Nice article in the NY Times about Ringling Brothers Circus: Running Away With the Circus
I wasn't aware that the light bulb was once a side show on its own.
Stephen Meschke - - Parent #
they don’t have their new light bulb yet
I find this quote ironic, because a new generation of light bulb has just come on the market: https://woodgears.ca/misc/led.html. For juggling, I prefer LEDs to other types of bulbs.
I juggle in an almost windowless full court gym that has motion activated LED lighting. Running into the dangerously dark gym activates all the lights at the same time, which reach full brightness instantly. This would be the most shocking technology of the modern world to someone from antiquity.
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
Thanks, that was a wonderful article :)
Ringling train for Orin. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10206297158362682
Blimey!
I was very disappointed though that there weren't 2 clowns pumping along behind it on one of those cars with the see-saw like lever on top.
Cedric Lackpot - - Parent #
> I was very disappointed though that there weren't 2 clowns pumping along behind it on one of those cars with the see-saw like lever on top.
That would be a railroad handcar. I'm pretty sure they appeared in one or more of Keaton's films, The General being the obvious candidate. But not only that, Keaton's final film appearance in The Railrodder features him riding a motorised handcar across Canada and was promoted by the National Film Board of Canada.
A most satisfactory circle of relationships there!
There is a neighborhood in Minneapolis called Dinkytown, named after those handcars which were called Dinkies. It was once mainly a railroad yeard but now is mostly university student housing and appropriate small businesses.
Ok, since we've got Ringling Bros on the table, I'm going to chuck in a (potentially controversial) opinion just to see what comes back...
I thoroughly dislike the whole notion of a 3-ring circus. For me it places far too much emphasis on hype (aka bullshit) and spectacle, and devalues the artists by dispersing focus.
[Aside: I read an article/review some time ago on the first Cirque du Soleil show in the U.S. The 'journalist' stated that CDS had invented a new form of circus - the single ring...]
I also hold RBB&B largely responsible for the epidemic of sub-standard 'clowns' who think that putting on a rainbow wig and oversized pyjamas makes you 'funny'. Because of the distance between the audience and the performers RBB&B clowns are all exaggeration and very little else. No subtlety, no depth of character, no humanity - to me the 3 key elements of a clown.
Full disclosure: I have never actually been to a 3-ring circus. My experience of them only comes from videos and films. RBB&B videos are egregious examples of what I list above - all hype and spectacle, the acts shown only in short clips, usually intercut with each other (the 'three-ring experience', I guess), and lots of footage of unfunny exaggerated 'long-distance' clowning.
Okay, there's my opinion, loudly voiced. Your turn - hit me with your best shot!
Cedric Lackpot - - Parent #
> [Aside: I read an article/review some time ago on the first Cirque du Soleil show in the U.S. The 'journalist' stated that CDS had invented a new form of circus - the single ring...]
O_o
Uhh, yeah, riiiiight ...
Yo! Cirque du Soleil! We have the ghost of someone calling himself Philip Astley on line 1, he says he like a word ...
PS I've never been to or even seen a 3-ring circus, but I always wondered how come they weren't horribly unfocussed. TIL that perhaps they're just horribly unfocussed.
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
I get so confused when I talk to American non-circus people.. They have such a strange idea of circus!!!
Here in Europe if I say "circus" they say "ooohh, like trapeze & stuff?"
Talking to US people they say "oohhh like bearded lady & clown cars?"
I've just come to accept it as "different". I'd love to see a 3 ring circus one day, but I doubt I'd understand it much.
To understand some more of this circus I tried to watch some movies, for example "the three ring circus" (good name, right?)
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
And as it happens to be on youtube also, why not give you a link?
https://youtu.be/ThaSNbx6wFg
Also, Circus World is cool too (but not on youtube)
Circus World is a great movie.
"Trapeze" is another excellent circus movie (single ring) - Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida. Trivia: Burt Lancaster was a horizontal-bar acrobat before he took up acting.
I too have never seen a 3 ring circus so I have no idea what I'm talking about, but that's never stopped me before&helip;
I think the 3 ring experience was the result of trying to keep up with an ever increasing audience size. In 1936 their big top had a seating capacity of 10,000, at a time when you didn't have big screens relaying the action. You can't do anything small or subtle to an audience of 10,000 people. That's why they had so many elephants. I can't imagine they fielded many budgie acts.
I can imagine that I would get extremely frustrated at a three ring show unless they cycled the acts through all 3 rings (which I don't think they did) because I would want to watch everything. I also can't imagine any of the acts being that good because of the reasons you state plus they must be pretty dull if they are all choreographed to the same music.
"Keep up with an ever increasing audience size" my guess would have been that it was the other way around - how do we make more money? By getting bigger audiences... and so forth. Obviously the demand must have been there, but the usual way to deal with increasing demand is longer seasons. The jump from one ring to three would have been an enormous risk financially - I wonder if the idea was also shaped by arena-style shows like the Wild West spectacles.
Now you've gone and got me interested, I might have to do some reading on it.
They don't cycle through the acts. You're wrong about the quality, though. Many of the acts are absolutely top-notch, especially the ones that play centre ring. Juggling examples (centre ring): Francis Brunn; Dieter Tasso, when he was doing his act on slackwire (pre-comedy).
I don't know how they work the music, but there's also the 'build-up' factor to consider - ie. when the big trick is approaching. As I understand it, a trick has to be pretty special for the other rings to stop.
I have been to three ring circuses, both as a child and as an adult juggler. About twenty years ago our local juggling club went to rb&bb as a group, one of our presidents knew one of the clowns. You are right to say they are confusing and mostly boring for adults, unless they bring children with them and get vicarious enjoyment from them.
rb&bb recently announced the retirement of their elephants, too much trouble for today's downtown convention center venues.
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