The Sideshow

The end result was a mixture of comedy and drama with layers of social commentary based on research of 19th and 20th-century American carnival and freak show attractions.

• I remember Ollie was interested in Artaud and 'The Theatre and Its Double' at the time. We met and started playing with some ideas. I can't remember how we settled upon carnivals and sideshow acts, but I do remember he had us do some fun improvising with sounds and movements atop desks and chairs and playing lots of other games. I recall each of us contributing lyrics to a song and making up our own dialogue and then shaping things as a unit. It was a very organic process. — Jason Lasky 2018-09-01
• We were interested in presenting a freak love story, too, with the Bearded Lady and Lobster Boy falling in love, and a through-line for the piece was a mother wanting the best for her child, no matter how much society rejected it — Jason Lasky 2018-09-01
• We drew on the music of The Tiger Lillies, specifically the album 'Circus Songs', as inspiration for some of the characters and the scenes, like Pretty Lisa, the tattooed lady whose tattoos were hiding the abuse she suffered from her husband, the Barker. — Jason Lasky 2018-09-01
• There was an extended moment in which we all faced the audience and took our time treating them like an attraction, looking first in wonder, then awe, then disgust, and then with raucous laughter since we had figured out that what we were looking at wasn't real, but then that gave way to some psychotic bellowing. — Jason Lasky 2018-09-01
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