The Happiness of Larry Ellison

Riding the passenger’s position aboard Oracle on Saturday as Spithill vanquished the French boat Energy there was an opportunity to view the heart and happiness of our billionaire entrepreneurAmerica’s Cup tycoon in full happiness while witnessing what he has wrought upon the world of racing. It does my heart good to know a man […]

You’re No Dennis Conner

“I know Dennis Conner. Dennis Conner is a friend of mine.” Said a patron at the tavern I bellied up to. His friend from Scotland older and more subdued knew Dennis too. The two men offered by way of beer induced barrier reduction their back of the envelope opinion on this current incarnation of sports […]

Race finish

This is 2nd race pic Posted from WordPress for Android

San Diego for AC 45’s Flaming the Fans Passions

HarborIslandwas where the northernmost buoys for theAmerica’s Cup 45’s would be making their turn in Race 3. The buoys consist of two power boats that take their positions on the race course and then hold that position not by anchor but under power. They did fine. The start took place a mile south of where […]

The Road that Never Ends

Pulling off a national tour means you need a reliable vehicle. Here I am installing my fourth motor into my ’67 Ford. I did all my own work. The first few rebuilds were not so good, but they got better and lasted longer with practice. Note the camper shell. This shell was scrapped and a […]

Worth a Try

I find some of my earliest material from my show embarrassing. I would have preferred to have come out of the starting blocks with a perfect beginning. My first few years consisted of a wide range of elements. There was juggling, magic, mindreading, sketch comedy, puppetry, water-spitting, springboard acrobatic stunts, and handbalancing. I tried […]

Street Show as Heart Song

My career in show business spans almost four decades. For many years I have presented somewhere around 300 performances per year. That’s a solid number. Some years I didn’t do that many shows and in other years it is likely that I approached as many as 750. There were a chunk of years that I […]

Sometimes I Played for Elephants

Touring a show by truck is a different experience from flying to an airport, renting a car, staying at a hotel, and getting all your meals in restaurants. I arranged my pickup truck to fit my show equipment and everything I would need to eat and sleep while traveling. To travel in this […]

Street Performing as Spoken Word

Dana Smith Harlequin Street Theater from 1978 My approach to street theater has placed particular emphasis on words. It is the power of the spoken word when combined with visual elements, and situational moments that can be one of the most effective tools when building a successful show. In the vernacular of the […]

The Great Romance of Street Theater

Developing an efficient way of stopping pedestrians is not so simple. It is a trial and error process. Eventually each act finds something that does the trick. Some acts are incredibly skillful at gathering an audience. There are all kinds of street shows. People present all kinds of skills. Some people work silent, others talk. […]