Invention of a New Show

Check out the poster for the upcoming FreakShow Family Show! at Therapy Cafe in Dayton, OH. Poster design by Scott Gardner; photos by Dark Mannequin Designs.

When the word got out at Grennan the Green Monster & La Pequeña Arañita were scheduled to appear on NBC’s Little Big Shots hosted by Steve Harvey (which filmed over the summer, then first aired on April 9, 2017 – you can watch in on NBC here: http://www.nbc.com/little-big-shots/video/tiny-dancer/3493075 their segment begins at about 26 minutes in), the question we keep getting is

“Where can I see the show LIVE?!”

Fair enough! We have arranged ONE (1) exclusive show in southwestern Ohio (where the kids live their civilian lives) at one place: THERAPY Cafe in Dayton, Ohio. This is the place where we hosted a viewing party, AND have experimented with a couple of shows including Ilumen-Naughty & at least one showing of Cap’n Johnny’s Whiz Bang. Tickets can & should be purchased early on either Brown Paper Tickets or Eventbrite.

Are there details? SURE there are! Check the event out here: https://www.facebook.com/events/439666113033193/

The next question is probably, “Is this a new show?”

Steve Harvey talks with Charlotte & Grennan on NBC’s LITTLE BIG SHOTS (photo courtesy NBC).

Well – mostly. As Grennan & Charlotte continue to grow as performers and forces to be reckoned with, it definitley brings some changes to what your FreakShow Deluxe is doing. The two of them are constantly adding new acts to their repertoires – Grennan even premiered a new act at this year’s Southern Sideshow Hootenanny! So it is never the same show.

Additionally, your FreakShow Deluxe has been working on this show for a time – finding the best way to present your FreakShow Family in the most entertaining way for YOU! So come on out to the show!!

$10 EARLY BIRD TICKETS are only available until April 23, 2017.

$15 GENERAL ADMISSION can only be ordered online until the May 18. These get you in the door – but do not guarantee you a seat. These tickets are $20 AT THE DOOR.

$30 VIP EXPERIENCE is also available. This gets you special reserved seats in the front row, early entry & a special pre-show show (at 7pm), a photo of you with the cast, AND some exclusive FreakShow Deluxe swag. LIMITED NUMBER – DEFINITELY THE BEST VALUE!!

The FreakShow Family (photo by Dark Mannequin Designs)

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Advice to Young Performers

Merchandise for sale after the show! Check out the new Glow-In-the-Dark shirts!!! This is a photo from FrightFest 2016 at Frontier City Amusement Park in Oklahoma City, OK.

FIRST: FreakShow Deluxe has finally opened an online store! Yay!You can purchase FSD-branded merchandise online and get it delivered wherever you want. Send it as a gift, or get a little something for yourself.

Get several somethings… they’re small.

We are offering over 20 items, including: our exclusive line of coffee (it is so good!), shirts, hats, buttons, stickers, shrunken heads, cigars, and so much more!

Go visit our store right now here: https://freakshowdeluxe.bigcartel.com

SECOND: There is a horrible public group on Facebook called the Sideshow Spectrum. It was put together by the amazing Todd Robbins, who is a great guy – but the group is a heckuva time waster when Reverend Tommy Gunn should be doing other things.

So it is a public group. You can go check it out yourself. Recently, a young performer posted, asking:

I am a very new performer (less than a year), but I feel I have a good act that I am still polishing. The trouble I am having is that it is only ~20 minutes and that feels short.
So far I have only been able to perform open mics, a local performing arts festival and as entertainment at a local outdoor event.

There was more – you can read the whole thing here.

FIRST: Get a nifty banner and some cool costumes! (photo of Grennan the Green Monster and La Pequeña Arañita at George Washington’s Mount Vernon for the 2016 Colonial Marketplace)

After thinking about it, your Reverend decided to give his advice – in kind of a way like this:

You didn’t mention any of your other background, so you may not need this, but let me offer you the following advice that I have given to young actors — So you’re feeling pretty good about your sideshow show?

Good!

NOW: STOP DOING SIDESHOW. Walk away. Go take some acting classes, elocution lessons, speech classes, dance class, singing lessons, and movement work (maybe some martial arts training, too). Learn how to read music and maybe play an instrument. At the same time, study stage lighting, sound design, set design, and properties. In your free time, research performance history (not just circus and sideshow history – and not just new stuff, either – really get into the meat of it), mythology, story structure, philosophy, and psychology.

Once you’re done with those – COME BACK to your sideshow work, and rebuild it all from the ground up (because now you’re going to realize it wasn’t as good as you thought it was).

While you’re rebuilding it, take some time to do some formal study of business, accounting, insurance, contract law, and other money-related matters. Study some investing. Take some sales courses so you learn how to sell. Study, then apprentice, in tour management, booking, working with agents…

NOW you’re closer to really being ready to move forward!!

If you’re not going to do all those things, then HIRE people you trust who KNOW how to do those things for you that you’re not clear on – listen to those people when they tell you what you should do.

All of this will help you to see how all of these things are interrelated – and that nothing and no one operates in a vacuum.

By doing this you will hopefully avoid most of the pitfalls, and keep from adopting many of the bad habits that end up ruining performer’s enjoyment of what, ruining them financially, and making their life a lot harder than it needs to be.

I do not doubt that some folks are going to say/feel that I’m an a**hole for pointing all this out. I am. Some other folks are going to worry I’m giving away the secrets of success. I’m doing that, too.

But it’s not free advice. You’ll pay… oh, yes… you’ll pay.

OH! And don’t forget to attend the annual The Southern Sideshow Hootenanny in New Orleans, LA!! It is THE place to be for the modern sideshow industry. We look forward to seeing you there!

The last thing you need to know is GTFM!