Todd Key becomes Treeman when he dons the 80-pound costume for festival work. Other characters include a cowboy, Santa and Uncle Sam.
People look up to Todd Key.
They have to. When he appears as Treeman, he's standing on stilts that lift him about 5 feet off the ground. Treeman is one of several costumes Key, 45, wears when he walks on stilts at festivals, parades, corporate parties or trade shows. He's even done a performance with the famous Cirque du Soleil at the grand opening of the new World of Coke.
Key also appears as a cowboy, Uncle Sam, Santa and a robot, and he's working on a costume that can be either a dinosaur or a dragon. If those don't fit the bill, "I'll cobble together whatever they need" to fit the theme of the event.
It takes Key about 20 minutes to get into Treeman, the most complex and heavy of his costumes. To be high enough to don the stilts, "I sit on top of my car and get in these things," he said.
Unlike kids' stilts, there's nothing to hang onto, and the stilts are strapped to his leg. "I can't just let go or jump off," Key said.
"On stilts, it feels like I'm wearing tennis shoes," Key said.
Balancing on the stilts is second nature to Key. In addition to stilt walking, he also performs a comedy juggling show that includes balancing on boards and ladders. When he was first learning to use the stilts, he also used arm poles to help him keep balance. Now he uses the poles only with Treeman for safety because the costume weighs about 80 pounds.
Key said he's only fallen one time, when an electrical cord was stretched tight about a foot off the ground behind the scenes at a rodeo where he was about to perform as the cowboy. "I wasn't hurt," he said, just surprised.
As a comedy juggler, Key has appeared for 29 years with his brother-in-law, Jim Van Hook of Portland, Ore., as the Zucchini Brothers at Renaissance fairs and solo in performances around the world, including many for U.S. troops overseas as part of USO tours.
"In the variety arts, you learn every circus skill you can learn," including juggling, riding a unicycle and stilt walking.
He started while he was a theater major in college, where he was encouraged to learn as many skills as he could.
He majored in theater because "I was a super shy kid in high school," and he decided he could overcome his shyness by auditioning for parts in performances.
As a variety artist, stilt-walker Todd Key also has a comedy juggling routine. His work has taken him around the world three times, and he's performed at more than 50 military bases.
He started performing professionally as a comedy juggler out of college. About 10 years ago, he said, some of his clients asked if he could do stilt walking.
"Sure, I do stilt walking," he replied, although he had never done it. Within two months, he learned the skill and got stilts and costumes for the gig.
"I love making people laugh," Key said. "It's a great joy."
He added, "Travel is a perk."
He said he has been around the world three times doing festivals in different countries and has visited more than 50 military bases entertaining the troops.
"It's definitely seasonal," he said.
Except for a rush around the holidays, his performing season runs from March through mid-November. "January is just dead," he said. That's when he sells items on eBay.
"I wouldn't do it if I were falling," he said.
"It's just so much fun," Key said. "It's definitely out of the norm. It's not a desk job."
He said his children, now adults, jokingly ask him what he wants to do when he grows up.
"The pay is modest, but there are a lot of perks and super low stress," he said.
"You need to be an outgoing person," Key said, as well as be physically fit enough to stand on stilts for hours at a time. "You don't see fat stilt walkers," he said.
A background in theater is a good foundation, he added, but a person needs aptitude to juggle and keep one's balance.
Key said he learned stilt walking and other skills on his own, but he regularly discusses moves and techniques with his peers. He added that circus schools and camps can provide instruction. "After learning juggling, it gave me the confidence to try other things," like riding a unicycle and stilt walking, he said.
Key majored in theater at Minnesota State University in Mankato. "I do OK, and I really enjoy what I do," he said.
He said he is able to make his living as a variety artist, although he jokes while juggling flaming torches, "I do this because I have no other marketable skills. Don't tell my mom. She thinks I'm a doctor."
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