Tag: side show

Watching Acts…

One of the great things about performing at fairs is you get to work with all sorts of acts. Not just various styles of acts, but act all from different points or their careers. Sometimes you’ll get a newer local act, and huge, international headliners and sometimes you’ll get an amazing act that’s retired, but lives in town and that’s the one gig a year they do…and everything in between.

When I’m at the fair, I try to watch everyone’s show. There’s so much to learn from the any act you watch.

  • I’ve written about this before, but I got reminded of why having a “high” show is important and why you need to keep all the action in your show (in most venues) above your belly button.
  • The importance of having some sort of music in the background (in most routines).
  • Why to keep backups of props that could break…because they will!
  • And finally to play every gig like it’s a sold out show…even if it’s raining and the bleachers are uncovered and virtually empty.

All four of these things are things that I already know, but it’s a good reminder to see them and having them moved to the front of my brain!
-Louie

Dead Spots…

One thing that I try to do in my show is eliminate dead spots. Places where nothing really interesting is happening. This is something that’s important to me, it gives the show a tight feel. Personally I really dislike it when nothing is happening in a show. Last week I saw went out to see … Continue reading “Dead Spots…”

One thing that I try to do in my show is eliminate dead spots. Places where nothing really interesting is happening. This is something that’s important to me, it gives the show a tight feel. Personally I really dislike it when nothing is happening in a show.


Last week I saw went out to see a show that was a bunch of side show acts. One thing I noticed was that in many of the acts there was a lot of dead time. For example someone did a strait jacket escape and during the locking in procedure, not much happened.

strait jacket escape

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if it’s your artistic choice to have spaces where nothing is going on. You could do it to build tension, or whatever. Whenever I find these dead spots, I try to add a joke, music or bit to fill the space. I think it really helps to move the show along.

Connecting…

When I was in Austin last week I swung by the Museum of the Weird and saw the Black Scorpion perform. At the museum the sideshow acts do a lot of short shows all day. His show was good and it consisted of him talking about his Ectrodactyly, which people used to be called “Lobster … Continue reading “Connecting…”

When I was in Austin last week I swung by the Museum of the Weird and saw the Black Scorpion perform. At the museum the sideshow acts do a lot of short shows all day. His show was good and it consisted of him talking about his
Ectrodactyly, which people used to be called “Lobster Hands”, then he did glass walking.

Black scorpion sideshow performer

My main dislike of his show was that it felt like he was talking at us and not talking to us. The best way to describe how he talks is like an 1980’s pro wrestler talking to the TV camera. I get that he has made a stylistic choice in how he delivers material, however for me it made it hard to connect with him.


Unfortunately due to my time restrictions when I was there, I really didn’t get to see the rest of the museum on this visit (or the next one). I guess I’ll have to get back to Austin another time.

Production Value

One of the things that has blown me away is the production value of the acts at the Southern Sideshow Hootenanny.  While some acts (like me) go out and talk and do our thing, the younger acts play much bigger. This is due soley to music. All of the younger people’s acts has music components, … Continue reading “Production Value”

One of the things that has blown me away is the production value of the acts at the Southern Sideshow Hootenanny.  While some acts (like me) go out and talk and do our thing, the younger acts play much bigger. This is due soley to music.


All of the younger people’s acts has music components, and most were timed to the music.  The act was to the music like a dance routine, instead of just hitting a couple of beats.  This makes the whole thing look more like a show, than someone just doing a trick or a stunt.  


Once you add another production element or two, like lighting, or a set piece and these have become theater shows, not bar shows.  How can you add production value to your show to make it a show?