WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CIRCUS?

Over the weekend I payed a visit to Steve Worth's Animation Archive and he kindly let me take snapshots of a few posters in his oversized circus book. 

One of my favorites was of a lion taming act (above). I saw acts like that when I was a kid and they really did take place in a circular cage and it really did contain lots of cats, though not as many as you see here. Working with that many cats is dangerous since it's hard to avoid turning your back on them, and the poor cats are probably irritable from being unnaturally close to each other. 

 And talk about crowding...pity the humans as well as the animals! People are shoulder to shoulder in these pictures. Actually, in spite of the inconvenience, I believe in funneling crowds through relatively narrow spaces if it can be done safely. It makes getting where you're going an adventure and provides lots of opportunities for people watching. You just need to have lots of diversions along the way. 

I also like the fact that the cages are on raised platforms very close to the pedestrians, and not way back in the distance on a flat floor. 

I wonder why circuses ran into trouble. There are probably lots of reasons, one of which might be competition from carnivals. Carnivals are cheaper to mount because they put more emphasis on sideshows and rides. Not only that but visitors can choose which which acts to pass on and which acts to patronize. People like having a choice. 

If most people are like me then they also want to see acts up close. When you sit in a gallery in a giant stadium you're too far removed from things. People want to see the sweat on the performer's brow, which you can do in a sideshow. Of course, you're less likely to encounter really skilled performers there. 

  

Sideshows attracted weird, one-of-a-kind acts. Here's seven women who the poster alleges entertained the crowned heads of Europe with their hair. Haw! Maybe they did a static electricity act...naw, they were probably too classy for that. Maybe they acted out stories from the Brothers Grimm accompanied by music from "Swan Lake."

Aerial shows worked fine indoors. You probably imagine that the poster
exaggerated the number of performers...

...but maybe it didn't. Circuses played in some pretty big venues.

What do you think of this picture (above)? Pretty neat, huh? Seeing beautiful pictures like this (above) makes me think that circuses might have caused their own demise by being too big and expensive. How many people could afford a show like this during The Great Depression?  Carnivals made it easier for people to spend at whatever level they could afford.

I wish mini stadiums like this one (above) hadn't gone out of fashion. Mens athletic clubs used to favor this kind of small indoor theatre. You could stage Hamlet, equestrian shows, boxing matches and small circuses in them. Modern stadiums are too big. Only people in the best seats can see what's going on.