3.1.1. The Basic Structure of the Act.
All circus acts have some form of identifiable
narrative structure. Traditionally, acts have been self-contained narrative
units within an entire show. Broadway (Line 160-161) differentiates narrative
structure within the act from narrative, which is developed by the sequencing
of individual routines by referring to the former as �internal narrative�:
| �There�s an internal narrative within an act, and I don�t think that�s so revolutionary. Traditional circuses have done that whether you�re conscious of the narrative or not.� |
Such narrative structure is present in all
circus acts. The degree to which the narrative is consciously constructed,
however, can vary greatly. As Coldwell (Lines 1 86-1 87) says, �Even if
it is only putting the hardest trick last, that in itself is a narrative.�
This type of narrative, defined by the sequence in which tricks are presented,
is fundamental to many circus acts, and often reflects the training process
where performers progress to more difficult tricks as their skill levels
improve. The progression to more difficult tricks in an act can also allow
the performer to build the degree of focus and confidence required for
the more challenging elements of an act (see Chapter 2). As such, it is
the natural rhythm to follow in constructing an act. Laurie (Lines 109-114)
says:
| �I think you construct an act on the basis of a set of rhythms, which are also often the basis of a narrative in that there�s exposition, there�s tension, there�s resolution, and then there�s clarity of some kind. All those rhythms might be present in the way that you construct an act, for example.� |
3.1.2. The Physical Requirements of Narrative
While the natural rhythms of circus performance
reflect elements of narrative, the physical requirements of the act take
precedence over the narrative layering of an act, especially in traditional
circus. Lorraine Grant (Lines 459-460) says, �I think a story is OK, but
what is more important is the skills (sic) that goes into it.� The traditional
circus act is primarily a display of skill, and only once the skill is
perfected can any narrative-layering take place (if, indeed, narrative
is considered necessary at all). One of the reasons that skill is considered
to be so important in the construction of an act is due to safety considerations.
Parkinson (Lines 54-55) considers that, �High skill acts are the way they
are because that is the safest way of doing them.� Safety requirements
can even become a part of the narrative structure:
| �I have seen people go up to do their climbing act, get on the platform, some of the guys [ropes] aren�t right, get down off the platform, tighten up the guy ropes and that has actually added to the theatrical.� (Mullet: Lines 455-459) |
In all such cases, the narrative develops from and is ultimately subordinate to the physical requirements of the act.
3.1.3. The Clown Act
A special form of traditional narrative construction
is represented by the clown act. Often there is less display of physical
skill than in other acts. This, however, is not always the case. Silver�s
Circus has a trampoline act, called �Bugsy and the Boss�, and Ashton�s
Circus comic routine on the flying trapeze are both example where clowning
and high skill are combined (see Appendix B). Due to the intrinsic differences
in the types of focus required for physical skill and characterisation,
such acts indicate the particular virtuosity of the performers. The traditional
knockabout routine is reminiscent of Commedia del�Arte in
narrative structure based as it is in improvisation
around a loose scenario, using stock characters and a number of key props.
Brophy (Lines 162-166) describes his act:
| �You have got a basic sketch of how it goes. Like you know what is going to happen and how it is going to end but the middle part is usually always different. So the beginning is always the same and the end is always the same.� |
While direct parallels with Commedia del�Arte are not readily apparent, the clown act draws on a number of definable stock characters and scenarios. For example, both Silver�s Circus and Ashton�s Circus have scenarios involving waiting for a taxi. Both had small cars adapted especially for those acts. Silver�s Circus, Ashton�s Circus, and the Great Moscow Circus all had at least one clown in drag, wearing boots, and with balloons as breasts. Even many of the jokes are stock: Silver�s and Perry Bros both had gags involving a pun on �booby trap�. Perry Bros and Ashton�s both had clown acts revolving around mock cameras, with a clown as photographer (see Appendix B).
Non-traditional clown acts have departed from the stock knockabout routines, but nevertheless display some similarities. For example, during the 1994 Melbourne season of Circus Oz (see Appendix B), a bearded performer entered in a petite dress, did a little dance and then performed a plate juggling routine. He then jumped in the air revealing his bare arse to the audience and exited from the ring. The obvious similarities between this act and the traditional knockabout act are intentionally poor attempts at cross dressing, and an emphasis on comedy rather than a display of physical virtuosity. There are also more subtle similarities in the way that clowns are allowed to transgress the normal social rules. In response to a question referring to this act Coldwell (Line 262) replies with considerable irony, �I always get into family entertainment myself.� Perry Bros is one of the more conservative circuses in Australia, even by traditional standards. They bill themselves as Australia�s �most traditional circus�. Even so, their clown, Joseph, makes a reference to smoking �pot�, amongst many other references to sex and bodily functions, for which clowns are renown (see Appendix B). In response to a question about this, Brophy (Lines 147) replies, �Well they [clowns] can get away with murder, can�t they really?�
3.1.4. Comic Characterisation
The development of comic characterisation
is seen important amongst interviewees from all circuses. Rock�n�Roll Circus
(Brown: Lines 81-89) has used animal �movement and style� to stimulate
the development of comic character. Rudi Minuer used the monkey to develop
his clown:
| �Rudi is quite comic in that routine and he spits his banana out and he eats it and he scratches his bum and stuff like that.� (Oates: Lines 125-127) |
In this case, it is the image of the monkey that allows the transgression of normal social behaviour.
The comic character is also seen as an important
tool in developing a relationship between the audience and the performer.
Broadway (Lines 228-231) says:
| �The comic potential of giving the audience a context of where this character is coming from and where they�re going to next gives you a lot of space.� |
This �space� that Broadway refers to, is the room in an act for the development of narrative through character. As mentioned in Chapter 2, Gasser (Lines 103-104) believes that the development of character allows the performer to resist the potential of some acts to become too esoteric: �it looks like the people have more personality to the audience.�
3.1.5. Contextualising the Act
Another tool used to develop narrative in
the act is the use of theme and mood to contextualise the act. The imagery
is developed externally through the use of costume, lighting and music,
allowing the performer to concentrate on the specific physical requirements
of the act without overt characterisation. An example of this is Silver�s
Circus�s �Wheel of Death� act. Tony and Debbie Gasser enter clad in black
leather, riding a motorbike, to George Thoroghgood�s song, �Bad to the
Bone�. All of these elements contribute to a narrative overlay on the act.
The performers, however, do not overtly construct character, concentrating
rather on manipulating the apparatus in the act (see Appendix B).
3.1.6. Ordering the Acts
In traditional circus, the ordering of the
acts is not usually a matter of much artistic deliberation. The acts that
are chosen and the order in which they appear is more often than not a
matter of logistics. For example, the big cat act usually occurs either
at the beginning of the show or immediately after interval. This is because
the cage has to be erected in the ring. There is usually a clown act immediately
preceding acts where apparatus has to be rigged. Injury and illness can
often dictate which acts will be chosen for a particular show. Some acts
that require particular stamina will be dropped from matinee performances.
There is, however, some creative consideration put into the ordering of
acts. Variety is an important consideration: rarely will an animal act
follow another animal act, for example. Perhaps the most significant way
in which the ordering of acts contributes to narrative is a structuring
that reflects the basic structure within individual acts: the hardest or
most spectacular act will often be the last on the bill and often this
is the flying trapeze. The complexity of de-rigging the net also contributes
to this act taking the final place on the bill. The traditional narrative
is hence intertextual by nature, building a narrative by the juxtaposition
of
self-contained acts. The story being told
is the story of circus, literally. Both Ashton�s Circus and Perry Bros
introduce their shows with a brief account of the history of their respective
circuses (Incidentally, both claim to be Australia�s oldest circus). Ashton�s
Circus has used scripted narratives in the past. However, Lorraine Grant
(460-465) considers these shows, such as �The Clown Who Lost His Circus�,
to be �pantomime� rather than circus, pointing to a very strict traditional
interpretation of the type of narrative structure appropriate for circus.
3.2. NARRATIVE IN NON-TRADITIONAL
CIRCUS
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The development of dramatic narrative in
circus performance is one of the most visible departures from circus tradition
to have taken place in the last twenty years. The strong political convictions
of performers involved with Soapbox Circus in the 1970s drove a desire
to express these ideas through circus form (see Chapter 4). They felt,
through the use of circus, they could reach audiences that would not normally
attend the theatre. However, there have been a number of problems encountered
in the development of dramatic narrative. Circus Oz has found that they
are forced to keep their narratives sketchy due to inevitable and frequent
changes in performing personnel. Many interviewees from non-traditional
circus have found the synthesis between dramatic narrative and the trick
difficult to achieve because the images of circus are strong, but often
inflexible. In addition to this, the ability of a circus performer to perfect
dramatic technique is limited by the time and energy required to perfect
physical skills, and often there is a direct conflict between the safety
requirements of a trick and the need to maintain dramatic flow.
3.2.1. Circus Oz and the Development of Narrative
The use of dramatic narrative in non-traditional
circus is a legacy of the theatrical tradition from which these circuses
have developed. A predecessor of Circus Oz, Soapbox Circus, developed an
agitprop style of performance that was multilingual, incorporating songs
and physical performance (see Chapter 4). They developed a show in the
mid- 1970s about the Indonesian invasion of East Timor that they performed
in factories. Laurie (Lines 1 89-1 91) concedes:
| �The factory work at times suffered from that political earnestness of telling people what to think, which I actually think is very patronising.� |
This �political earnestness� was the motivation
for attaching other meanings to physical performance, which in turn lead
to the development of conventions covering the use of dramatic narrative
in circus:
| �We were very interested in ... using the skills that were there and trying to come up with ways that not every performance or act was just about the skill itself, but that it could become the basis of a whole other set of ideas.� (Laurie: Lines 145-1 49) |
While some acts became the physical basis for a dramatic structure, Circus Oz always had acts that were simply a display of skill. While the �political earnestness� has receded from the work of Circus Oz, these hybrid narrative structures that grew from the dual approach to circus form still characterise their productions.
3.2.2. Problems with Dramatic Narrative
The narrative approach taken by Circus Oz
is characterised by the establishment of a scenario (for an account of
the 1 994 Melbourne season, see Appendix B), with the narrative being developed
in some acts, while other acts are apparently unrelated. As the show continues,
fewer acts seem to relate to this central narrative. The drama is basic,
rarely developing much through either plot or continuity of character,
and is almost always left unresolved. Coldwell (Lines 232-234) says:
| �Some people find these narratives really irritating because it looks sketchy and a bit contrived, and it doesn�t go anywhere.� |
He (Lines 227-230) says that this is a conscious
attitude to the story, saying, �this is life and is in fact not resolved.�
The lack of satisfaction to which ColdwelI alludes indicates a number of
difficulties in developing dramatic narrative for circus. Coldwell cites
changes in personnel as a major difficulty for Circus Oz. He (Lines 21
2-214) hypothesises:
| �We�ve got the perfect show for this particular group of people and three months later two people leave and the story is destroyed.� |
Broadway (Lines 187-181) feels- this is the
reason that the narrative structure must remain basic:
| �the very nature of circus is that performers go in and out all the time. They get injured. They get sick. They can�t go on. And you can�t understudy because of the specialised nature of the skills.� |
Hence, the narrative must be kept flexible enough to accommodate the changes that are inevitable in a company such as Circus Oz that tours for extended periods of time.
Another difficulty in developing dramatic
narrative in circus is that circus performers generally have few acting
skills. This partly due to the emphasis on acquiring physical skills. Physical
virtuosity is achieved through an enormous amount of training and constant
practice. Giving priority to training leaves little time or desire to acquire
acting skills:
| �I find it hard to imagine putting as much time into acting as we do physical stuff ... I am quite interested in focussing on physical skills and just going with that and making it really slick and just doing what we do best and actually avoiding the speaking thing.� (Oates: Lines 295-304) |
Apart from training priorities, there are
also inherent differences in the type of mental focus required to complete
a physical routine, and the focus needed to maintain character and drive
narrative. Mullet (Lines 121-127) says that combining dramatic narrative
and circus routines requires performers to �split� their concentration:
| �when you are looking at acting you are looking at one skill which is the skill of performing a character within a narrative or whatever. Whereas with circus you are looking at a physical skill which requires an enormous amount of concentration or whatever. Trying then to split yourself into being able to perform that skill well and act through a narrative is very difficult.� |
The precise nature of this focus for physical
performance is discussed in detail in Chapter 2. The split between this
type of focus, and that which is required to drive the dramatic narrative
leads to problems in synthesising narrative and trick, because the performer
is often forced to drop out of character to execute the trick. This synthesis
is also made difficult by the safety requirements of some acts. Mullet
(Lines 449-454) speculates on a hypothetical narrative where the climax
might be:
| �a spin on a web and you go up and do it and your hand loop isn�t on properly, the pressure on you to keep going, because you are part of a narrative is a lot more that the pressure on you to keep going if you are doing a solo act within a traditional format.� |
This would be a case where the imposed narrative structure is at odds with the narrative structure inherent in the trick, where stopping and fixing the hand loop leads to a further build in tension.
In addition to the problems the performer
faces with executing dramatic narrative, Broadway (Lines 241-244) considers
that many circus images are inflexible when one attempts to transpose them
into a narrative:
| �The images that it [circus] creates are strong, but also inflexible. There�s only one way of doing a handstand on fifteen chairs.� |
3.2.3. The Development of Convention
In spite of these difficulties many of those
interviewed feel that narrative is worth pursuing, feeling that all of
the possibilities are not yet exhausted. Broadway (Lines 171-172) says
it allows one to �multilayer a piece so that it�s got more than its apparent
meaning.� Mullet (Lines 129) feels that �interesting things come out of
it.� However, they both consider that the conventions that allow the swapping
between narrative and physical imagery are not yet developed enough to
make such swapping completely acceptable to audiences. Brown (Lines 181-184)
feels that these problems in synthesis arise from the lack of experience
writers have working with circus performers. Rock�n�Roll Circus, in 1994,
was working with playwright Hilary Beaton, who is in a process of familiarising
herself with the imagery contained in circus routines, as well as the technical
requirements of circus, in order to develop a script.
The drive to continue this project in dramatic
narrative seems to be a core element in the drive to create new circus
forms. Indeed, some research participants feel that they are under pressure
to pursue this project. Parkinson (Lines 38-39) says, �I think the pressure
is on a bit in contemporary circus you know to make the blend [between
circus and theatre].� Yates (Lines 104-108) is more scathing:
| �For the sake of narrative I�ve seen really poor shows. They�ve gone, �We�ve got to have a narrative because this is contemporary [emphasis his] circus, it�s theatrical and everything, and it�s just been crap.� |
Yates�s view represents a growing frustration with the use of dramatic narrative in circus, typical amongst later generations of non-traditional circus performers. This generation is turning towards other strategies to find a synthesis between narrative and trick.
3.3. THE SYNTHESIS OF NARRATIVE
AND TRICK
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In more recent attempts to find a more satisfying
synthesis between narrative and trick, many have turned away from the conventional
forms of dramatic narrative, and begun exploring narrative convention in
other performance traditions. Mullet (Lines 151-154) feels that circus
is still a young art form and should look to the conventions of older art
forms, such as opera. Broadway (Lines 220-226) cites convention used in
the Chinese Opera as a worthy model to pursue:
| �The story goes along like this and then they go to this fight scene. It�s not actually forwarding the story. It�s showing off ... and the one who won does a little solo that is just pure skill, but it�s a celebration and it�s within the context of the narrative.� |
The conventions of modern dance have also become popular in solving narrative problems with circus, for as Mullet (Lines 1 72-1 74) says, �choreographers are the ones with the language about marrying narrative and physical skill.� Desoxy and Coolpower are two young companies involved in a cross art form exploration of dance and acrobatics. Perhaps as a consequence of using the conventions of modern dance, the audience for this kind of work is restricted to those who are literate in such conventions, undermining the popular appeal that other circus forms have.
Another solution to these problems that arise
due to narrative is the engagement of specialist artists to collaborate
on cross art form projects, leaving the circus performers to engage in
their own areas of specialty:
| �we do circus and if we want a scene where there is big masks or puppetry
and stuff we bring the people who do puppetry or who do masks because they
do it well.�
(Oates: Lines 333-336) |
Broadway (Lines 695-700) feels that such collaboration
is probably a direction that Circus Oz will explore in the future:
| �we�re starting to talk with other kinds of groups about doing collaborations ... where it�s a genuine meeting, not a live theatre show, and stick some circus skills in it.� |
Both Rock�n�Roll Circus and Club Swing use
a form of narrative construction that Brown (Line 149) describes as �collage�.
In this style narrative is built intetextually, through the juxtaposition
of a number of episodes based around various circus routines. Rock�n�Roll
Circus�s Bodyslam (see Appendix B) is in this style and has proven to be
one of the company�s most successful productions, now in its second year
of repertoire. Club Swing developed this kind of style for their 1994 production,
Appetite. Both companies began with themes they wished to investigate,
and then developed a number of routines around these themes. Rock�n�Roll
Circus developed a number of acts around the theme of body image and Club
Swing took a number of aerial apparatus, and looked at the relationship
between performer and apparatus, and its association to the themes of food
and sensuality. Such approaches to narrative, allows individual audiences
members a much more active and subjective role in interpreting meaning.
As such, it represents a considerable change in direction since the early
experimentation with narrative in circus performance driven by �political
earnestness� (Laurie: Line 190). As Laurie (Lines 98-104) says:
| �I think the current objection to narrative is an objection to the authoritative voice. There is a notion that there is only one story and it is being told in this way and the author is telling you what and how to think. I think there has been a rejection of that, saying there is not just one point of view, there are multiple points of view.� |
As mentioned earlier, many images in circus
are strong, but inflexible. Some of those interviewed refer to perennial
themes in circus, which may be the key to exploiting the strength of circus
imagery, while avoiding the inflexibility of such images. These themes
include those pertaining to the body, (including strength, sensuality and
the �inspirational quality of physical performance� (Laurie: Lines 151-152)),
the grotesque, flight and mortality. Parkinson (Lines 71 -73) says:
| �Human form is always going to be essential to the visual of circus. And you know, by their very nature circus performers are going to have great bodies.� |
Brown (Line 289) also feels that �the sensual
side� is a strength of physical performance, referring to both Bodyslam
and Appetite. Laurie (Lines 39-41) sees the grotesque as a core theme in
circus:
| �the element of the circus that is about the underside, that is about the grotesque, that is about freaks, that is about the connection between human and animal...� |
Coldwell talks of flight and death in the
trapeze act, observing that the use of a mechanic (a series of blocks and
wires used with a safety harness, mostly in aerial routines) undercuts
the theme of death and fear of death, leaving only images of flight:
| �if people are still tormented by fears of death, and by fears of what happens to them after, and all that kind of stuff, it gives rise to religion and it gives rise to circus. Then if you remove that you are removing something really important.� (Coldwell: Lines 79-82) |
These comments all indicate that these themes
are inherent in circus. As such, they contribute to the mythology of circus:
| �Circus has a mythology about it ... about trapeze and tents and caravans and things and it does have a lot of mystic qualities about it.� (Brown: Lines 216-218) |
It is these qualities that both Rock�n�Roll
Circus and Club Swing have been able to tap into, and at the same time
have managed to fulfill their respective narrative objectives.
3.4 CONCLUSION
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The process of synthesising narrative and
trick is constantly being re-worked in contemporary circus. While traditional
circus retains its act to act structure, with its largely unconscious narrative
construction, and feels that such an approach is relevant to its audiences,
the newer approaches of non-traditional circuses perhaps represent a more
relevant approach to circus. Some of the early narrative conventions that
rely on models adopted from the theatre, inspired by Circus Oz and its
predecessors, seem to have run their course. The emergent narrative forms
in contemporary circus are making tentative explorations in new directions,
inspired by dance and other contemporary performance styles. The collage
style of narrative construction is able to exploit the strength of circus
imagery, without encountering the inflexibility of such images, and exemplifies
a fresh approach to narrative construction in circus. While traditional
and non-traditional circus are markedly different in aesthetic understanding
of circus form, cultural objectives and the types of audience they target,
there are similarities between traditional narrative construction, and
these more recent developments in narrative experimentation, perhaps pointing
to a convergence between the two forms. At the most basic structural level,
the collage style is similar to the act-to-act structure. The major difference
remains in the ambition of nontraditional circus to express ideas that
are based in the philosophies underlying this revolution in circus. The
basis of such philosophies and their manifestation in contemporary circus
practice are the subjects of the next chapter.