Circus Life

Circus Life
Author: Micah Childress
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2018
Genre: History
ISBN: 162190394X

The nineteenth century saw the American circus move from a reviled and rejected form of entertainment to the "Greatest Show on Earth." Circus Life by Micah D. Childress looks at this transition from the perspective of the people who owned and worked in circuses and how they responded to the new incentives that rapid industrialization made possible. The circus has long been a subject of fascination for many, as evidenced by the millions of Americans that have attended circus performances over many decades since 1870, when the circus established itself as a truly unique entertainment enterprise. Yet the few analyses of the circus that do exist have only examined the circus as its own closed microcosm--the "circus family." Circus Life, on the other hand, places circus employees in the larger context of the history of US workers and corporate America. Focusing on the circus as a business-entertainment venture, Childress pushes the scholarship on circuses to new depths, examining the performers, managers, and laborers' lives and how the circus evolved as it grew in popularity over time. Beginning with circuses in the antebellum era, Childress examines changes in circuses as gender balances shifted, industrialization influenced the nature of shows, and customers and crowds became increasingly more middle-class. As a study in sport and social history, Childress's account demonstrates how the itinerant nature of the circus drew specific types of workers and performers, and how the circus was internally in constant upheaval due to the changing profile of its patrons and a changing economy. MICAH D. CHILDRESS received his PhD in history from Purdue University and currently works as a RealtorĀ® in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His articles have appeared in Popular Entertainment Studies and American Studies.

Life is a Circus

Life is a Circus
Author: Angela Witczak
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2021-04-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9781647467326

Love Death Circus

Love Death Circus
Author: Jeffrey Raz
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-10
Genre:
ISBN: 9780997904840

Love Death Circus is a love letter to the Bay Area circus community that has been the author's artistic home for over four decades. The novel follows Frank Singer, a veteran clown, through a year of death and dying, first a colleague, then his mother, his best friend and a mentor. As exotic as the characters are on-stage, they face the same scary world as everyone else when illness hits their community. Framed by a series of benefit performances, Love Death Circus takes you deep into an idiosyncratic community of artists with an outrageous sense of adventure reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen or Walter Mosley.

Circus Life and Circus Celebrities

Circus Life and Circus Celebrities
Author: Thomas Frost
Publisher: DigiCat
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2022-06-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Circus Life and Circus Celebrities presents an exciting account of the lives of some well-known personalities in the circus during late 19th century England. The book is full of engaging reminiscences and adventures of the lives of celebrities in the field, including Philip Astley, Andrew Ducrow, Van Amburgh, John and George Sanger, and many more. The author interests the readers by describing some fascinating tricks and performances of the circus during the period. The book contains vivid descriptions of the methods of training and practicing used in the circus, such as animal training, gymnastics training, rope dance practice, etc. English writer and journalist Thomas Frost has attempted to present a fresh perspective of the circus and its people. He portrays them not as poor and deprived but as talented and respectable individuals who prospered in their field.

Liszt: My Travelling Circus Life

Liszt: My Travelling Circus Life
Author: David Allsobrook
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 225
Release: 1991-10-02
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1349126470

Liszt, a dominant figure in the Romantic movement, has lately been the subject of a number of scholarly studies. However, many aspects of his intermittent relationship with Britain and with a largely philistine British public have necessarily been overlooked in earlier depictions of the broad sweep of his life. Here Dr Allsobrook brings together, for the first time, and in fascinating and varied detail, the story of Liszt's encounters with the English provinces, Scotland and Ireland during the two long tours he made in 1840 and 1841. Using extracts and charming line drawings from the diaries of John Parry, and from Liszt's letters home, the narrative is set in a rich social context.

Life is a Circus

Life is a Circus
Author: Alexander Kuprin
Publisher: TSK Group LLC
Total Pages: 50
Release: 2024-03-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Various aspects of love, life, and death, set against the circus background. This collection includes the following works: - Blondin - Allez! - Brickie - Anatoly Durov - Lolli - The Daughter of Great Barnum

Circus World

Circus World
Author: Andrea Ringer
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2024-07-09
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0252056744

From the 1870s to the 1960s, circuses crisscrossed the nation providing entertainment. A unique workforce of human and animal laborers from around the world put on the show. They also formed the backbone of a tented entertainment industry that raised new questions about what constituted work and who counted as a worker. Andrea Ringer examines the industry-wide circus world--the collection of shows that traveled by rail, wagon, steamboat, and car--and the traditional and nontraditional laborers who created it. Performers and their onstage labor played an integral part in the popularity of the circus. But behind the scenes, other laborers performed the endless menial tasks that kept the show on the road. Circus operators regulated employee behavior both inside and outside the tent even as the employees themselves blurred the line between leisure and labor until, in all parts of the show, the workers could not escape their work. Illuminating and vivid, Circus World delves into the gender, class, and even species concerns within an extinct way of life.

When Your Life Is Like a Circus

When Your Life Is Like a Circus
Author: Dennis Hampel
Publisher: Xulon Press
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2010-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1609578198

"WHEN YOUR LIFE IS LIKE A CIRCUS"....and whose life isn't? Here's the story of a family of entertainers with 48 years of real life experiences of international entertainment in circuses and stage productions that included hanging from a helicopter while strapped in a straightjacket! Brushes with death from rogue elephants, traveling hundreds of "mountain miles" a day, and meeting strangers who turned out to be 'angels' who showed up at "just the right time" are all integral parts of this exciting testimony of a family who felt God was directing their paths and who learned how to listen to His directions as they enjoyed His blessings along the way. This book contains the story of an entire family who took their God given talents and developed programs to motivate "children of all ages" to be the very best they were created to be! It's a true life story that can inspire the reader with the motivation to get thru challenges as THEY listen to God's direction in THEIR personal lives encouraging everyone to "MAKE CHRIST THEIR RINGMASTER"!

Circus Bodies

Circus Bodies
Author: Peta Tait
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2005-11-16
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1134331215

Examining photographs, illustrations, films and live performances, Peta Tait presents an extraordinary survey of 140 years of trapeze acts and the cultural identities that are presented by bodies in fast, physical aerial movement.