Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Cole Bros. Circus #1 (From Capt. Snug)


DSC00447a, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.


Columbia’s Toprasta Troupe, best act in the show.

Posted by Buckles at 6/24/2009 05:55:00 AM

11 comments:

Chic Silber said...

Maybe the best act in the show

but I never cared for having

marionettes in the circus

24 June, 2009 09:25
Anonymous said...

I think the "marionette" is only 12 years old...
As a mom, I'd want him connected to a mechanic, too!!
:-)
Cindy Potter

24 June, 2009 13:24
Frank Ferrante said...

Get used to it Chic, with OSHA spreading their wings and the bad press from a rash of accidents, I think that we'll be seeing a lot more safety devices going forward. ~frank

24 June, 2009 14:15
Chic Silber said...

With all due respect Mom Cindy

then please have them do what

they can do safely in the show

and save the mechanic for the

rehearsals until they are ready

I'd always rather see acts do

what they can than what they

can almost do

For many years it was only the

Eastern Europeans that used

them claiming it was required

24 June, 2009 17:54
Anonymous said...

Well my dad, Phil Chandler, used to say "either you can do the trick or you can't"...but in this day and age, I agree with Frank that when it comes to "kids doing hard tricks", there are other forces in play that require one to use safety devices...On the other hand, Dad used to say "you don't get paid extra for killing yourself"... I think dad was right on both points...

Lauren Fairchild

24 June, 2009 19:32
Ralph said...

Personally I accept the use of mechanics in the show for four reasons: children, as in this case, one (and ONLY ONE) truly spectacular trick that has a very very small margin of error (not the case with the 7, Wallendas did it for many years before illness brought it down), the "Riding Academy"" comedy act, and the odd case of the prop being so heavy the "mechanic" is actually to lift it so the artist can balance it. I am thinking of a spinning bicycle prop in a perch pole act. The mechanic went slack once the understander took the weight. I really hate not knowing if the performer can really do the trick or not. Using the mechanic to get down from a pyramid in a teeterboad act really gets to me: fire those acts please. Knowing they CANT really do it is worse than the doubt. If for no other reason the audience loses the sense of danger so vital to thrill acts. To me the best audience wants to see us risk death and survive with a "puppet act" the appearance of danger is lost but the actual risk may not be. Ever think about swinging into a pole?
Mark Horton

25 June, 2009 22:14
Henry Schroer said...

After my Wife Tosca fell from her Cloud swing act while working in Germany and I was lucky enough to caught her I decided to put her on a mechanic and it did not make any difference to the act. The public still loved it, I didn't have to worry anymore getting banged up, broke my collar bone and my wrist, and the Owner didn't mind at all. It doesn't make the act any easier or less dangerous if you use a mechanic, if you can't do a trick the menachic isn't going to help you to accomplish it. All this talk about mechanics is much about macho BS, but it does not get you any more money and that is after all the main reason for working. Even in the Circus.

26 June, 2009 17:38
Frank Ferrante said...

Henry, thank you for that very personal observation. What was Tosca's maiden name? I think that I may have worked with her father. ~frank

26 June, 2009 18:29
Henry Schroer said...

You probably did, her Father was Frank Cora and her uncle Marty Cora.

27 June, 2009 08:04
Chic Silber said...

I knew both Frank & Marty but

only learned about them being

twins after Frank retired and

had a towel & linen specialty

shop called "Florida Originals"

27 June, 2009 09:06
Frank Ferrante said...

Henry -

Wishing you well, I did work with both Frank and Marty at one time or another. ~frank

28 June, 2009 20:46

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