03/03/2015
A word about the show.
For four years I put every last bit of my heart, soul, inspiration, and creativity into one thing, one show, The Beggar’s Carnivale. A large scale live action silent film vaudeville circus show. I have always been very passionate about live entertainment and the art of the variety show. With the help of countless dedicated cast members, musicians, tech crew, and volunteers, we made Beggars one of the largest, most original, most successful vaudeville shows around. It started as a fun idea party show in a smaller venue that we very quickly outgrew. I wanted to set a high standard and this show demanded skill, rehearsal, discipline, organization, production value, and originality. The people who were a part of this show met all of those demands and did so much more. As time went on, story lines became more involved, production value went up, and audiences kept getting bigger. We were quickly performing regularly for audiences of 700 people and more, as well as selling out shows around the country. It became a family, without sounding dramatic, it honestly became a bit of a lifestyle. People proudly told people that they were Beggars!
I am so proud of all of that, all of that work, and the reputation we made for ourselves. I hope everyone who was ever involved in the show feels that same level of pride.
As time went on, my inspirations started to change and my performance style began to evolve. I wanted to explore new things and styles. I couldn’t put all of my heart into the show anymore and I refused to do a walk through the motions formula Beggar’s show to make money and appease people. That wouldn’t have been fair to the cast, crew, myself, and most importantly, the paying audiences.
I decided to stop doing the show a while ago. I never publicly said anything about it. I apologize if there was or has been any confusion. People still continue to ask about the show, so, I finally decided to speak about it.
The Beggar’s Carnivale will not be a part of this year’s Show-Me Burlesque Festival, and we have no plans to do another Beggar’s anytime in the foreseeable future. If one day inspiration miraculously strikes again, you all will be the first to know!
While part of this breaks my heart to let go of something that has meant so much to me and has been such a large part of my life, I can say that there is a silver lining, friends!
Everyone involved in the show is still performing and creating all over the country. There are other large Vaudeville Variety shows happening in St. Louis. The Show Me Burlesque Festival is very much still happening. I am still writing, creating, rehearsing, and performing like crazy. Please continue to support live performance, and the weirdos who do it. Keep live entertainment alive and thriving!
I want to, from the very bottom of my heart, thank the cast, the crew, the volunteers, and the fans for going along on this amazing ride and making this show what it was. I hope when you all look back on what we did and created together, you smile.
I believe magic is meant to exist in a time and a place, it’s not meant to last forever, and that’s what makes it magical.
All of my love, all of my gratitude,
Sammy
