Nightingale production seeks performers with unusual talents
By KAREN SHADE, 7/29/2006
Crispy's been gone a long time, but he's back in Tulsa, looking for new talent to add to his family-friendly sideshow curiosity.Crispy Knight, founder of the Crispy Family Sideshow Carnival, and other performers will be at the Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St., from 7-10 p.m. Saturday for its Sideshow Idol competition. And while you may boast a dynamite set of vocal cords, Knight and his troupe could be more interested in your more unusual talents.
"It's a spoof on the whole 'American Idol' thing going on," said the professional sword-swallower. "We're actually doing it for a talent contest. We're looking for new talent. Now that we've moved, we're having to replace some people who are back in Denver."
Spectators are invited to watch the fun, the voting and the outcome. Tickets are $5.
Knight left the Tulsa area for Denver eight years ago. Before moving from Denver, Knight and the vaudeville-type act traveled to many parts of the country performing in theaters and clubs, at outdoor festivals, at rock concerts, tattoo conventions and sideshow conventions.
Now that he has returned to be closer to family, he is interested in recruiting magicians, acrobats, trapeze artists, contortionists and jugglers, to name a few.
"Of course, a good juggler is always good to have. I'm a very mediocre juggler, so I like to find a good one," he said.
If he doesn't count juggling among his best skills, Knight has a long list of other talents. According to the act's Web site, www.crispyfamily.com, he performs acts called glass walking, bed of nails, human pincushion, eating fire, human dartboard and concrete block smash.
His fiance, who performs under the stage name of the Amazing Boobzilla, participates in some of his routines, but she has her own set of stunts as a unique strong-woman act, he said.
Knight also will have a few other performers moving to the area, and they will all be on hand to judge Saturday's contest, which already has several acts signed to try out. He hopes to recruit at least four new acts into the sideshow family and meet potential guest performers.
"When you work together doing this type of stuff, it really becomes family. You've got to trust each other on stage because we're up there doing a lot of dangerous stuff and you get a real bond with all the people you're performing with," he said.
While the sideshow carnival has a few hard-core, dangerous stunts, Knight saves those for special performances. Most of their shows are geared toward family entertainment, he said.
"Pretty much all of our act is built around a punchline or story . . . We try to make it more family-oriented, more vaudeville-oriented. It's a classic form," he said.
After he has completed the sideshow's final lineup, Knight said he plans to begin booking the act in area venues.
Sideshow Idol contestants must be at least 18, and performances should not include any nudity, abrasive language or adult content.
For more about the contest and event, call Nightingale Theater at 583-8487 [As of February 2007, 633-8666].