The intimacy of the one-ring circus produced the classic clown routines that flourished until the mid-twentieth century and then disappeared with the rise of the grand circus. They have been lost until now. By seeking out the little band of surviving clowns who worked in the old tradition and setting down their scenes, Tristan Rémy, the eminent circus historian, has rescued a theatrical treasure. Thanks to Rémy’s persistence, the forty-eight scenes presented here contain not only the spoken words but the manner of line delivery and the physical turns. So they remain superbly suitable for performance. Most of them are written for just three actors—the white-faced clown, August the stooge, and the supercilious ringmaster. Sets are unnecessary. And their combination of the verbal with the physical has timeless appeal. Bernard Sahlins’s translation is masterfully attuned to present-day audiences. In his foreword, Mr. Sahlins notes that these scenes have been continually remounted in Europe, attesting to their fundamental vitality and universality. “Clearly there is a debt, witting and unwitting, owed to the clown of the ring by the great comedians of our century. With this book these scenes and the clowns who invented and played them now take their honored place in our theatrical legacy.”
FREE Two-Day Shipping for students on millions of items. Learn more |
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
A welcomed translation...a fascinating perspective on the world of clowns. (Joel Schechter Theater )
Admirable and essential. (Don Stacey World's Fair )
Admirable and essential. (Don Stacey World's Fair )
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French
Original Language: French
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Clown Routines,
By
This review is from: Clown Scenes (Hardcover)
The Golden Age of Clowning was in Paris from the late 1890's through the 1920's. At that time, there were a dozen or more permanent circus buildings throughout Paris, and every week thousands of people flocked to the circus to see what new acts the clowns were going to perform. During this time, clowns actually spoke during their routines, and performed scenes with one another. Everybody knew the names of the clowns-- Charlie Rivel, Footit et Chocolat, Toto, Coco, and Marceline, to name a few.
Tristan Remy, famous French circus historian, has taken 48 of the best clown routines and written them down in a fascinating document. And while they are primarily historical scenes, they are also blue-prints for proven comedy scenarios. I don't love the translation, but these are great tools for the working clown. Use them for good and not for evil.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
