Experience winter in New York, which means packed stands under the big top and misery on the back lot — as the weather wrecks havoc on the tent, the trailers and the health of the company and crew.

Squeeze into a tiny lot at New York’s Lincoln Center with the entire Big Apple Circus — tent, trailers, performers, crew and animals. It’s the holiday season and shows are packed, but snow and ice are collecting on the big top and the hoses that run water to the trailers are frozen solid. A beloved miniature pony dies suddenly from colic. Cast and crew are sick and exhausted, but the show goes on. Some members of the Big Apple family — a crewman, a trapeze artist, even the artistic director — contemplate leaving the circus world behind.