The Circus

Christine Harrell asked:


Carnivals are one of the most popular fundraising events that schools hold. The difference between a “blah” carnival and a wildly successful one is often a matter of proper organization. Winning events involve more than setting up a couple of inflatable rentals and ordering pizza. Marketing and recruiting in particular are critical if you want the carnival to meet your fundraising goals.

Creating the Plan:



Carnivals involve a lot people and activity, so it’s easy for everyone to get confused about their roles. It is important to have a clear strategy so that everyone involved knows what to do.

Start by creating committees that are responsible for different events and duties. A large event can easily have half a dozen or more separate groups of people, each focusing on a particular part of the carnival. Separate teams would handle food, facilities, ticket sales, advertising, recruiting volunteers, and so on. There also needs to be a coordinating committee that oversees all the others.

Come up with a unifying theme for the event. A theme makes the event more fun and can make planning easier. Popular themes could be 50s Sock Hop, Alien Invasion, Renaissance Fair, and lots of others. Before committing to the date, check out what other activities are planned in the community. You’d **** to end up competing against a popular city festival or, worse yet, another school.

Recruit Vendors and Volunteers:

Some schools provide their own carnival food while others get refreshments from a third-party vendor. When it comes to games and activities, rental agencies are the best way to go.

Inflatable rentals are an inexpensive way to add exciting and entertaining diversions for the guests. Adults and kids alike have fun with inflatable rentals and they are much safer than some other carnival activities. There are lots of options from traditional inflatable slides to sumo wrestling and human bowling. After all, what’s a carnival without games?

Don’t forget to recruit plenty of volunteers. A good rule of thumb is to get twice the number of people you think you’ll need. You can expect at least a quarter of them to be no-shows and you’d much rather have too many than too few.

Think About Next Year:

School fund raisers aren’t a one-time thing and it is never too early to start planning for the next one. Soon after you’ve held your carnival, evaluate the event from numerous angles. What went right? What went wrong and how can you prevent the same problems? What food didn’t seem popular and which of the inflatable rentals had the most activity?

One of the most important and yet most overlooked steps in event planning is expressing thanks. Make sure to show your gratitude to the volunteers, sponsors, and donors or you will find them reluctant to help in the future. They are the backbone of your fund raiser, so be sure to let them know that.



RUDY

Shawna Ruppert asked:


In 1839 a young Harry Houdini amazed a small crowd performing as a magician. His mysterious acts were his life. He lived and breathed magic. Where would America be today without Harry Houdini? Harry Houdini trivia games show the remarkable man in a fresh new light.

 

He was born with the name Ehrich Weiss on March 24th, 1874. He lived his life as a magician, escapologist, actor, stunt performer and even a film producer. His wife Bess Rahner performed as his assistant till the day he died. They both loved to live on the wild side and amaze people. Their stunts were personal challenges and Harry never backed down from a challenge. He put the same drive he had for stunt performances into his movie career, piloting, and even his spiritual views. Any Harry Houdini quiz, quizzes and trivia you are playing will tell you that he was an avid spiritual debunker.

 

Becoming an American Legacy was not easy for Houdini and it did not happen overnight. It took years of stunts and performances, but he managed it. The acts he was noted for was Buried Alive, The Over Board Box Escape, The Mirror Handcuff Challenge, The Suspended Straitjacket Escape, and The Chinese Water Torture Cell.  Harry Houdini quiz games show the most famous act of all, The Chinese Water Torture Cell.

 

Hollywood has showed Houdini in a different light.  He was one of the first to push his limits. He was not afraid of taking his performances over the edge, and that’s what the audience liked to see. Houdini knew how to give a great show and make people going home wonder, “How did he do it?”

 

The book Handcuff Secrets, published in 1909, gave the public to read and find out how Houdini performed some of his secrets. Around that same year, Houdini took up his love for aviation. He flew several times but stopped shortly after.

 

Today he is remembered by many around the world. Every magician after him has looked up to him for inspiration and guidance. I think the magicians today would not have “magic” in their shows without Harry Houdini.

 

Houdini died on October 31, 1926. As a desperate act to get in touch with him on the other side, Bess Houdini held séances on Halloween. She finally gave up after ten years of trying, but the tradition stuck. Still to this day there are séances held in his honor.

 

 

 



HOLLIS

Ronnie Tanner asked:


Carnival: known throughout the world as a pre-Lent celebration consisting primarily of street performances and costumed revelry, the most intriguing carnivals center around characters who embody their country’s particular festive spirit. In the United States, these characters correspond to the King and Queen of Mardi Gras; but around the world, carnival’s players are as varied and complex as the cultures that created them.

Many of these figures are purposefully comical. The Quebec Winter Carnival features the figure of Bonhomme, a living snowman created in 1954, who has several knuks, or knights, who parade with him as he cheers up children. King Momo, a stock Latin-American character who is known alternately as the King of Chaos or the King of Clowns, opens the carnival celebrations in Goa, India, by officially encouraging festival-goers to enjoy themselves. King Momo also appears in Colombia’s Barranquilla Carnival, although he is somewhat eclipsed by the festival’s prevailing attitude of la burla, which translates to ‘making fun of something or somebody.’ Throughout the centuries, authoritarian figures, such as slaveowners and Colombian drug lords, have been popular targets of Barranquilla’s lampoon.

Other countries have year-round societies with elected officials who preside over a complex series of preparations leading up to carnival. In Belgium, the Carnival of Binche is a six-week affair presided over by the Gilles de Bouvy society. The lead Gille is elected by the Gilles de Bouvy members and, at present, is not allowed to be female. Founded in 1862 in the town of La Louviere, the Gilles de Bouvy engage in festive drum rehearsals known as soumonces, which take place during weekends in January and February. The soumonces culminate in Laetare, the three-day carnival whose name translates to“enjoy yourself!”

Some countries have a lineage of characters spanning back several hundred years. Among the many colorful German festivals, the Koln Karneval features a prince, a pauper, and a virgin. The virgin, oddly enough, can only be portrayed by a male actor. Originally created in 1341, these characters roam amongst a slew of street parties and pub gatherings that culminate with Tuesday’s Nubbelverbrennung, which is a bonfire of straw-stuffed effigies held to cleanse the spirit of the previous three months of carnival-related excess. This bonfire marks the official end to Germany’s die närrische Saison (the foolish season)

.

Unfortunately, no carnival on Earth has as yet invented a character who can prevent the sober reality of die Fastenzeit, or Lent, from beginning the following day.



RICKEY

Groshan Fabiola asked:


Today is the day Carrie Underwood fans have been waiting for as the follow-up to her debut album had already been released and is now available for purchase. Entitled Carnival Ride, the highly-anticipated album follows her successful freshman collection, Some Hearts, which sold over 6 million copies. Her first single from Carnival Ride, So Small, had already climbed to the #5 spot in the U.S. country charts and #17 in the U.S. pop charts. Her new album is also expected to go up to the first place in the Billboard charts this week. Among her competitors are artists Bruce Springsteen, Kid Rock, Serj Tankian and Robert Plant.

In other news, Carrie Underwood recently talked to EW.com, and had made some controversial statements in their conversation. She commented on how much her American Idol success has contributed to her success after the competition. Apparently, the 24-year-old singer resents the public’s image of her and how the media portrays her as just another widely successful American Idol.

“Every single person in the music industry knows if they had a chance like [Idol], they’d take it. And I’m sorry — anybody who says I took a shortcut — they are insane,” Carrie Underwood said. “We didn’t take the easy way; if anything we took a more difficult way. It was just unconventional, therefore it must be wrong.”

However, some people think that she has gotten it all wrong. How could a no-one turn into a huge hit all over the world without going through a massive, highly-watched reality competition as American Idol? Let’s face it. If American Idol wasn’t the harder way to gain success, Underwood wouldn’t even try out for it. She would have made success on her own. But take a look at this, she’s at the top of the charts now and she’s ranting about being an American Idol? American Idol propelled her into the success she is experiencing now. How about some gratitude instead of biting of the hand that fed her?

For more resources about American Idol or for the full story of Carrie Underwood’s ‘Carnival Ride’ Released Today please review http://www.buddytv.com



RUBIN

virgilio vallecera asked:


When planning your wedding, what type of entertainment are you coming across as for? A comedian? A clown? A 3-ring circus? Of course not ? you are becoming for high quality entertainment that is tailored to your vision for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Your wedding reception entertainment should tie up all the things you suffer been dreaming of for many, many months.

When it is time to appear for wedding reception entertainment, you need to contemplate many aspects. Cost may seem to be your highest priority at first, but as you weed through the list of considerations, you will need to find someone you belief to keep your special day flowing smoothly. Tacky rhetoric, horrible equipment, or lack of music to please your guests may not ruin your picture-perfect day.

You are able to like a DJ surrounded by a high quality, and guaranteed, sound system. The entertainment have got to provide a wide range of music to offer all your guests music properties are requesting. You like a DJ who will listen to your wishes and make suggestions, not mandates, as to how the reception should flow. You want felt wedding entertainment ? people who appreciate the pitfalls from years of past undergo - and can deal with little ?emergencies’ as they arise with grace and professionalism.

Your DJ/MC will weave all the activities of your reception into a tapestry of memories to be remembered for a lifetime. From the moment you arrive at your reception, your DJ could orchestrate the perfect dance between music, generations, customs, and cultures. Your wedding entertainment is !no! too just ?entertainment’; it is the life-blood of your reception.

Planning your wedding entertainment carefully pays off more as opposed to you is able to expect. Your attention when choosing the best wedding entertainment possible are able to ensure that in turn, your entertainment can attend to all the little details and form your day perfect in every way.



GREG

Bob Cline asked:


When the Roman soldiers threw their slaves, criminals, and undesirables into the Coliseum then turned the savage man eating lions loose upon them, everyone knew what the gruesome outcome was going to be.

However dreadful it was, it was the basic beginning to the man vs. beast mythology that has followed for over two thousand years. Many a circus advertisement or circus poster from the mid to late eighteen hundreds showed a circus performer in a Roman Gladiator outfit as he wrestled a lion, or even stood with one foot on the lion as the marked conqueror of such a vicious beast.

As the development of a circus became an original idea, simple feats of bravery were considered to be exceptional behavior and held in awe and amazement by all that witnessed such a circus act. It is this form of bravery that allows us to document the beginning of man and the wild circus animals together in the same cage at the same time. Van Amburgh is given due credit as being the first animal subjugator in America as he entered a den of man eating circus Lions and returned unscathed. These were usually the cages the circus animals remained in. The circus performer then entered this den of dangerous denizens of the damp, dark jungle to stand or even sit in the same cage with these animals during a parade or as the main attraction. The attraction of circus animals and humans together was thrilling to say the least.

While lions and tigers were the most commonly used circus animals due to their size, colors, and availability to acquire, a wide variety of animals were used in the circus acts or caged displays including leopards, bears, and other feline creatures. By the late 1800’s, a new turn of events was taking place with the evolution of this animal and man encounter moving to a huge portable animal cage that the animals could thus enter, move around, and return to their holding dens. This became know as the Steel Arena as these portable cages were made from all steel fabrication and weighed a ton creating a large arena to work in. The combining of the wild animal and the circus performer under the big circus tents was becoming an amazing attraction.

The European influence was new and spellbinding as visitors to the great shows at Coney Island or the Chicago and St. Louis World’s Fairs saw these great circus animals entering this huge steel cage and actually doing something in a form of a performance by getting on pedestals and holding still in various formations to the circus performer reading a newspaper while sitting in front of them. People were gasping in terror as they witnessed these remarkable circus performers enter into a steel cage filled with five or six dangerous animals, work with them and a couple made actual hands on contact with the animals before returning to the relative safety associated with being outside of the caged arena.

By the early 1900’s, American trainers were becoming involved in huge ways with the presentation of these wild animal acts. Some of the premier animals trainers like Louis Roth began by training their own act then moving on to train more acts that other people ended up performing. These performances were not confined to just lions and tigers. There were complete acts with as many as 15 Polar bears, Spotted and Black leopards, jaguars, and then the most incredible displays of all, the mixed acts.

Circus Animals were all captured in the wild as were all Zoo animals back at the turn of the century. So to have a jungle bred animal that is full grown and never been around a human before, then to have a person brave enough to work with them was purely amazing. The Circus performers who entered the great steel cage took their lives into their own hands every time they did. The lions and tigers were generally described as hating each other and kept the hair on everyone’s neck standing straight up until the trainer was out and the last animal was securely put away again. People were standing in long lines to buy their circus tickets.

One such young man, named Clyde Beatty was a young kid from Bainbridge, Ohio working at cleaning up around the animals on a circus when he got the chance to go in the great steel cage. He never looked back. After over forty years of battling the deadly combination of lions and tigers together in a fast and thrilling journey that included as many as 40 animals at one time, Clyde also found the time to appear in Movies and commercials and owned his own Circus. His legacy was infamous and his name so well known that for 40 years after his death, his name was still on the title of the circus.

At the same time as Clyde Beatty was establishing himself as a true circus performer and master of the steel arena, another man, Terrell Jacobs, the Lion King, was already well established in the great cage filled with over 50 of these dangerous circus animals under the big circus tents. The ability of one man to go in with 50 mortal enemies, perform with them in manners we never thought of as possible, and return safely brought the crowds to their feet every time he had finished his circus act. The Circus Clowns always followed to bring joy and laughter to one and all and to give everyone a moment or two to slow their own hearts down again.

Men weren’t the only circus performers entering the steel arena daily. Lucia Zora on Sells-Floto was in the cage before the 1920’s with her hugely appreciated circus act as well as working her circus elephants. Other women followed but no one took more risks, and understood her animals more than the legendary tiger trainer, Mabel Stark. She knew her animals well and even raised a few of them herself. Standing in front of her massive circus animals is one thing but Mabel took her exciting circus acts to new heights when she started to wrestle a tiger daily. Two and three times a day. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus would have as many as three circus acts with wild animals all at the same time.

The greatest displays of animals working together were the mixed acts where more than one species was working at the same time. Many of the acts incorporated several species of animals. Alfred Court was instrumental in the utilization of mixed breeds by having Leopards and Dogs together or the large groups with lions, tigers, polar bears, great Danes, leopards, and cougars all together at one time. Making it even more interesting was a circus elephant, horse, or combination of both in the great cage with a lion or tiger riding on top of the elephant. The early 1960’s saw a beautiful mixed act with Leopards, wolf hybrids, and a zebra.

In an effort to always make a presentation better than ever before, more exotic animals were introduced to the performances such as the amazing snow leopards or cheetahs. Just in the past 40 years, we have seen the arrival of a white tiger to US soil. This magnificent animal has reproduced many times through the ages to allow the genetics to now offer the White tigers with stripes, white tigers without stripes, the Golden Tabbies, a white tiger with gray stripes, the regular colored tigers, and reports from China of a bluish / grayish tiger. The Circus has offered circus acts with these white tigers and a mixed variety of these colors as these beautiful circus animals showed off the natural beauty.

The 1973 Endangered Species Act took note of the loss of animals in the wild and prohibited animals to be removed from the wild for commercial purposes any more. Zoos and Circuses could not obtain animals from the wild so captive breeding programs have supplied all the animals in the circus in the United States since then with most of the feline family or “Big Cats” generally only living 18 to 20 years. Sadly extinction is forever. Of the eight subspecies of tigers in the wild, The Bengal, Siberian, and Sumatran tigers still exist with the other five considered extinct now.

To read more about these incredible circus animals and the circus, look in our circus books and circus DVDs at http://www.thecircusworld.com



LEVI

Bob Cline asked:


The Circus is coming! The Circus is coming! Hurry, Look, its here today and gone tomorrow! Every man, woman and especially the children read in awe the regal Circus posters or lithographs as the billing crews covered the complete sides of barns, buildings, and fences telling the world that the greatest entertainment event of the year was quickly approaching.

Advertising has been around for as long as anyone can remember. Advertising has appeared in an incredible array of mediums, shapes, and sizes from the very simple ad in a newspaper to a Television Commercial.

Anything in print required at the very least a typesetter. Thus the basic printing form was called the letterpress or raised lettering. The ability to add graphics illustration became a novel idea and suddenly artists of all calipers had an outlet for their work. In the 1800’s, a trade skill meant working as a young boy, to learn the very basics no matter how mundane they were until you advanced to the next level of your chosen profession.

Woodcarvers for example, learned as an early apprentice to clean the shop then to sharpen the tools before they ever were allowed to carve something. So we find that in the early days of graphic artists, wood block carvings shaved away all the back and left the desired design were used to produce a print with an ink rolled over the carving produced some of the very first printed images.

These carvings were very rough at first. Wood block printing is established as far back as the 1300’s. Finding the right wood to use combined with finding the right artists evolved from a rough sketch piece to flowing art. These works produced a monotone design; where as only one color of ink could be utilized. These carvings weren’t necessarily small either as some of the handbills and early posters were all produced like this.

Colored images slowly evolved from this method with the use of multiple engravings. Each carving would have part of the design in one color. As each part of the color was applied, the design slowly took shape in giving a finished product usually of three or four colors in the most elaborate works of that time. Eventually metal engravings started to replace the wood block engravings still achieving the same thing. The required greater efforts to produce but lasted much longer and gave a crisper image.

Intaglio Printing from recessed metal engravings and stenciling also provided colored images as well as a black & white image that was then hand colored. While all of this was paving the way for the advertising markets her in the United States, the European continent was seeing a new process being developed, mastered, and producing huge quantities of excellent works.

Lithography was taking over. The invention of Lithography basically appears to be in the 1790’s by a German artist named Alois Senefelder. The principle behind lithography was the utilization of a limestone slab where in the design was drawn with a grease pencil. This grease then absorbed the colorant and when pressed against the paper created the image in that particular color. Multiple slabs were used for multiple colors and created multi-color images depending on how many colors were desired and the level of intricacy that was used.

By the mid 1800’s, the United States was seeing the development of the Lithography process became a staple in the advertising trade. A Cylinder press was design to continually feed paper over the limestone slabs thus making the process much faster and cheaper. Many of the Printers of the day took to the Lithography process and more and more artists were employed. The Circus became one of it not thee largest advertiser in the United States requiring several sizes of posters in different designs, date sheets, handbills, couriers, the Circus Program as well as Letterheads, envelopes, contracts and other printed matter. By the late 1800’s and the circus having adapted to travel by rails, allowed the circus industry to cover more ground, faster than ever before. The Advertising business boomed. From the late 1800’s to the mid 1930’s depression era, Advertising companies such as the Donaldson Litho Company, the Standard Printing Company, Erie Litho Co, Ackermann-Quigley Litho Co. and many others all started producing not only an advertising feature for the circus but artwork at its finest.

The grand daddy of all advertisers was unquestionably the Strobridge Litho Co in Cincinnati, Ohio. They produced the most sought after, highly collectible posters still in existence due to their incredible graphic designs, full color and splash that ignited the imaginations of every boy and girl across America. There are collections in the United States right now housed at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, the John and Mabel Ringling Museums in Sarasota, Florida, the Smithsonian Institute, Princeton University and individuals as well. While some posters go for a few dollars, the highly prized are worth tens of thousands of dollars.



ORLANDO

Archna Gupta asked:


Java Jazz Festival

When:6 - 8 Mar 2009 (annual)

Where:Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention

CenterCost:Daily entrance, multipass and special show tickets available

Opening Hours:Daily 12pm until after midnight

just for enthusiasts of jazz, jazz festival Java invite all lovers of music to hear various sounds at Convention Center Balai sidang Jakarta. Legendary acts and unknown performers to take the step of giving concert goers a real musical feast. First held in 2005, the festival has gone from strength to strength. In 2008 the tastes of the builder Harvey, King Ron of Dhafer Youssef, the Marc Anthony and the Marlene Del Rosario executed.

Mosaic Music Festival

When:13 - 22 Mar 2009 (annual)

Where:Esplanade

Cost:From S$38

mosaic s offers the best in jazz, world music, the soul, electroclash and hip-hop. International artists, country and regional musicians to join the future in a ten-day eclectic Esplanade.Highlights of Singapore ‘festival 2009 music mosaic s include the jazz quartet Yellojackets with Mike Stern , British-based orchestra and the New York ’s film naturally 7, a septet of gospel, jazz and soul. The facilities also include visual arts throughout the event. The venue hosting the music festival mosaic are located in the plaza and include a concert hall, the club music of Heineken and mosaic studio

Sankat Mochan Music Festival

When:Apr 2009 (annual)

Where:Varanasi (Benares)

The Sankat Mochan Music Festival is celebrated to mark the birth of the monkey God Hanuman. Festivities are held at the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi, one of India’s most ancient temples, continuing through the night until dawn.

Artists from all over India congregate to perform music and drama. Maestrs of Indian classical music often play voluntarily, providing a rare chance for those who might not otherwise be able to afford to hear them play. Plays based on such works as Saraswati, Ram, Krishnalila and Hanuman haritra are included in the programme.Be warned, this temple has the most monkeys of any in Varanasi, although they are reported to be of a placid nature decide for yourself.

Hua Hin Jazz Festival

When:Jun 2009 (annual)

Where:Hua Hin

Jazz Festival Hua Hin draws thousands of visitors to enjoy local and international bands on four stages in a sunny arrangement mature sea Other activities available include jazz workshops, local food stalls, Product sales, games and lucky draws.

Singapore Arts Festival

When:15 May - 14 Jun 2009 (annual)

Where:Singapore

SingaporeThe arts for the performing arts in the Far East, the arts festival in Singapore juxtaposes dazzling names in dance, theater and Asian and Western music. More traditional artists prevail, but the types and experimental innovators are gaining more exposure each year. The festival offers an international program covering all possible areas of performing arts - many at the same time. Mergers are common, with Indian music embracing jazz, dance Asian curving upwards with contemporary and imaginative combinations of sound, light, music, text and movement. Devices based on the program only around 75 performances in many countries. Some are first in the world, others are commissioned works or works conceived by international collaborations. Each year there is a Spectacular impressive festival that marks the opening of the great festival. In 2008, the exhibition was stupid of water by the French troops Ilotopie, an extravaganza of characters and fireworks in costume boat Quay in Singapore.cultural events

French Festival of Arts

When:May - Jun 2009 (annual)

Where:Penang

The venue anywhere Penang open their doors for this cultural extravaganza of six weeks, which includes classical music performances, art exhibitions and music and traditional dance in Malaysia as well as live performances around the corner. Production confirmed for 2007 include Hors de Prix, a film directed by Pierre Salvadori, and although I am concerned, Ne t ‘not to do by Philippe Lioret.

Rainforest World Music Festival

When:10 - 12 Jul 2009 (annual)

Where:Sarawak Cultural Village

Cost:Day ticket RM90; concessions RM45

3-day ticket RM250; concessions RM100

Under 3s free

The festival has an interactive workshops in the afternoon, ethno-musical lectures, blocking sessions and mini concerts, followed by evening performances on the main stage. It has been a coup with the assistance: an incongruous mixture of locals, expatriates and a number of increasingly important tourists. The village festival stalls of food and beverages, arts and opened the sector and a counter for memorable events, souvenirs and CDs by festival artists. There are also children of ’s workshops, dance workshops and fabulation.

Fuji Rock Festival

When:Jul 2009 (annual)

Where:Naeba Ski ResortCost:Day ticket ¥16,800

3-day ticket ¥39,800

Camping ticket ¥3000

Opening Hours:Gates open 9am;

Concert 11am-11pm

The Fuji Rock is the largest and best music festival of Japan ’s and takes place on the beautiful slopes of the ski resort of Naeba Niigata. The highlights of the 2008 line include Kasabian, hell, my Bloody Valentine and go! Team.

Other highlights include the main piercing cry, CSS, breeders, Ian Brown, Ozomatli and chests, as well as some of Japan ’s Artists of the most good. The performances are spread across three main stages: the green stage, the stage and the big white red, which hosts more intimate performances, and turns into a club still trying to hours ago. There are also smaller stages dotted around the site and when the music gets too much you can cool off in the sky or take the funicular Dragondola to the top of the mountain. There is a campground at the festival if you need sleep, but take a good sleeping bag as it can get quite cold.

World Drums Festival

When:Jul - Aug 2009 (annual)

Where:Kuala Lumpur

Cost:Free

The world of drums fills Kuala Lumpur Festival of ’s open spaces with percussion music and drumming from around the world, exploring the culture and history of Malaysia while providing entertainment for the energetic whole family.

International Arts Carnival

When:3 Jul - 9 Aug 2009 (annual)

Where:Hong Kong

Partial to children and families but open to all, Hong Kong ‘Carnival of six weeks of arts s covers a huge range of performance and visual arts. Approximately 200,000 people attended 400 performances at a venue of important deadlines throughout the city. International arts companies, specializing amusement that children can absorb and be inspired about, martial arts supply, dance, drama, music-making, making the clown, the pantomime, puppetry and the acrobatics in executions and workshops.



JORDAN

David Marc Fishman asked:


Elaborate stunts and illusions. Beautiful assistants. A crew of well trained exotic animals. You are intrigued by the magician’s life and have decided to give it a shot. Well, don’t be fooled by the magicians you see on T.V. There is more to the profession than that, and you need to learn it from all different perspectives in order to be a true success.

In addition to stunts and illusions, you need to understand the basics. Palming techniques. Small tricks. Not all of your shows will require you to use your big tricks. A true magician knows a combination of both, and knows them all well.

Here is what you need to know to become a magician.

Learn the Basics. Learning the basic techniques is very important. Simple card tricks, coin tricks, and small tricks with props like ropes and hats are good to learn. You can learn from a book, take a class, or learn from a DVD or instruction online. The methods you choose will depend largely on your learning style. Keep in mind that it can be very helpful to have an expert show you how to do it and critique your technique.

Get a Mentor. In your road to becoming a magician, getting a mentor can be a tremendous help. A mentor will not only teach you how to perform tricks and illusions, but will also assist you on the business side of being a magician. Most are self employed and are responsible for booking their own engagements. It can be a big help to also learn things such as marketing, etc from your mentor.

Go to School. Yes, there are magic schools. Some are part of clown school. Others are designed as enrichment programs in middle school and high schools. Attending a school that focuses completely on magic can help you learn quickly and put you on a schedule for success.

What Kind of Magician? What kind of magician do you want to be? Each successful magician out there has some kind of niche. Do you want to be a clown/magician? Would you like to do elaborate stunts? Or maybe you want to focus entirely on card tricks. It’s up to you. Once you define exactly how you envision your future career, you can take the steps necessary to achieve it.

Your Tricks. Each performing magician has not only a broad knowledge of their field, they also have a select amount of tricks that they master. Granted, depending on the performance, you will want to vary your lineup. However, if you have a few tricks you can depend on, it will make your job a lot easier.

Stage presence. Being a technical magician won’t get you far. You need to develop a stage presence. Each trick and illusion you learn needs to have a routine attached to it that will captivate the audience. You can be a mediocre magician and still entertain the crowd with your jokes and anecdotes. What truly matters is that your audience has a good time.



CEDRIC

Bob Cline asked:


Ah, the Circus, that magical spell that casts over us at the sights of the huge and colorful Circus Posters on Billboards, TV spots and Commercials of the daring young circus performers on the Flying trapeze followed by tons of thundering performing circus elephants and the wafting smells of freshly cooked popcorn, sawdust, and the circus tents.

The arrival of the circus meant the opportunity for many a child to work for their free circus tickets by helping the circus get ready. Maybe they hauled a bucket of water for the circus animals or helped carry parts to the circus tent. Whatever the task, these lucky souls were going to see the circus acrobats, circus animals, those funny old circus clowns, and circus performers under the circus tent for a once in a lifetime experience.

Nothing brought more pleasure to the families across this great land than the Circus in America. For over 200 years the general public has been awestruck at the sounds of the first steam engine pulling the circus train into town until the lights finally went out late that night. No where else could you find the rhythm of eight strong backs swinging a sixteen pound sledge hammer in a sequential unison to drive the five inch round wooden tent stakes in the ground in just a short amount of time.

Teams of horses, elephants, tractors, and trucks all pulled wagon after wagon off of the circus trains which were so large it took steam and diesel Locomotives to pull four separate sections of the Circus train into your town. The Vintage circus brought 1500 workers, circus performers, musicians, circus animals, and management staff to make that one day in your town the most fantastic day to remember for a very long time.

The Circus was a world of wonder as it arrived, unloaded, started to unfold, and slowly created an entire new town of its own complete with a fulltime restaurant staff, generators to create their own electricity, physicians and veterinarians, Postal services, Legal Counsel, Press Departments, Blacksmiths, mechanics, Wardrobe personnel, designers and choreographers. The circus world was completely self sufficient and even included a circus school for the children on the show to keep up with their education.

The advance crew for the circus had been here almost two weeks ago now. They had their very own circus train car that was highly decorated like a giant circus poster. Large circuses such as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus would have as many as four advance cars in front of the circus to promote the arrival of the circus. The circus poster came in many sizes showing circus animals, circus performers, different featured circus acts, circus tents, and the circus train sometimes all on the same poster. A daub of Circus posters covered large areas of a barn or fence making the circus billboards throughout the town.

Inside the massive flapping tents of canvas, was found the mysteries of the world that only had been read about in books or magazines but never seen in person before. The strange, odd, and curious from around the world were there for all to see. People with rubber skin, girls allowing electricity to pass right through their bodies, sword swallowers, fire eaters, natural oddities, and magical illusions were here for one glorious day and one day only.

Inside the huge travelling zoo or menagerie were animals from the exotic parts of the world as well as right here at home. Lions, Tigers, Zebras, Giraffes, and the circus Elephants were practically expected when the Circus came to town. So they brought more than you expected like the rare and unusual Burmese White elephants, or the most terrifying creatures ever known like Gorillas, Hippopotamus, Rhinoceros, Sea Elephants, or Water Buffalo.

The early morning activities usually included a fine circus parade through the streets of downtown with glamorous Show girls finely costumed, Horsemanship, magnificently carved parade wagons with bands on top, the limber circus acrobats, a display of many of the circus animals, including a line of elephants and the screeching of the boisterous Steam Calliope acting as the Pied Piper to the world to come see the Circus.

Once the performance began, the thrill and pure terror of seeing one man facing twenty lions and tigers was amazing but the three ring circus that was full of fun, action, and excitement at the same time was too much to see all at one. The beautiful spectacles as the paraded around the tent showed many finely costumed circus performers and Circus themes. The daring aerialists and the incredibly loud cannon as it shot a person across the circus tent all remained with us for a lifetime of memories.



ADRIAN