While I love me some fire, I’ve been naively unaware that “fire festivals” had become a category in the landscape of contemporary entertainment, despite the fact that I’ve worked, played and performed at some. Learn something new every day! A recent Rough Guides article elucidates the subject and covers a few of the larger ones: Guy Fawkes [...]
In the last post, we heard about Tim Marston’s guide to marketing for freelance performers, How To Sell Your Act. Today, the fire eating, fire breathing, staff spinning and staff juggling performer takes a moment to share his background and inform HeyRube readers about his path to becoming a marketing guru: First off, how did you [...]
As sideshow and circus performers, we are in the business known as show business and recently, Bello Nock reminded me that the business part makes up 2/3 of that title. This is a crucial lesson and one that is easy to overlook while spending countless hours honing new routines, crafting new props and building new [...]
There’s nothing like the shared love of fire manipulation and sideshow arts to break down international borders and remind us that our community exists in all corners of the globe. The street performance tribe is alive and well around the world, and with the help of the internet and social media platforms, we’re able to connect [...]
A funny tale from Wendy Whiplash: Picture this: It’s a lovely early fall evening, cool and crisp. I’m hanging out in my driveway, the dog is playing in the yard, and I have my lassos, fire torches and a can of Hamm’s next to me. I’m alternating between toys, throwing ropes for a little while, [...]
Okay all you fire-loving performers out there – prepare to get inspired! Jezebel recently unearthed a vintage photo featuring a pretty unique swimsuit: Dated July of 1955, the caption states: An international beauty queen models the latest swimwear. This piece includes circles on which to strike matches to light your cigarette on the beach. After [...]
Back in April, Lucky the Painproof Man won the grand prize of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square‘s Unbelievable Talent Contest. Today, Lucky takes a moment to tell us about his experiences as a sideshow performer, the Ripley’s experience and more: Q. Let’s talk about your name, Lucky: A. For many years, in my [...]
As a professional fire eater, the number one question I am asked by audience members is, “Where the hell did you learn how to do that?” Well I, like most fire performers I know, learned from trusted friends who had been carrying on these traditions and it’s not always easy to find such friends out [...]
Tomorrow marks the 100th anniversary of the disastrous Coney Island Dreamland fire, a devastating event that forced the park to close its doors permanently. According to Wikipedia: On the night before opening day [for the 2011 season], a concession called Hell Gate, in which visitors took a boat ride on rushing waters through dim caverns, [...]
“In spite of their obvious dangers, fire acts are among the longest-running in show business.” -Ricky Jay, Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women, p. 273 For contemporary audiences, fire performance likely conjures up images of poi spinners, flaming hula hoops and fire eating. While the aforementioned disciplines have survived the centuries, there are many other [...]