Shot on 3/20/2013 on location in DUMBO Brooklyn as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to town! A film by Robert Kolodny A House of Nod Production Please visit http://houseofnod.com Follow us http://twitter.com/houseofnodfilms Like us http://facebook.com/houseofnod Contact: info@houseofnod.com

• published: 20 Mar 2013
• views: 428

Peterborough, Ontario. August 25 to September 3, 1988. Film clips taken from the Rhombus Media film Carnival of Shadows, directed by Barbara Willis Sweete, which was shot on location both during and after the run of The Greatest Show. (Viewers in Southern Ontario can visit a wonderful exhibition at the Cambridge Galleries featuring objects, props and costumes from The Greatest Show and other Schafer works until April 7, 2012. More at www.cambridgegalleries.ca/cambridge.taf?section=2) The story of The Greatest Show’s unlikely production at Peterborough's Crary Park is worthy of a small book. In R. Murray Schafer’s notes to the performers he described The Greatest Show as “an immense outdoor theatrical and musical extravaganza in the form of a town fair or carnival.” It was certainly that. Evidence of its ambition can be found in its original title, ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’, as it was known during its 3-night workshop run the previous summer, also at Crary Park. The name change came about when Schafer was contacted by a team of persuasive lawyers from Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus. These lines, taken from the 24-page program guide, seemed to sum up Schafer’s goals not only for this work, but for the entire Patria cycle of 12 related music dramas (The Greatest Show is also known as Patria 3. Go to www.patria.org for a complete overview): “Have you ever sat in the whirly-burl blinded by science and philosophy, bored by the mask of the world?...Well, yes there is a cure for the woes of the spirit and the grand malaise we call civilization. And it’s here, now, in your town and it’s called THE GREATEST SHOW. Come one come all!” Having recently moved to the Peterborough area, Schafer’s reputation in the music world was such that he was able to attract an impressive cast of musicians, actors, dancers and designers to a community that had never - at least not in living memory - hosted so many highly accomplished artists from across the country to perform together. Schafer’s chief collaborators were among the brightest up and coming artists of the time: director Thom Sokoloski, music director Christopher Butterfield, chorus director Peter Tiefenbach, lighting designer Kevin Lamotte and - perhaps most important on such an undertaking - Schafer’s design team of Jerrard and Diana Smith, who moved to the area and continued to make their own important contributions to the local arts scene. Of course none of this would have been possible if Murray had not found in Peterborough eager organizations with which to collaborate - in particular the Peterborough Festival of the Arts, led by Catherine Gallop - and plenty of professional and amateur performers with their own unique and colorful talents. Of the dozens of local artists that took part, some can be seen here, such as Robert Winslow (who played multiple roles, including the ringmaster), Kelly Nadal, Washboard Hank, Jim Gleason, David Bateman, Serge Bertrand, Tim Gallop, Robin Hood, Terry Novak, and Royce Williamson. Other prominent local artists, not seen in these clips, included the likes of Allan Orenstein (whose Magic Circus Theatre was a sponsor), David and Ken Ramsden, Susan Spicer, and John Crown to name a few. In addition to the artists, more than 125 local businesses and individuals are thanked in the show program, and that’s not counting the dozens who placed ads in it. The sheer numbers are impressive: The Greatest Show featured about 100 different acts or scenes, and everything seen in it - the immense canvas banners, the tents and booths to accommodate the dozens of side shows, the hundreds of costumes and props - were built from scratch. The costume department had to generate outfits for 120 characters, plus an additional 80 for the technicians, crew and filmmakers who needed to blend into the action. Mounting the workshop production in 1987, and then the nearly complete work in 1988 (the show was reportedly only 70% of Schafer’s full intentions - after all where was the ferris wheel and merry-go-round?) was an immense organizational challenge. It forced the Peterborough arts community to get organized quickly, brought disparate players together for the first time ever, and left a legacy of accomplishment that has both inspired others to take on seemingly impossible tasks, and stood as something of a high water mark for artistic achievement in the city. One would expect financing such an extravaganza to be a challenge; indeed it was, compounded by two financial hits. Attendance over the show’s 9-evening run came in at about 2,500, short of expectations. Opening night saw only 161 attendees, but by the final night the number was 438 and climbing. Speaking to the Peterborough Examiner on behalf of the Festival of the Arts, Allan Orenstein blamed inadequate publicity and bad weather. Disappointing as attendance was (particularly in the first week when there were some real downpours), the bigger financial b

• published: 05 Mar 2012
• views: 172

Shot on 3/20/2013 on location in DUMBO Brooklyn as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to town! A film by Robert Kolodny A House of Nod Production Please visit http://houseofnod.com Follow us http://twitter.com/houseofnodfilms Like us http://facebook.com/houseofnod Contact: info@houseofnod.com

• published: 20 Mar 2013
• views: 428

Peterborough, Ontario. August 25 to September 3, 1988. Film clips taken from the Rhombus Media film Carnival of Shadows, directed by Barbara Willis Sweete, which was shot on location both during and after the run of The Greatest Show. (Viewers in Southern Ontario can visit a wonderful exhibition at the Cambridge Galleries featuring objects, props and costumes from The Greatest Show and other Schafer works until April 7, 2012. More at www.cambridgegalleries.ca/cambridge.taf?section=2) The story of The Greatest Show’s unlikely production at Peterborough's Crary Park is worthy of a small book. In R. Murray Schafer’s notes to the performers he described The Greatest Show as “an immense outdoor theatrical and musical extravaganza in the form of a town fair or carnival.” It was certainly that. Evidence of its ambition can be found in its original title, ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’, as it was known during its 3-night workshop run the previous summer, also at Crary Park. The name change came about when Schafer was contacted by a team of persuasive lawyers from Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus. These lines, taken from the 24-page program guide, seemed to sum up Schafer’s goals not only for this work, but for the entire Patria cycle of 12 related music dramas (The Greatest Show is also known as Patria 3. Go to www.patria.org for a complete overview): “Have you ever sat in the whirly-burl blinded by science and philosophy, bored by the mask of the world?...Well, yes there is a cure for the woes of the spirit and the grand malaise we call civilization. And it’s here, now, in your town and it’s called THE GREATEST SHOW. Come one come all!” Having recently moved to the Peterborough area, Schafer’s reputation in the music world was such that he was able to attract an impressive cast of musicians, actors, dancers and designers to a community that had never - at least not in living memory - hosted so many highly accomplished artists from across the country to perform together. Schafer’s chief collaborators were among the brightest up and coming artists of the time: director Thom Sokoloski, music director Christopher Butterfield, chorus director Peter Tiefenbach, lighting designer Kevin Lamotte and - perhaps most important on such an undertaking - Schafer’s design team of Jerrard and Diana Smith, who moved to the area and continued to make their own important contributions to the local arts scene. Of course none of this would have been possible if Murray had not found in Peterborough eager organizations with which to collaborate - in particular the Peterborough Festival of the Arts, led by Catherine Gallop - and plenty of professional and amateur performers with their own unique and colorful talents. Of the dozens of local artists that took part, some can be seen here, such as Robert Winslow (who played multiple roles, including the ringmaster), Kelly Nadal, Washboard Hank, Jim Gleason, David Bateman, Serge Bertrand, Tim Gallop, Robin Hood, Terry Novak, and Royce Williamson. Other prominent local artists, not seen in these clips, included the likes of Allan Orenstein (whose Magic Circus Theatre was a sponsor), David and Ken Ramsden, Susan Spicer, and John Crown to name a few. In addition to the artists, more than 125 local businesses and individuals are thanked in the show program, and that’s not counting the dozens who placed ads in it. The sheer numbers are impressive: The Greatest Show featured about 100 different acts or scenes, and everything seen in it - the immense canvas banners, the tents and booths to accommodate the dozens of side shows, the hundreds of costumes and props - were built from scratch. The costume department had to generate outfits for 120 characters, plus an additional 80 for the technicians, crew and filmmakers who needed to blend into the action. Mounting the workshop production in 1987, and then the nearly complete work in 1988 (the show was reportedly only 70% of Schafer’s full intentions - after all where was the ferris wheel and merry-go-round?) was an immense organizational challenge. It forced the Peterborough arts community to get organized quickly, brought disparate players together for the first time ever, and left a legacy of accomplishment that has both inspired others to take on seemingly impossible tasks, and stood as something of a high water mark for artistic achievement in the city. One would expect financing such an extravaganza to be a challenge; indeed it was, compounded by two financial hits. Attendance over the show’s 9-evening run came in at about 2,500, short of expectations. Opening night saw only 161 attendees, but by the final night the number was 438 and climbing. Speaking to the Peterborough Examiner on behalf of the Festival of the Arts, Allan Orenstein blamed inadequate publicity and bad weather. Disappointing as attendance was (particularly in the first week when there were some real downpours), the bigger financial b

• published: 05 Mar 2012
• views: 172