo boo has been here since november of 2003, i believe, and ketchup started his life as a ringling clown in december of 2006. their story is a lot like performers from other troupes in that they knew each other back home, trained together, and,though not in boo boo and ketchups case, performed together. they learned and studied their circus skills together at the Hungarian State Circus Academy. 
i didn't even know there were circus schools until i got here ... i mean, i it makes sense and all, i wouldn't think there WEREN'T circus schools ... that sort of thing just didn't occur to me back in the "normal" world. here, we've got from left to right: ketchup, boo boo, sandor (pronounced SHAWN-dor who also went to the school with boo boo and ketchup) and ben, who's from america. (which, one finds out is just kinda bland after a while out here ... American's, that is.)
these 4 guys do an old school muscleman routine for pre-show. all they need are some handlebar mustaches and dumbbells that say ACME and it'd be complete.
they're just regular guys though, that's the thing about everyone out here - sure, there's a couple of eccentric people, but most are just people doing a job .... that happens to be in a circus. boo boo is really interested in hand balancing and practices that and his hat tossing and catching it on his head all the time. he also loves music and has started taking piano lessons from me. we meet on sundays in between shows and he's got some skittles already.
now, ketchup is more of the party guy. he's the guy yelling down the hallways, with his sideways speech. he'll just knock on your door and stick a cup in front of your face when he's ready to socialize and it's hard to ignore a ketchup when one's in the room. and, true to his clown nature, he's ALWAYS laughing. this guy just loves life, good food, and good friends. i recently flew home to visit my girlfriend, and he gave me ten bucks for the cab ride to the airport... "just in case." well, as fate would have it, i would've been about 10 bucks short! he's a good guy, and we both thank you, kecthup!
his background is mostly in russian bar where he was a catcher.
on the first and every other trick, ketchup is the one facing the woman.
as you can see, it takes quite a bit of strength to do this. and, as you can see, ketchup's a bulldog. he's basically a hungarian wrecking ball who also happens to be a clown. now he's never one to pick a fight, but he's a good buddy to have walking back home to a train yard from downtown at 3 in the morning, i'll tell ya that much.
