Joy in Oakland -- Almost! The Hoop Circus Knocks Another Win for the Hometown Boys ... I'm Feeling Giddy and Glorious

And I don't even watch the games!!! 

But sometime after they are over, I hear about it on the news.  Just now, this AM, learned about it on TV.  Three games down, one to go!

Yes, right here in my own backyard.  Exciting to anticipate positive coverage, for a change.  Don't know how it's gone, at all.  You might have been shown views of lovely Lake Merritt, around which I have walked probably hundreds of times.

If you see an old three-story Victorian, edge of the lake, with three turrets on the roof, I once lived in a third floor studio just under one, and there I wrote my first book, Behind the Big Top.

If you happen to see the old Oakland Auditorium, on the south end of the lake,  that was the best place to see, indoors, the Ringling show.  It sat around six or seven thousand at the most; perfect size; would be ever better today than watching the show in the oppressively huge and dark arena, where the NBA finals will begin.  So dark and night cluby in there, I hate the place.

Doubt I'll be watching the hoop-diving stuff. Not a fan. 

But what a high, getting the kind of coverage this town deserves -- if, in fact, that happens.

It took East Coast Eyes  -- The New York Times, a few years back, to come out here and be very impressed and call Oakland the "Brooklyn" of the Bay Area.

I'll take that.

Even over in "The City" (San Francisco), we are getting a little respect.  SF seems to live in fear of its lofty status being knocked down a peg or two.  Not likely.

Did I show a snide lack of respect up there?  Gradually, it is nesting in my noggin that these basketball players, whomever they are, are one terrific tribe.  Maybe they will decide to remain in Oaktown, as the local boys call it, rather than defect to a new arena promised them by a much  bigger city -- Yes, the one incessantly in love with itself, where to live there, you have to be either very rich or very poor -- across the bay.

I took this picture several years ago.  The one above is not mine.

Peanuts to Paranoia! On PBS, Science Sanctions Dread and Fear ... At the Circus, Alienation Acrobatics on the Rise

ARE WE DIGITALLY DAMNED?

It’s a digital hell we are headed for if I, hopelessly unscientific, understand the very scientific PBS darling, NOVA.
 
Other night, NOVA’s teeth-rattling Rise of the Hackers swept me into provisional hysteria, going deep into the ever-expanding world of Hacking and the Hacks who make it happen.  Worst case scenario: Our enemies out there might hack into our nuclear software, ordering our missiles to self-launch in REVERSE COURSE, thus turning on -- US!

Okay, calm down.   It’s a “PARANOID FUTURE,” I learned watching this shock doc.  Well thank you, Nova.  So, I have time to prepare for my paranoid date with backfiring bombs?    Let your darkest fears take flight, Kids.    We are at the brink, quoting NOVA here, of  “ULTRA PARANOID COMPUTING.” 

Do you get my digital drift?  Let me spell it out, while Nova has me in its grips: Big Picture from yours unruly, sneer if you wish: Every time one of us flexes the latest electronic gizmo, joins another mad Apple line to stay stupidly in the cool, that person contributes to a digital doomsday, saith I.  So, then, are you ready for a little old-fashioned danger?

Back in the land of human flesh: China goes high wire crazy, one of its own making headlines treading the steel thread over city streets ... Clyde Beatty Collection, gathered over decades by Dave and Mary Jane Price, headed for The Milner at ISU ... Aerial legend Elvin Bale, breaking a leg in his bus, recently, back on the Cole Circus lot and recovering, confined to the bus ... Chicago’s Contemporary Circus Festival, back for a second season, June 17-21, this offering said to be framing 13 shows featuring “world class” action from several European cities and the U.S.  The aim being to foster “a deeper artistic process.”  All of it aimed to help performers  “compete in the global marketplace,” on a more “intellectual and visceral level.”  The drive to cerebralize continues apace, to wit ...

Acrobat Aliens:    Another circus from Down Under going – down under?  From the land of extreme innovation that gave us Circus Oz, another ensemble troupe, Circa, seems bent on bleeding that thread to death.  None too impressed with the group’s latest, What Will Have Been, is one Douglas McPherson, reviewing what hadn't been much in London’s venerable The Stage.  Enduring an evening of what sounds like stilted pretentiousness punctuated with heavy primal pauses, McPherson wraps up tartly: “Alas, this show is so safely aimed at the arts brigade that it dares not do anything as shamelessly populist as amuse.”

Danger in a Globe of Death: What I have long feared could happen with this daredevil stunt does happen, though rarely.  Fate knocked a globe into perilous mayhem when two riders collided at Uncle Sam's Great American Circus, a Brit show sporting an American slant.  Both riders suffered broken bones, and were stitched back up.  Ah, just like a pair of invincible robots ...

Strike up your all-human band, Circus Bella!  Oakland’s own now prepping for its annual summer dates in Bay Area parks.   Lineup looks promisingly diversified, what with, among a radiant wave of fresh faces, a clown bearing a Chinese name.  Yes, a Chinese clown?   Now, that alone should be cutting edge.  Show’s divinely delightful big little band, five pieces including and led by ebullient composer Rob Reich, returning.  Ah, I can’t wait.  The music sometimes alone is worth a visit.   Juggling director Judy Finelli  has a career arc spinning back through directing some of the old Pickle Family Circus shows, before that, performing on the Circus Vargas of Mr. V. 

Back to Dread and Fear:  Millions of Chinese workers being replacde by robots. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak granting that, yes, in time, robots WILL take over the World.  Let me not be around when that day arrives.

It may not be too late to stave off Hacker Hell.   The promising young --- Watch them!!! -- are open to the old, having rediscovered VINYL records with a vengeance, sparking a niche-market return of the LP record album. Turntables appearing in store windows.   Perhaps, we will one day be forced to default, away from the dangers of the Now, to the relative safety of the Before.  Bring back, before it’s too late, rotary telephones, Maytag washers, fly swatters and wind up clocks, post-it notes, push mowers, fountain pens and stick shift covered wagons – for starters.

 And may the iForce Not be with you.

[all hacked photos from Nova website]

The Huffington Post Hails Hopelessly Hollywood

From The Huffington Post

“A genuine Tinsel Town tragedy ... Lewis is a prose stylist with a voice that sizzles on the page ... If you’ve ever dared to dream, you’ll be with him all the way. "

 From Kirkus Reviews
  
"The dreamy Hollywood magic of it all ... An entertaining, insightful, and tragic memoir about trying to make it in show business."

Journey into the shadows of Tinsel Town, where little people with big dreams appear on small stages every night in plays and musicals, desperate to grab the eye of a producer, an agent, a talent scout, desperate for the Big Break.  Journey into it all with Broadway dreamers David and Mike, the two believing  that their musical about the Ringling Brothers is ready to be discovered. But soon cured of their heady illusions, the City of Angels sends each down a separate road.  David writes a new version of his musical with a different composer, and the show, Those Ringlings, achieves fleeting overnight success, for a moment in time headed for Broadway.  Here is another Hollywood laid bare, its humbling realities evoked with amusing candor. 

 Now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Big Top Bashing in High Season: Right Wing Blasts “Wimpy” Ringling for Elephant Fold; Bloomberg Blasts Cirque for China Infatuation; Mother Nature Bashes Carson & Barnes into Its Finest Hour ...

They have a big heart in a storm, the folks at Carson and Barnes.  Back a week or so ago, down in the Longhorn state, windy rain came lashing down on the tent, the show in motion before a hefty good crowd, a gal on a trapeze working her act, coolly unphased by Mother Nature’s stormy knock at the door.  Eerie to see!  Made the evening news.

Everybody told, it will be okay! The show will go on! -- until they were told, please, leave the tent peacefully!  So close to collapse as everybody got out, some screaming as they ran, before the tent could fall.  But it didn't fall.  A close call, lots of happy C&B fans, nonetheless,  feeling well treated.  The next day in a new town, returning customers were offered upgrades on their tickets for a dry show.  Also given free "CB bucks," to spend as they pleased, by none other than the Byrd of Byrds herself, Lady Barbara of Hugo, daughter of the late great Dory.  And how like a Brit Masterpiece Theatre family does that sound?

Super C&B fan Audrey Wallace, one of the returnees, being handed the mike by the ringmaster to thank C&B people for their “professionalism" and for getting everyone out of the tent safely the night before.  And then, a big hug from the ringmaster.  A touching moment.  You gotta respect these hard working troupers of our tent shows, facing capricious elements day in and out, specially in these weird and wacky weather times.  

Did I get that right?  Looking at sketchy notes, a lazy draft, okay.  Watching coverage on TV, I marveled at how they kept the show going until they hastily emptied the tent, ever so close to breaking stakes and falling.  High drama!  ... On the plus side, two things I happily noticed in the coverage:  1.  The newer ringmaster, a young Hispanic fellow, gives off a warm polite air, so much more human compared to the previous bombast.  2.  A good crowd in the seats, winning!  The tent layout inside looked spaciously terrific. Looks like a true New Day for Carson and Barnes.

"Greatest Pushover on Earth" Here's the Right Wing mouthing off in haste -- anything to bash the Other Wing, blasting Kenneth Feld & Company for his "cave in" to the animal rights crowd.  Sean and Rush, et all, blaming Feld for the exit of the elephants to be.  Okay, so how would they manage the show given diminishing crowds? It's a business, stupids!  And you on the right should respect the "free market." From the New York post, mad as hell Steve Cuozzo, predicting  that "the bozos at circus parent Feld Entertainment" will make the circus "extinct before the elephants."

End of the Greatest Show on Earth!  Good grief, I've not heard such dire blather since the Big Show gave up it's big top in Pittsburgh, PA, 1956 ...  Cuozzo was so upset that he lashed out at Feld showmanship:  “Who wants two hours of expensive 'family' tedium full of unfunny clowns and aerial acts that can end in catastrophe, like the human chandelier that sent nine acrobats to the hospital last year?"  Hey, Steve, while you're at it, and what did you think of the designer snow cones?

The Feld cave in, predicts Cuozzo, echoing his colleagues on the right, “will only embolden zealots to agitate for eliminating of all circus animals.”  And, know what?  He could be right.  Or more likely wrong.  I mean, do you really see horse and dog acts getting the boot?  Just stay clear of Frisco.  S.F. pols already wanting to ban all "wild" animal acts.  What next, fleas?  (Is anybody laughing? I am.)
                                                       
Bloomberg Bashes the Montreal Monster in a story titled "Why Cirque du Soleil Has No Chance in China."  And a good many reasons given to guy-out their thesis, among them, oh how obvious, many of the greatest acts are already in China.  In previous Cirque shows, those same acts, and others, fell flat when CDS first courted Chinese audiences back in around 2007. 'Twas not a heavenly takeover.

So, what next, Cirque?  Oh, that's right, a return to the Great White Way that rebuffed you when you slipped on your banana shpeel.  But this time, it just might work ... Cirque's Theatrical Division said to be mounting a Broadway-bound revival of The Wiz, first to be aired for the next NBC Live, this December 3.  Hmmmm.  With a proven script to work with, along with circus acts thrown into the mix (think Pippin), they might get it right this time.  Then, a Mandarin version for China?

END RINGERS:  Twas in Circus Report that I read about Cirque's Broadway bound The Wiz; that I read about the day after the storm at Carson & Barnes.  And that, also, once again Chuck Burns tried luring me into his kinky side show.  This time, he's talking about the famed 1932, flick, The Freaks. Available on Netflix.  My thumbs are up. Think I saw one of the characters in a sideshow on the old Foley & Burk midway ... Let's close this one out with a cracking good cartoon, also from CR, called That's Show Biz, by Billy Earl. Frame to frame, it goes like this. "How does your truck get such great mileage? .... That's easy! .... Most of the time they have to tow it."  I did laugh.  And it made me think of Steve Copeland's clown car --- no, not the one in the show. The other one.  More, please, from the Duke of Earl!

May 15, 2015

Touring World Circus Festivals through the Pages of Planet Circus

 .

As before, my eyes are opened to a world of dazzling innovation out there, most of it born beyond the borders of my own country.

As before, I marvel at the extraordinary feats of young circus artists in far off places, and take joyful comfort in a sure knowledge that circus is still very much alive. Vibrantly. Daringly. Thrillingly.

As before, I need only turn the pages of Planet Circus to behold the brilliant manifestations of it all, alive and brimming in rings of magic from Paris to Moscow, Spain to North Korea. And, yes, in these apolitical visions that fearlessly cross all borders, I take hope in the universal language of circus to help liberate tyranny and oppression.  I take pride in the people who inhabit this great embracing world.

Over There, circus festivals are taken seriously.  They draw gifted young acrobats and flyers to the spangled parade.  Inspire them to try harder, dig deeper into their imaginations, practice and invent, perfect and compete -- and reach for the stars.

Over There, they are at it, still, inventing new twists and turns and tricks in a quest to top each other and to stop the show.  And that is why the world returns.

Over There, in older worlds where it all began, younger minds and hearts find constantly surprising ways, season after season, to renew what Ernest Hemingway called "the ageless delight.".

Ageless, indeed.  Over Here, we await their latest exploits to fly our way.  We await them in our seats at Ringling and Big Apple, Kelly-Miller and Cole.  

Thank you, Planet Circus.

Thank you, Over There, for keeping our dreams alive Over Here. 

All photos from Planet Circus magazine, Festival Edition, 2015:

From the top:

Clay juggler Jimmy Gonzalez -- Gold Medal, Circus of Tomorrow, Paris

Pyongyang National Troupe -- Gold Clown, Monte Carlo; Golden Bear, Festival of Circus Art in Izhevsk, Russia

The Tianjin Acrobatic Troupe -- Silver Clown, Monte Carlo; Golden Bear, Festival of Circus Art

Gartner Family elephants --Silver Bear, Festival of Circus Art

Elakterina and Dimitry, straps -- Silver Elephant, International Circus Festival of Figures, Spain

Maxim Helmut on the Spanish Web -- Silver Karl, Riga , Russia

The Yunan Troupe -- Silver Elephant, International Circus Festival

Sons Company on teeterboard --  Gold Medal, Circus of Tomorrow

SUNDAY MORNING OUT OF THE PAST: Cirque du Soleil in Limbo: What Drives -- and Bores -- Guy Laliberte, When the World is Not Enough?

 
Out on a cold dull day here in Oakland, on my walk about, thoughts of the Cirque King Guy Laliberte, and reasons why I no longer feel so connected to the man or his circus.
                                 
Personally, he insults me by the way he hands out "free water" to patrons. For years, in large bottles outside the tent, free water and cups.  That was fine and decent.  Classy.

And then for years, they were swimming in money, and the bottles disappeared.  Go pay two bucks or more for a bottle of spring water, from the "One Drop" man who made a big thing about wanting to preserve the planet's water for those in need -- and I guess for himself, to sell it off to captive customers.

Now, the large bottles have returned.  Free water!  But, good grief, no cups.  To buy one -- you gotta pay one dollar. How desperate can they get?

Artistically, of the last three shows, the first two left me naggingly unmoved. Mediocre.  Humdrum.  Too much same old same old.  The last one, Kurios, said to be a return to their "roots," was really just more special effects and fewer top class acts, although well redeemed after intermission.

Thirty one years is a good record. Mr. Guy, who just sold all but 10% of his interest in the company, already will go down as one of the greatest circus impresarios ever.  Another great 20th century big top mover and shaker sold out after thirty years -- John Ringling North.  But the latter left when his circus was back on top, following a break-out 1965 opus with an invasion of acts from behind the Iron Curtain, bringing fresh blood to the rings, raves to the reviews --- NY to LA, putting more bodies in the seats. And JRN was not lusting after new markets to conquer. He had tired in the Old World and failed.

Laliberte's operation is hurting, and now, still at the helm, he wants to finally somehow someway conquer the Chinese.  He's already tried.  Not sure he understands how or why it did not work.

Leaving the tent after taking in Kurios (3 stars) last December in  SF, I fairly floated.  It was the vibrantly compelling second half that put me back in the "fan" category.  But, still, not enough.  Know something?  I had to concentrate too hard to understand all the clever little lighting effects and various other goings-on around a pole, over there in the audience, through a hole in the tent, up up up  see, can you believe it?  Pay attention! ... When should going to a circus be a workout? 

I never thought that Cirque du Soleil, so brilliant at first, would last beyond a few years, thinking it would soon become a caricature of itself and fade.  Remarkably, it did incredible things.  For a time, it could do no wrong. Laliberte was a marketing genius.

The future feels already sinking deeper into limbo.  Circuses are NOT operated by corporations. And if the Cirque King stays, trouble is, he seems bored without new markets to conquer.  And I fear that he already has run out of new markets to conquer.   Mars?  Pluto?

If only he could accept the world as it is.

first posted 4.25.15

The Smell of Circus Inside a Book: Authentic Pachyderm Poo for the Critic Who Wanted More ...

Since my papers and interview tapes, as well as photographs from here to Russia and China, will be going into the Museum of Performance and Design in San Francisco later this year, I have been
going through my "archives" to make copies of things I may need when I write a book about the adventures of writing my books and then dealing (short of going nuts) with publishers.

The Smell Edition, my idea,  responded to book reviewer Allen Grasso, who complained in the Santa Cruz (CA)  Sentinel that my tome failed to convey the scents the smells of circus.  I prepared on my own a press release with photo of the cover and sent it out to 300 newspapers around the country. It made me laugh just doing it.  It did not make the publisher laugh.  The publicist reverted to addressing me by my last name rather than "Dearest David" (OK, Dear David).

Certified pachyderm poo off the Carson & Barnes lot!   Ted Bowman signed off, exempting all parties of liability.

Not to be outdone, Ringling-Barnum included, as well, sawdust and "mile high building dirt."

These scintillating samples of earthly material found on real circus lots were personally packaged by myself into a sample, and sent to Mr. Grasso at the Sentinel, with an inscription wishing him a more authentic read.

 

I then apprised my PR contact at A.S. Barnes in San Diego of the prank -- after the fact, knowing that to have asked for their cooperation permission before would have put an early end to the stunt.

Sometimes, you need to take matters into your own hands.

My caper made it into a few California columns; if other newspapers picked it up, the publisher did not favor their problem author with tear sheets; in fact, they favored me with none.  The sampler package itself never reached the reviewer; it got only as far as a Sentinel librarian, and she, in reaction to, refrained from returning the offense to my publisher but removed it from the premises immediately, stating, "the smell would more than likely clear out your office.

She called my action "childishly indignant."  Okay.  I can work with that.

Behind the Big Top was generally greeted with glowing notices, sold out its first print run in less than two years, but they did not take it back to press.  Oak Tree publications in San Diego, which specialized in children's books and which had purchased NJ-based A.S. Barnes the year before, would not last very long. 

Perhaps too many of their kiddy books lacked that certain authenticity.  

They All Like to Fly, Not I

There I am, on a perfectly delightful San Francisco afternoon, with niece Lisa, right, my sister Kathy (both from Luray, VA), and my other niece Debbie (in from Phoenix), last Sunday,outside the Cliff House.

How much the weather reminded me of being raised down the street in the park, in the windmill tender's house.  Of being serenaded, day after day, by the roaring gloom of the ocean forever rushing to reach the mean grey icy cold sand.  We are not in Santa Monica!

We had a great time, nonetheless.  All of the "girls" love to travel, and in the air.  Lisa was a flight attendant.  Debbie has worked for years booking travel for American Express members, and Kathy once, while a resident of South Pasadena, was employed by Sigmund Travel.

Even my mother, bless her fearless heart, once harbored fragile dreams of piloting an airplane.

So how did I end up so grounded?  Blame it on a few bad flights, and leave it at that. But with my vow not to ride Amtrak across the country anymore, I may have to fly again,  Or take the bus.  Or roller skate.

Cirque du Soleil is SOLD ... Guy Laliberte Self-Liberates for Personal Freedom and Family ... China Market Remains the Goal

From CirqCharlie Rivel, dated today:

Cirque du Soleil confirmed its sale to a group of international investors led by US firm TPG, for an undisclosed but is estimated at 1,500 million. Although the details of the transaction are not public, sources close to the institution forward last week Efe-Dow Jones TPG will become the majority shareholder of Cirque du Soleil, while Chinese investment group Fosun and Canadian financial institution Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec have minority stakes. Furthermore, current majority owner of Cirque du Soleil and one of its founders, Guy Laliberté, will retain a minority stake "and continue to provide a strategic and creative contribution to the company," according to a statement released by Cirque du Soleil statement. "After 30 years building the brand of Cirque du Soleil, we have found the right partner at TPG, Fosun and Caisse to bring the Cirque du Soleil towards its next stage in its evolution as a company created with the belief that the arts and business can, together contribute to making the world better, "Laliberte said in the statement. For his part, David Trujillo, a partner at TPG, said that the firm is "excited about the opportunity" to use its global platform of resources and expertise "to propel growth worldwide in the particular brand, content and capabilities Circus ".

Guy Laliberte speaks:

I watched a three minute video, connected to the release, (interrupted by commercials, a current problem on my PC).  Laliberte was very animated and passionate, stressing that he wants to be with and focus on his kids, to help them each reach their passion.

Sounds like they are not up for following him, and he feels emotionally burned out, or irrelevant to his own operation.  He even hinted at maybe someday wanting to buy it back.

He seemed very forthcoming, perhaps more openly expressive than he has ever been. 

My gut feeling is that he may feel a sense of not knowing where to go with the show, that its future is beyond his control and grasp, and decided it would be better to get out  now.

Although, he retains, it appears, a leading position as planner.

He told another source, the Financial Post:  “In all consciousness and with a rigorous personal reflection and corporate reflection, I believe I am making the best decision for Cirque du Soleil and its future, and the best decision for myself and my family.”

 http://www.infocirco.com/noticias.php?pagina=2
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Today is WORLD CIRCUS DAY! How About a Movie Tonight?

Here are my favorites, not necessarily in this order, except for my top pick

Beyond being a "circus" movie, Trapeze is a great drama, combing a torrid love triangle with one trapeze flyer's quest to master the triple.  Set in Paris, famed circus talent scout John Ringling North checks in now and then, ready to sign the flyer to a contract once he proves he can do it.

Yes, The Greatest Show on Earth.  Of course, it has to be here, it offers too much of a circus to ignore.   And too much (two and a half hours) to sit through; I would like to hire an editor and cut out the most boring parts and end up with my own greatest show on earth.  First to go would be most of the train wreck, which IS a train wreck, sucking up the film's waning momentum and my patience.  Yes, the best moments are dazzling, thrilling, memorable, all that.  But the more I watch De Mille's lumbering epic, which thrilled me like no other film in my boyhood, the more difficult it is to watch. 

Toby Tyler is warm and touching story, a wonderful movie.

I once called Ring of Fear "Ring of Drek," but, I've grown accustomed to its modestly enduring appeal, smartly contained in a tight 1 hour and 33 minutes, a full hour less than De Mille's bloated elephant.  Ring has likable characters (the Mexican guy, the older fellow with the drinking problem, Clyde Beatty himself, the lovely helpless heroine), a few good circus  acts, the wagons coming off the train at dawn, a haunting musical theme -- and that monster maniac who gets it in the end, getting locked up inside a box car with a loose lion!  Go, lion, go!  (or is it tiger?)
 

Spangles.  There are many reasons to love this 1926 silent classic. At the top of the list, authentic big top atmosphere -- or so it appears..  And you'll have to rent it to find out for yourself.  You can read my complete review by typing "spangles" in the blogger search box, above, left.

A wondrous cinematic gift from Fellini, The Clowns.  Very hard to find.

About Fellini's La Strada

My original posting included this dramatic masterpiece about itinerant circus and carnival performers.  I hadn't seen it in years, and said I was going to see it again.  I have, and I can't really regard it as a circus film.  Brief bits of a few circus acts hardly take us into the world of circus. 

Big Top Pee Wee is a joyful romp --  entrancing, whimsical, one of the most touching circus flicks ever made. 

Circo, more a documentary, captures the spare beauty of a profitless passion.  The film follows a typical Mexican family circus struggling to stay on the road. A soft ringing authenticity
.

Now, for some lowdown trashy fun, you might invite either or both of these odd ball flicks into your home on a listless night in need of a little tacky shock-cinema relief

So there they are.  Pick one or two, turn your damn dumb phone off, and bring on the dark.