Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with circus

If you were a circus director spending lots of time and effort on a n00b, what would you appreciate?

divabat — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:59:47 -0800

What can I get as a thank-you gift for my circus directors? I'm a week and a bit away from my first ever festival performance, as part of a project by a women's circus I'm a part of here. The project involves about 5-6 of us producing and performing personal pieces with the assistance of two experienced circus/theatre directors. I got picked as a bit of a wildcard - I had the least experience out of everybody (less than a year and at very basic levels) but they liked my proposal and thought I had an interesting story. We've been working hard, twice a week at least since August, and for me I've learnt so much about performance skills, about developing personal strengths, about why I'm interested in the issues that informed this piece. It has been an amazing experience.

I would like to get my two directors something as a token of appreciation. I didn't know them before this project, though I do interact with one of them on another street theatre project we're doing. One (P) is the Artistic Director of this circus; the other (C) used to work with this circus but has now moved to another youth arts organisation but decided to come over and help us out. P's the one I primarily work with but I've received lot of help and feedback from C too.

P is a relative newcomer to our circus - she was hired as our Artistic Director in August and this is her first big project. She has about 6+ years of experience with community circuses and mainly does street theatre. She's got pink hair and goes everywhere with a small pink Mother Mary bag but I don't think she's particularly girly otherwise. She can be serious and stern sometimes but she's also quite loving and open and encouraging and friendly. We tend to bump into each other a lot and we have an injoke about "tying me up" - my piece involves escaping from rope, which she helps tie me up in, and we've been to a fetish party hosted by her housemates (also my friends) where I recently got my first flogging!

C is also quite outgoing though I think she tends to come up with crazier ideas more readily than P (P does too, but it seems like more of a shock coming from her than from C because P often seems more serious!) She doesn't tend to be as colourful as P in style and is often harried with multiple jobs and responsibilities. I don't know too much about her but I do know she can be quite silly!

Both have circus experience (I don't know C's speciality) and also are involved with queer art and culture in some way, though I can't say for certain what they define themselves sexuality-wise. C's told me that people tend to perceive her as a "lesbian artist" and P got her start in circus from an event at a lesbian event, but as a pansexual girl who sometimes goes to lesbian events I can't say that they're definitive answers, just that it shows something that they care about. From their conversations I gather they're in tune with alternative spirituality and healing, though neither of them are particularly "hippie" like.

I feel more attached to P because I feel like she's been a "mother" figure to me, helping me get out of my shell and create better performance. I would also like to thank C for her hard work with me. Asides from this project they don't work in the same office so I don't want to get them something they'll have to share. P came up to work for our circus partly because she lost all her stuff - including a lot of performance gear - so I'd like to get her something that she might have missed.

What can I get them? Should I go for form over function? Should I get them the same thing but in different colours or styles? I was going to give baked goods at first but I have no idea what their dietary habits are. I don't want something useless but I don't want something boring either! Something personable would be great, though I don't have tons of money and time.

If you were a circus director spending lots of time and effort on a n00b, what would you appreciate?

Television advertisement showing the stock market as a frenzied sideshow

drdanger — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:10:10 -0800

Saw a television ad several years ago with fantastic art direction depicting the stock market as a circus or similar frenzy of colorful, somewhat frightening characters. Can anyone help me track it down? I'm guessing I saw this ad on American television about five years ago, but it could have been as early as 2000. The imagery and intensity struck me more like a Fellini movie than like a typical advertisement. It was colorful, kinetic, and showed a shouting, frenzied sideshow of crazy characters. There was the two-faced broker who yelled, "Buy! Buy! Buy" until he did a 180 and his other face yelled, "Sell! Sell! Sell!" There were carnival barkers and blimps and I can't remember what all else. The point, of course, was that the sponsor (Schwab? Ameritrade?) would offer you a refuge from the hysteria. I would love to find a video of this, but alternatively enough information to track it down in the real world (sponsor? agency?) would be enough for my eternal gratitude.

Would someone die a gruesome death?

ThomThomThomThom — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:17:27 -0800

A handstand on someone's chest while lying on a bed of nails? Ok, so this came up in conversation with a street performer friend of mine. It's been a while since I've done any physics and figured that some of you might have been wondering the same as myself. So I am inclined to ask, dear AskMe! (In case you're wondering, I'm not planning on doing this. I'm just trying to settle an idle curiosity.)

Imagine, if you will, a young so-and-so lying on his back on a bed of nails. This bed of nails (as most do) extends the length of man's back - from the lower back, just above his buttocks, to his shoulders and the base of his neck. The nails' heads are approximately 1mm^2 in area at the point (we're talking longish ten-penny nails.) These nails are spread one per square inch on the bed (as are most standard beds-of-nails.) This fellow in particular weighs about 160lb, as does his friend, who now places his hands on the first young daredevil's chest and presses up into a handstand. Let's also assume that these young men (or women!) are shirtless. It's difficult to imagine people being so daring with clothing on.

Now for the million dollar question - did the first performer just meet a gruesome death? I imagine that the jolt of the handstand-er pressing up onto his friend's chest with his hands would add a considerable amount more force than would his simple bodyweight and gravity. Would that be enough to impale his friend? If that would be, what would the effect be like if the man on the bed of nails were to support the handstander's shoulders with his arms, while the handstand-er used his arms to brace himself on the lying-down man's knees? (knees which are connected to his legs, which are pressing against the ground, not touching any nails at all. From what I've researched, this pose is called the candlestick.) Would that take enough force away from the man's back that he wouldn't get impaled?

Thanks for humoring me, dear Metafilter. Inquiring minds simply *have* to know.

Arts and Cultural Appropriation

divabat — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:19:50 -0800

How have issues of cultural appropriation, stereotypes, and diversity been tackled in art and popular culture? I'm in the early stages of working on a performance piece on cultural appropriation and identity in the arts, and I'm looking for inspiration from others that have done the same. So far I am only familiar with Guillermo Gómez-Peña and his Living Museum of Fetish/ized Identities, and the SF/fantasy RaceFail debacle.

I am especially interested in these issues as they occur in burlesque, circus, and theatre, since that's what I'm working with, but any creative field would be good too.

Looking for a Family Circus cartoon / safety flier.

infomaniac — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:18:38 -0800

Looking for a Family Circus cartoon / safety flier. It is one of the single pane, dotted-line ones of Jeffy(?). It maps his path crawling through the house and lists different potential hazards. I'd like to use it to educate new parents about "childproofing" the home. I lost my last copy and can't seem to find it anywhere. -Thanks!

UK Fringe Resources Wanted

divabat — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:33:21 -0800

What are some great resources, preferably online, of fringe arts (burlesque, cabaret, circus, improv, street theatre, etc) in the United Kingdom? I only know of Ministry of Burlesque and that's it. I'm looking for listings of events, schools, workshops, venues, performers, anything to do with the more oddball non-conventional performing arts. I'll likely be concentrating on England, but Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland-related links are good too.

Should I go to the circus?

charlesv — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:40:56 -0800

Should I go to the circus? I really like going to the Circus. The problem is, I am very troubled by all of the allegations against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, specifically the elephant mistreatment.

First question is: are the allegations for real? A little internet research turns up so much information that it seems tough to just ignore it.

Second question: Assuming that they do mistreat the elephants, If I go to the circus, am I tacitly endorsing their mistreatment? If I don't go to the circus, am I ensuring that the circus will then have less money and will treat the animals even worse?

Keeping the creative momentum going

divabat — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:29:04 -0800

This year I started doing a circus traineeship and learning burlesque, which is awesome. In a week I have to go back to Malaysia for a few months while my new Australian visa is processed. What can I do in the meantime in the middle of nowhere? I'm mainly concerned with maintaining my skills (our circus traineeship mainly involves ground/floorwork, such as tumbles and acrobalance, as well as some juggling and hoops), my fitness and flexibility, and my creativity (especially on the burlesque end). I have developed a lot over the past few months and would like to keep up the good work. I'd also like to plan out my new life in Australia, especially my finances (and a possible new business venture).

The issue here is that I live in the middle of nowhere: public transport is nearly non-existent and I can't drive so I can't really get anywhere. To do anything interesting I'll have to go to KL, which is a 4-hour bus ride away, and I'll have trouble finding accommodation. In Malaysia I'm rather controlled and limited by my parents, mainly due to lack of mobility and not being in the city centre. The past few times I've come back to Malaysia for holidays I've just atrophied in front of my laptop for the whole day - because there was nothing else to do!

What can I do to keep up the work I'm doing and not lose all the effort? There's no semblance of burlesque or circus anywhere in Malaysia (let alone in my city) so I'll have to do things out of the box, if possible. Some ideas:

* Learning how to make costumes, accessories, pasties (I'm a sewing newbie)
* Looking for yoga or dance classes to go to regularly
* Someone suggested I volunteer for after-school stuff. I could ask my old school if they have students interested in learning some fun performance skills (I'm still relatively a beginner but I can pass on some basic things) or help them with a fundraiser
* Find a yoga DVD and practice with that regularly
* See if there are any adult gymnastics classes (I highly doubt that, but who knows??)
* Draft out ideas for performances, Aussie life, etc
* Getting a job - this is very tricky, as people here are reluctant to hire you if you're only going to be around for a few months (the training would take that long!!). There's also some societal issues that may make this challenging (even though I'm totally up for jobs!!). I'd like to do some location-independent/online stuff but am not sure where to find things that are legit and don't pay peanuts for massive effort.

I've also been thinking of volunteering at events, but things mostly happen in KL which is a 4-hour bus ride (which is fine) and requires accommodation (which is trickier). Any tips around that?

How else can I avoid being another laptop zombie and actually be productive in my transition time?

Stealing an elephant SEEMED like a good idea at the time?

InfinateJane — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:04:34 -0800

Yet another what-was-this-book! Girls, boys, circuses, elephants, scars, and running away... Read sometime in the late 80s, maybe early 90s? The story is about 2 children who grew up in the circus, but must, as the girl is no longer able to perform after she has an accident which scars her face. The boy...I don't remember much about him. Think he's younger than her.

Anyway, rather than face going to normal school, they steal an elephant and run away from the circus....um, yeah. Did anyone else read this?

Where can I see more circus cabarets in London?

Del Chimney — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:56:21 -0800

Yesterday I spent an incredibly enjoyable night at Miss Behave's Variety Nighty, a cabaret night at the Roundhouse in London, UK. People of Mefi, please help me have many more such evenings. Where can I see more of this kind of thing in and around London? I know that there are any number of Burlesque Shows that run regularly but ideally I am looking for the kind of mixture of circus skills, comedy and music that Miss Behave's offered. I understand that this was a pretty unique show in a pretty unique setting but there must be something similar out there even if it's on a smaller scale.

If anybody has any favourite acts that fit the bill then I'd love to hear about them.

Cheers.

Learning circus arts in Los Angeles?

Xere — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 19:54:06 -0800

I'd like to learn circus arts in Los Angeles. Contortion, aerial arts, juggling - preferably somewhere with a good mix so that I can find what I'd like to concentrate on. Google turns up a few promising places, but which ones have a nice amount of beginners in their 20s? And the aforementioned mix of everything? FWIW, in case this additional information helps: I'm not pursuing this for a circus career, because at 22 I'm probably too old to even hope for that. I was in a circus club from grade to high school, and as a result nicely bendy from that (though currently rusty) ... great fun, would like to get back into it.

Circus Seating Suggestions

mshellenberger — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:56:58 -0800

Where are the best seats for viewing a 3-ring circus (Ringling Brothers) in an indoor stadium? By this I mean is it better to be close to the floor or on the second level? Should I get tickets near the middle of the seats (50-yard line) or are seats at the ends just as good. We'd like to be able to see as much of the action as possible, obviously.

Thanks!

You know that song

quelindo — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 09:05:09 -0800

What's the name of that song that is typically associated with the circus? The lyrics are da da dada dada da da da da da da dadadada...whatever. Here's a link.

Name that 10-foot pole!

Benjamin Nushmutt — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:17:22 -0800

CircusFilter: What is the name of the pole used to balance on a tightrope? My band mate wrote a 15 minute song with a lot of changes and complicated passages. Appropriately, he wants to name it after the long, flexible balancing pole that tightrope (particularly highwire) walkers occasionally use. Despite trying various combinations of words, my google skills just aren't what they used to be. I would appreciate any knowledge, research, or speculation the hive mind has to offer. Thanks!

Bonus points if it's poetic, archaic, and/or Portuguese.

acrobalance training?

rubberkey — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:36:31 -0800

Is it too late to get into Acrobalance? I'm only 18, but I feel maybe it is one of those things you have to do from early childhood. Have I missed the boat on it? Also, where would I start? I live in New York City if that matters/affects anything.

Has President Bush ever been greeted anywhere outside the US by cheering crowds?

UbuRoivas — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:55:50 -0800

Has President Bush ever been greeted anywhere outside the US by cheering crowds? The APEC* conference is currently under way in Sydney, with much of the city centre fenced off & patrolled by just about every policeman in the state, not to mention Dubya's own thousand-man travelling security entourage.

Amidst all the media coverage of special police powers, no-fly zones, protests, impending riots & so on, it occurred to me that plenty of people want to protest, while the majority seem to regard the whole thing as little more than a nuisance, and a bit of a circus. On the other hand, I've heard not one word about even one single person wanting to line the streets to cheer on the so-called "leader of the free world".

If Australia is supposed to be such a loyal ally of the US, and being culturally similar, one would think that at least a few hundred people would want to encourage the leader of the International War on Terror, but that's just not happening.

This made me wonder: where - if anywhere - in the world has Bush Jnr been greeted by enthusiastically cheering crowds? And if he has ever visited your town (outside the US) what was the reaction of the man in the street?

* A Pointless, Expensive Crock

Urgent hunt for circus music.

pablocake — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 23:29:12 -0800

Where can I find traditional old circus music or carousel music, within the next hour!? I need to find some traditional circus or carousel music. Or recordings of those old automatic organs. And i need to download it for free, preferably within the next hour or two! Hoping you Mefites can come to my rescue! Any ideas?

help me identify a circus song!

jak68 — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 11:04:09 -0800

ok, its a very very commonly heard 'circus' song, often used in other shows (tv shows etc) for 'comic effect'; within the circus context I think you most often hear it when the jugglers or other funny acrobats come out and do silly things. I'll 'hum' a few bars for you...
It goes like this: (i'll 'virtual hum' the first 5 bars or lines of it):

ta ta tatatata ta ta taaa ta
ta ta tatatata ta ta taaa ta
tum ta taaa ta
tum ta taaa ta
ta ta tatatata ta ta taaa ta

Can anyone name it? Where can I get an mp3 or a .wav of it? I just need the famous opening, not the whole song.

Thanks for any help - and you're a genius if you figured it out from the virtual humming!

Know anything about Ferris wheels?

xyzzy — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 17:10:10 -0800

I'm working on a project that requires somewhat in-depth knowledge of the workings of antique carnival/fun-fair size breakdown and re-assemble Ferris wheels. The problem is that I don't know enough about Ferris wheels or how they work to know what to look for. I've looked at a lot of pictures on the internet, but most Ferris wheel photographers are enamored with giant modern wheels. They also tend to point their cameras up at the wheel rather than down at the engine/machinery area. I've read some fluffy pages about the history of the Ferris wheel but nothing concrete about how they work/ed.

Ideally, I'd like to find some technical illustrations of antique (Depression era and older) traveling wheels that include illustrative depictions of the powering mechanism. (What did they run on? Gasoline? Steam?) Second best would be modern photographs of antique wheels. Detailed photographs of high quality circus models would be ok, too.

Internet reference is preferred (my local library, while nice, is a very small town affair), but book recommendations would be welcome, too. Any hints for non-obvious search terms or potential reference sources (I've been searching Google for carnival Ferris wheels, technical Ferris wheel drawings, etc) would be great also.

Send in the clowns...

porntips guzzardo — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 07:02:22 -0800

Please help me identify the circus music playing in the background of this [funny] video. Hint: It's not Entrance of the Gladiators by Fucik.

Soviet circus propaganda

tellurian — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 18:19:23 -0800

In the book I'm currently reading about Bobby Fischer and his match with Boris Spassky, the author's write, "the Soviets would construct their propaganda edifice on three main pillars, 'chess, the circus and ballet. In all three the Soviet Union could be shown to be far ahead of the West.'" 1) Is this true (the three main pillars bit)? and if so; 2) I can understand chess and ballet, but circuses? Can anyone explain or point me to sources that tell the story of how this nation would attempt to demonstrate their superiority by showing that their clowns were better than yours?

How Do Human Cannons Work?

everichon — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 08:49:05 -0800

How do the cannons that shoot human cannon balls work? I'm guessing it's different than the way real cannons work. This page says it's a trade secret. Now I must know!

Calliope Music for Clowns

Capn — Tue, 16 Nov 2004 08:13:24 -0800

What is the "circus clown" music called? It is usually played on a calliope, it goes:
doot-doot-doodle-oodle oot doot do do
Homer hallucinates Marge singing it in the episode where he goes to Krusty's Klown Kollege.

Feats of Strength

treebjen — Thu, 26 Aug 2004 13:44:20 -0800

Some time ago I saw two male gymnasts on a late night talk show (I think) who did a routine where they lifted eachother and twisted their bodies in amazing ways -- all at EXTREMELY slow speed. Anyone know who these guys are?