Step right up; Ladies and Germs; and feast your eyes on the incomparable wonders of a hidden world! Be astonished! amazed! disgusted! by brazen acts of self-destruction that no natural human body should be able to withstand!Tony Gangi; professional magician; lifelong sideshow devotee; and card-carrying graduate of Coney Islands famed Sideshow School; guides you through the stupendous techniques and proud traditions of this shocking and fascinating realm of entertainment.bull; Learn the secrets behind Breathing Fire! Sword Swallowing! The Bed of Nails! Pounding Spikes into the Head! bull; Enter the mysterious worlds of the Snake Lady; the Human Blockhead; and more! bull; Meet sideshow greats like Melvin Burkhart and Ward Hall. bull; Discover todays dedicated entertainers; like Todd Robbins; Harley Newman; Tyler Fyre; Thrill Kill Jill; Donny Vomit; The Black Scorpion; and more! bull; See what it takes to enter this underground yet welcoming world as a performer.Features interviews with Penn Jillette and Todd Robbins and Penn Jillettes ode to the sideshow; the "10 in 1" monologue as performed by Penn TellerEditorss Note: Not for the faint of heart; weak of stomach or easily grossed out. So go ahead; how can you resist?!Tony Gangi; a Philadelphia native; never actually intended to make his living by shoving nails up his nose. He left the corporate world to become a professional magician and proprietor of one of the few flea circuses remaining in the world ("Live fleas do; in fact; perform circus tricks;" he says. They just need to be "trained the right way and treated with kindness.")Hes now mastered straightjacket escapes; fire-eating; and napping on a bed of nails. He is currently working on his presentation for walking barefoot on broken glass. This is his first book. He hopes it is not his last.
#930450 in eBooks 2002-09-18 2002-09-18File Name: B00669PH66
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An important addition to the library of anyone interested in acting or just reading ShakespeareBy Deborah HennesseyIm not an actor. Im a Shakespeare nerd. Im willing to fight my way through difficult Elizabethan language and mountains of footnotes to figure out what Shakespeares characters are saying. However. not everyone is like that and its probably just as well. If you are not one of the proud nerdy few. and even if you are. this book is for you. The authors of Speak the Speech explain several key speeches from each of Shakespeares plays using clear 21st century English. They offer such excellent advice on pronunciation and the choices actors need to make that this nerd is half convinced to try acting.Scattered throughout the book. the authors provide helpful background on Elizabethan politics. theater and everyday life. Do you want to know the stories behind the names of Bottom. Flute. Snout and company from A Midsummer Nights Dream? Its here. Do you want to know the steps to getting married in Elizabethan England? Thats here too. Would you like some background on the real life Cleopatra? Got it.In addition to this there is a synopsis of each play which is very helpful to understanding the broad action of a play before you tackle the reading. A little reading now saves a lot of time spent referring to footnotes later.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. You need this!By James CowleyBest resource I have ever had my hands on. Thank you. thank you!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. for college theatre drama majorBy TravlinProfI bought this for my son who is a Theatre Drama major / serious actor. It was recommended to him by one of his professors he loves it. Great guide for both auditioning with a Shakespearean monologue or performing them within the context of a play
