Word: circus
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Ringling Brothers was the last circus I had seen, twelve years earlier. Their three-ring extravaganza in a vaulted coliseum whose ceiling receded into darkness hyperstimulated the senses of a ten-year-old. Brightly clad acrobats, new smells, band music and peanuts demanded simultaneous attention. To get back to my seat, I parted the madding crowd by holding my cotton candy out in front and marching straight ahead...
...much smaller: A clown at ground level can throw an inflated beach ball to the top row, and the ring is just three and one-half elephant lengths across. The audience remains seated except during intermission. The air is well circulated, and there is a noticeable lack of circus smell. You are close enough to the action so that in slow moments you consider what percentage of the ticket price goes for liability insurance. With the lights lowered, you share with the performers a living-room intimacy...
Barnum called himself "Prince of Humbugs," but today the circus has become respectable. The troupers study theater, ballet, and circus arts. Many have college degrees. I half expect to find in the program a list of corporate contributions and NEA matching funds, and, in fact, I do. The Big Apple is a not-for-profit organization; a donation of $2500 gains admission to the Ringmaster's Circle. And although The Big Apple is officially non-profit, the concession stand rakes it in. A cotton candy costs four dollars, an 11-oz bottle of water costs $2.50 (more than a soda...
...hundred years. In 1770, Philip Astley, a skilled equestrian who could ride balanced on his head, brought together in one ring "Chinese Shadows, Tumbling, Slack-Rope Vaulting, Egyptian Pyramids" and a clown named Burt. Flocks of Londoners paid a shilling to see the show, the first modern circus...
Last Thursday we thought it had finally happened to Miguel. Juan missed the catch. This happens one night out of five, but we didn't know that then. Miguel landed safely in the net, and we cheered. Television has done great damage to the circus business. The old circus owners knew that familiarity breeds poor ticket sales. They kept their side-show freaks from entering town so residents could not stare for free. The feats of the acrobat or juggler on the glowing screen seem disconnected from reality. Anything is possible on television, and the difficult appears commonplace...