The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-04-17
THE STREET CIRCI s.
Z @ae Man HAND The nlnw . Carpet
-PerTogwanee an~rt.


An open air circus In miniS ture tina
gives its performance on q carpet .presS
on thu street Eavemeat 10 the lstes: ed
dition TO New Works forms OG cheap en-
ts.rtn inEnsnt u may bs encOum sres
almost any plea can't afternoon or eveninl
somewhere in the thickly populated die
trict east % the BOwery and Third venus
and between the Brooklyn Bridge ana
the Harlem River
The adv snt % this little oirca 10 her
aided by q burst % muaic. The banc
consists VI a man with q bass drum. On
HIS lack are cynhals that clash sxplo
sively when he kicks cut the hssI that
pulls the string connected with them
Fastened tO u frame On his head IL a con
csrtina Hanging Is~side the lasa drum
~ a snnr~ drum that he a@ta going by
moving his unOrcupiod foot.
While hs 10 PLAYING the two OF three
performers are spreadtng strip Of ragged
carpet In the STREET aud the sp~ctaforu
are assembling. Within saxty seconds
window and fire escape in the vicinity
is crowded The sid~Walks and tbs
street iissif about tbe performers are
Tiled. Then the mOunfehanks throw
"a their Overcoata and reveal thcTnselVss
ia all their shabby spanglss and wrinklsd
tights.
The nrGt part Of the show 10 generally
p lew hAndsprin9s or equally easy gym
nastto tricks. Then there ia a Re- le
tumbling aud one Of the performers 50 nag.
Indian clubs while the others iuGGlr
oranges and glass baIls. The show gem
sraily concludes with come feat II
strength.
Two of the performers will mount ON
the shoulders Of the third. The man at
the top Of the pile viii balance himself
L.. u n
vsy musicslly the svtent % his alarm and
agitation over the danger u the feat.
A. the performance drawe 30 . conclu-
sion tho band takes his hat In his olson
gagged hand and begins q round Of the
S Dropped ssS tss Ia. %O eoyp. mat so
wben . nickel comes his way tho band
bstrays but slight etnotion, but IL he seer
dime he Acknow lodges ie With q thun-
derous blow on the bass drum. This musi-
should give him quarter has never been
a-certained.
While two Of the performers are doing
their last trick before rolling UP tho car
pet and preparing TO move elsswhsre the
third y Also pre.sing INTO N; crowd and
These performances do not last more
than tan or fifteen minutes and tho troupe
average about three shows an hour.
They follow no regular rOutS day atesr
uAV 8nu YOU GWfOuutHF NNNtm purely ~
chance. Tbsy have been aeen one after
noon in BrooEne street and the next ~
FAR uptown % 101th street.
Ths hand y q recent addition and indi-
Gates that tho business n prOspertng
Up To a little while ago fhs leader Of tbs
troupe used TO attract tho crowd by play
ing on q buRls.
This y the most ambitious of thu street
shows that have aopeaFed here thus far.
4 Ions tsS5nfSsSF used 10 b. seen last summer
wandering about the East 8idO streets.
spreading his bis Of carpet and giving pef-
foFma7cos. His show did not have tile
accompaniment OF unuaie. Another
man had . couple Of boys Who did balan-
cling and other tricks with Indian clubs.
They attracted small attention compared
with the circus nov on tour.
This pscturenQue feature OF street life.
the strOlling player and the mounesbank.
while novelty IN Nov York. has long bosn
q familiar sight In tho unfashionable
parts OF European cttiee. In the crowded
quarters Of Vienna. PaFis and Berlin
street performances are common.