“Circus 1903” Uses Modern Stage Craft & Pachyderm Puppets to Recreate a Turn-of-the-century Traveling Show - CircusTalk

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“Circus 1903” Uses Modern Stage Craft & Pachyderm Puppets to Recreate a Turn-of-the-century Traveling Show

30+ years ago, DavidWilliamson almost ran away with the circus.

“I was a teenager growing up in Ohio,” Williamson recalled during a recent phone interview. “And this one ring circus came to town. They found out somehow that I did magic and then tried to recruit me to come join their show. The idea sounded so romantic, but my mother wouldn’t let me go.”

We now jump ahead a few decades and Williamson has become a conjurer’s conjurer. Voted “Sleight of Hand Magician of the Year” two years in a row by Hollywood’s Magic Castle, David had also been declared the “Most Wanted Magician” by the International Federation of Magic Societies. Which is why organizations like the Disney Cruise Line regularly sought Williamson out to come perform on their boats. Which is where David wound up doing sleight of hand in front of 1500 people at a time.

Now while this level of professional success (not to mention repeatedly receiving the recognition of your peers) is the sort of thing that every other magician on the planet craves, Williamson was looking for new fields to conquer. Which is why – when producer Simon Painter (i.e., the impresario behind the highly successful “Illusionists” shows) offered David the opportunity to circle back on an old dream – he jumped at it.

“This must have been 3, 3 & a ½ years ago, when Simon first talked with me about this idea for a new stage show that he was exploring. One that would celebrated all of those one ring circuses that used to visit small towns at the turn-of-the-century. Only to make this retro show a true theatrical experience, Simon was going to have the animal acts done as puppets a la ‘War Horse,’ “ Williamson explained. “And as Simon was talking, I remember thinking that it might be fun to play the ringmaster in a show like that. That I could do a lot with a role like that.”

So more than 3 decades after his mother expressly told him not to, David did finally run away with the circus. Which – in this case – involved traveling all the way from Ohio to Docklands Studios in Melbourne, Australia. Which is where Williamson then spent three weeks rehearsing with this veteran group of circus performers who had never before been in a stage show.

Link to Full Article on Huffington Post

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