It can be a small skill.

The last thing I learned to do was whistle. Never could whistle my whole life, and tutorials and friends never could help me.

So, for the last month or two, I just sort of made the blow shape then spam-tried different “tongue configurations” so to speak – whenever I had free time. Monkey-at-a-typewriter type shit. It was more an absentminded thing than a practice investment.

Probably looked dumb as hell making blow noises. Felt dumb too (“what? you can’t whistle? just watch”), but I kept at it like a really really low-investment… dare I attract self-help gurus… habit.

Eventually I made a pitch, then I could shift the pitch up a little, then five pitches, then Liebestraum, then the range of a tenth or so. Skadoosh. Still doing it now lol.

(Make of this what you will: If I went the musician route my brain told me to, then I would’ve gotten bored after 1 minute of major scales. When I was stuck at only having five pitches, I had way more longevity whistle-blowing cartoonish Tom-and-Jerry-running-around chromaticisms than failing the “fa” in “do re mi fa”.)

So, Lemmings: What was the last skill you learned? And further, what was the context/way in which you learned it?

  • Tiefling IRL@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    0·
    3 months ago

    How dangerous really is your job?

    Very. Most acts are dangerous towards just the performer, but fire performance is dangerous towards everyone in the theater, so I carry insurance and follow strict safety protocol. Risk mitigation is the name of the game.

    What happens if you get injured? Insurance/etc.?

    I have a day job with insurance, but not everyone is so lucky and performers do get hurt. Injuries are bad because you have to take time off to heal. One of my friends is currently healing a broken rib and can’t perform much. Again, risk mitigation.

    What differences do you have when performing for adults vs. children? (since you mention child-friendly, I assume that means you don’t do things that might scare them)

    Adult oriented shows often have more nudity/burlesque and more graphic acts, whereas kids get more traditional circus or campy horror. To give an example, chuldre might get mousetraps and fire eating while adults get bed of nails and human pincushion.

    What are your least tame skills?

    I have a forked tongue and pretend to cut my tongue in half with lots of fake blood. It ALWAYS freaks people out. Anything involving a power drill also freaks people out.

    How did you get into performing in the sideshow? Mentors, training, string of coincidences?

    I started as a fire performer and got into it through fire eating. Eventually I got invited into America’s last permanently housed circus sideshow.

    Favorite memory?

    We are a dying breed, so we all care about each other and love each other like family. I have a lot of fond memories with the other performers. My favorite memories are probably the super kind words they’ve said when they are introducing me on stage, we like to gush about each other.

    Any frightening memories?

    One of my closest friends tried to unalive themselves at home during one of my performance days. My phone started going off like crazy to the point where I couldn’t see my GPS. My girlfriend handled a lot of it.

    We sent people to find her. She went to the hospital then spent a week at the psych ward, and I hosted a fundraiser show that raised $1000 to get her back on her feet. The incident also connected a lot of people together.