Clown Scenes - Hardcover

Tristan Remy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1566631440 ISBN 13: 9781566631440

Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, 1997

Synopsis

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 Rémys 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 Sahlinss 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.

About this title

About the Author

Tristan Rémy is France's celebrated historian of the circus. Bernard Sahlins is founder and director of The Second City in Chicago.

From the Back Cover

Clown Scenes recaptures the classic clown routines that flourished in the intimacy of the one-ring circus. They have been all but lost with the rise of the grand circus in the mid-twentieth century. But Tristan Remy, the eminent French circus historian, has pursued the little band of surviving clowns who worked in the old tradition, carefully recording their scenes. Like all popular theatre forms, these scenes developed as oral collaborations. They were invented and jealously guarded by those who played them. No active clown of the time would have considered writing them out for the benefit of his rivals. Thanks to Remy's patience and persistence, the forty-eight scenes presented here contain not only the spoken words but the manner of line delivery and the physical turns.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1566631440
• ISBN 13: 9781566631440
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 254