DeAnna Cameron's Blog, page 16
March 24, 2012
Interview with Author and Modern Vaudevillian Trav S.D.
Whenever I begin a new research project, books are always the first place I turn—and it was no different when I set out to learn as much as I could about vaudeville, especially as it existed in turn-of-the-last-century New York. I searched out new books, old books, library books, any books, really, that referenced vaudeville in some way. The result was an extensive bibliography about vaudeville and vaudevillians, but there was one book that I found myself turning to again and again for its insight: NO APPLAUSE—JUST THROW MONEY: THE BOOK THAT MADE VAUDEVILLE FAMOUS, by Trav S.D.Though the book is chockfull of history, it was apparent from the first page that this was written by no ordinary historian. His name alone might give that away. No, this book was written by an author who not only seems to know everything there is to know about vaudeville, but by an author who loves vaudeville.
It has been my pleasure to get to know Trav S.D. through this excellent book, as well as his popular blog, Travalanche. And it is my absolute pleasure to introduce him to you.
Welcome, Trav!
Q: Throughout your career, you've worn a lot of hats. Your excellent blog, Travalanche, lists them as actor, author, cartoonist, comedian, critic, director, humorist, journalist, master of ceremonies, performance artist, playwright, producer, publicist, public speaker, songwriter and variety booker. What are you focusing on now?
A: At the moment, "author." I am writing my second book CHAIN OF FOOLS: SILENT COMEDY AND ITS LEGACIES FROM NICKELODEONS TO YOUTUBE, which will be out in September 2012. In the meantime, I've managed to keep up with my blog Travalanche, my newspaper column, and producing vaudeville acts on my Vaudephone web series. There are a couple of plays in development, but they won't be on the boards for many months. So I guess the real answer is "Focus? WHAT focus?" Mostly at the moment, it's the book.
Q: What led you to write NO APPLAUSE, JUST THROW MONEY: THE BOOK THAT MADE VAUDEVILLE FAMOUS (Faber and Faber, 2005)?A: A very fortunate confluence of events. A book editor had seen some of my vaudeville shows, read an article I'd written in "Reason" magazine and also read a "New Yorker" article in which I was featured. She asked me if I had any ideas for a book, and as it happened I had several! This was the most developed, so we were off to the races.
Q: What was your first experience with vaudeville?
A: I began producing vaudeville shows in 1996.
Q: What makes you so passionate about vaudeville?
A: I suppose ultimately I'm less interested in vaudeville per se than a certain set of old fashioned aesthetics. I like traditional performing arts, I like old fashioned costumes, and I especially like antiquated language, and the nonsensical, crazy kind of comedy that was popular at the beginning of the last century. Comedy is really my first love, and as Joe, Laurie Jr. the Pint Sized Comedian used to say, vaudeville is all about comedy.
Q: Do you consider yourself a vaudevillian?
A: H'm....among other things.
Q: Who are your personal vaudeville inspirations and influences?
A: Oh that's easy....but a long list! Fred Allen, the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Frank Fay, Burns and Allen, Ed Sullivan, Smith & Dale, Weber & Fields, Olsen and Johnson, Clark and McCullough, Joe Cook, etc etc(and some post vaudevillians: Steve Allen, Red Skelton Ernie Kovacs, Steve Martin, Andy Kauffman, David Letterman...) I know I'm leaving a bunch out!
Q: Vaudeville-style shows seem to be enjoying a renaissance. Do you have any theories as to why?
A: I've given it a lot of thought, actually. I think the generation (or two of three even) that came before us turned away from it because it was considered old hat and corny. Because of that, it almost vanished off the face of the earth. Younger people are re-discovering it, almost like buried treasure. Also technology is making an avalanche of video and audio material available that hasn't been seen in decades and decades. It's a very thrilling time.
Q: What's next for you?
A: On March 27, I'll be taking part in a panel discussion on horror called "Fear Mongers" at Dixon Place in New York. I'm a big fan of Gothic horror, especially the early pre-code films of the major Hollywood studios (early 1930s). So that's the next thing. And of course, my book coming out in September!
For more about Trav S.D., please check out his blog, Travalanche and YouTube channel, Vaudephone.
March 23, 2012
Getting Lost In A Story today
Today I'm chatting with Jillian Stone and the lovely folks over at the Getting Lost In A Story blog. What are we talking about? Books, writing, costumes and the time I tried to dazzle John Cusack with my womanly wiles and totally failed. You know, the usual.
You might win a signed copy of THE BELLY DANCER if you come over and leave a comment :)
http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/2012/03/get-lost-in-forbidden-world-of-intrigue.html?showComment=1332513176879#c1350400348179689300
You might win a signed copy of THE BELLY DANCER if you come over and leave a comment :)
http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/2012/03/get-lost-in-forbidden-world-of-intrigue.html?showComment=1332513176879#c1350400348179689300
Flicker Friday: Catching an Early Train (1901)
Playing with the rules of reality is something moviemakers have always loved to do, and it was no different when cinema was just starting out. In November 1901, Edison's company released "Catching an Early Train," a 38-second silent film that twists the notion of time with a bit of cinematic sleight of hand. By filming the action in reverse order, the film appears to show a man awakening and being tossed his clothing, briefcase and walking stick by invisible hands before he leaves his room to make his morning commute. Even in 1907, the year my historical novel DANCING AT THE CHANCE is set, it was still delighting audiences with its cinematic trickery.
I hope it delights you, too.
Enjoy!
Thank you to jenthesuperone for posting!
I hope it delights you, too.
Enjoy!
Thank you to jenthesuperone for posting!
March 21, 2012
Billboard's theatrical ads from 1907-08
Today, you might peruse the pages of Billboard magazine for news on your favorite performers or the entertainment industry at large, but that's nothing new. Billboard was established in 1894 and quickly became an important business tool for theater owners and operators, booking agents, performers, and others looking for the latest news and developments in the entertainment industry.
I came across a few copies from 1907 and 1908, and was struck by the story the advertisements tell about this wild and wonderful moment in entertainment history.
Here are just a few:
I came across a few copies from 1907 and 1908, and was struck by the story the advertisements tell about this wild and wonderful moment in entertainment history.
Here are just a few:
March 19, 2012
Contest: Week Two Winner
Wanna know who will win this week's prize of a jingly black belly dance scarf and the copy of Bellydance Superstars' Art of Bellydance CD? Me, too!
So, let's see...
I'll plug the numbers into the Random.org random number generator ... and voila!
Number 255 on the ultra-official Master Contest Entry spreadsheet belongs to...
Dana Greenstein
Congratulations, Dana! I'll send you an email in just a moment to get your mailing address.
If you didn't win this week, don't despair! Everyone is automatically entered into next week's contest. And don't forget that you can earn additional entries by doing the things listed on the Contest page.
Thanks for playing!
So, let's see...
I'll plug the numbers into the Random.org random number generator ... and voila!
Number 255 on the ultra-official Master Contest Entry spreadsheet belongs to...
Dana Greenstein
Congratulations, Dana! I'll send you an email in just a moment to get your mailing address.
If you didn't win this week, don't despair! Everyone is automatically entered into next week's contest. And don't forget that you can earn additional entries by doing the things listed on the Contest page.
Thanks for playing!
March 16, 2012
Friday Flicker: The Dancing Pig (1907)
So a pig dressed in a tuxedo and top hat walks into a restaurant and tries to pick up a pretty girl... It may sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it's actually the premise of a 4-minute French burlesque film made in 1907 by Pathe Freres. As the scene opens, our dashing Mr. Pig is trying to win over the pretty girl, but this gal is having none of it. She strips him of his clothing and makes him dance with her, then dresses him in ladies' garb before dancing some more.
I'm sure there's a larger meaning or message layered in the subtext somewhere, but does it matter? It's a dancing pig! Some days that's all I need to be amused.
Hope it amuses you, too.
Thank you to :monox: for posting the film.
MUSIC ALERT: There is some. Proceed accordingly.
I'm sure there's a larger meaning or message layered in the subtext somewhere, but does it matter? It's a dancing pig! Some days that's all I need to be amused.
Hope it amuses you, too.
Thank you to :monox: for posting the film.
MUSIC ALERT: There is some. Proceed accordingly.
March 15, 2012
Myrtle Reed's Sweet Pancakes
Have you seen the PBS show "Taste of History" with Chef Walter Staib, where he re-creates meals from colonial America? It's one of my favorites, and it has inspired me to track down recipes from my own favorite era in American history – the late Victorian and early Edwardian years.
My first discovery in that search was "The Myrtle Reed Cookbook," published posthumously by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1916, which pulls together the author's earlier cookbooks. Books with such charmingly simple and straightforward names as "What to Have for Breakfast," "How to Cook Meat and Poultry," and "One Thousand Salads."
I have been working my way through the book, and one section in particular that caught my attention was one devoted to pancakes. This is Myrtle Reed's introduction to that topic:
She goes on to explain the perfect consistency for a batter and the type of pan that should be used ("[a] soapstone griddle is best, but an iron one will do, and many a savory pancake has come from a humble frying-pan").
She concludes with this cautionary note:
I found Ms. Reeds' recipes to be such a delight that it was her version of Sweet Pancakes that I was imagining when they're mentioned in my new novel, DANCING AT THE CHANCE.
And last Sunday, after mail-ordering some orange-flower water, I set out to make them myself.
The result?
The recipe yielded 13 pancakes, and I can't say they resembled anything that I have come to expect of pancakes. I would describe them as thick, small crepes. Also, the amount of orange-flower water was not nearly enough to be detected. Still, the pancakes were good and they went quickly. I had a few with just the powdered sugar, sort of like a French Quarter beignet. And before my husband could even sample them, my picky-eater 3-year-old daughter smeared them with grape jelly and finished them off.
If anyone else gives them a try, I'd love to hear how they turned out for you.
Bye for now!
My first discovery in that search was "The Myrtle Reed Cookbook," published posthumously by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1916, which pulls together the author's earlier cookbooks. Books with such charmingly simple and straightforward names as "What to Have for Breakfast," "How to Cook Meat and Poultry," and "One Thousand Salads."
I have been working my way through the book, and one section in particular that caught my attention was one devoted to pancakes. This is Myrtle Reed's introduction to that topic:
"The edible varieties of pancakes are readily distinguished from the poisonous growths. The harmless ones are healthful and nutritious and grow in private kitchens. The dark, soggy, leaden varieties are usually to be found in restaurants, but have been known to flourish in private kitchens also."
She goes on to explain the perfect consistency for a batter and the type of pan that should be used ("[a] soapstone griddle is best, but an iron one will do, and many a savory pancake has come from a humble frying-pan").
She concludes with this cautionary note:
"Batter enough for one pancake should be dipped from the bowl with a cup or large spoon, as adding uncooked batter to that on the griddle even an instant after it has begun to cook will work disaster to the pancake—and the hapless mortal who eats it."
I found Ms. Reeds' recipes to be such a delight that it was her version of Sweet Pancakes that I was imagining when they're mentioned in my new novel, DANCING AT THE CHANCE.
And last Sunday, after mail-ordering some orange-flower water, I set out to make them myself.
SWEET PANCAKES
From the Myrtle Reed Cookbook
Mix two tablespoons of flour with a few drops of orange-flower water and a few grains of salt. Add the yolks of four eggs, well-beaten, and the whites of two. Fry by tablespoonfuls in butter, turning once, and sprinkling with sugar. Or, spread with Jelly, roll up, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
The result?
The recipe yielded 13 pancakes, and I can't say they resembled anything that I have come to expect of pancakes. I would describe them as thick, small crepes. Also, the amount of orange-flower water was not nearly enough to be detected. Still, the pancakes were good and they went quickly. I had a few with just the powdered sugar, sort of like a French Quarter beignet. And before my husband could even sample them, my picky-eater 3-year-old daughter smeared them with grape jelly and finished them off.
If anyone else gives them a try, I'd love to hear how they turned out for you.
Bye for now!
My Own Taste of History
Have you seen the PBS show "Taste of History" with Chef Walter Staib, where he re-creates meals from colonial America? It's one of my favorites, and it has inspired me to track down recipes from my own favorite era in American history – the late Victorian and early Edwardian years.
My first discovery in that search was "The Myrtle Reed Cookbook," published posthumously by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1916, which pulls together the author's earlier cookbooks. Books with such charmingly simple and straightforward names as "What to Have for Breakfast," "How to Cook Meat and Poultry," and "One Thousand Salads."
I have been working my way through the book, and one section in particular that caught my attention was one devoted to pancakes. This is Myrtle Reed's introduction to that topic:
She goes on to explain the perfect consistency for a batter and the type of pan that should be used ("[a] soapstone griddle is best, but an iron one will do, and many a savory pancake has come from a humble frying-pan").
She concludes with this cautionary note:
I found Ms. Reeds' recipes to be such a delight that it was her version of Sweet Pancakes that I was imagining when they're mentioned in my newest novel, DANCING AT THE CHANCE.
And last Sunday, after mail-ordering some orange-flower water, I set out to make them myself.
The result?
The recipe yielded 13 pancakes, and I can't say they resembled anything that I have come to expect of pancakes. I would describe them as thick, small crepes. Also, the amount of orange-flower water was not nearly enough to be detected. Still, the pancakes were good and they went quickly. I had a few with just the powdered sugar, sort of like a French Quarter beignet. And before my husband could even sample them, my picky-eater 3-year-old daughter smeared them with grape jelly and finished them off.
If anyone else gives them a try, I'd love to hear how they turned out for you.
Bye for now!
My first discovery in that search was "The Myrtle Reed Cookbook," published posthumously by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1916, which pulls together the author's earlier cookbooks. Books with such charmingly simple and straightforward names as "What to Have for Breakfast," "How to Cook Meat and Poultry," and "One Thousand Salads."
I have been working my way through the book, and one section in particular that caught my attention was one devoted to pancakes. This is Myrtle Reed's introduction to that topic:
"The edible varieties of pancakes are readily distinguished from the poisonous growths. The harmless ones are healthful and nutritious and grow in private kitchens. The dark, soggy, leaden varieties are usually to be found in restaurants, but have been known to flourish in private kitchens also."
She goes on to explain the perfect consistency for a batter and the type of pan that should be used ("[a] soapstone griddle is best, but an iron one will do, and many a savory pancake has come from a humble frying-pan").
She concludes with this cautionary note:
"Batter enough for one pancake should be dipped from the bowl with a cup or large spoon, as adding uncooked batter to that on the griddle even an instant after it has begun to cook will work disaster to the pancake—and the hapless mortal who eats it."
I found Ms. Reeds' recipes to be such a delight that it was her version of Sweet Pancakes that I was imagining when they're mentioned in my newest novel, DANCING AT THE CHANCE.
And last Sunday, after mail-ordering some orange-flower water, I set out to make them myself.
SWEET PANCAKES
From the Myrtle Reed Cookbook
Mix two tablespoons of flour with a few drops of orange-flower water and a few grains of salt. Add the yolks of four eggs, well-beaten, and the whites of two. Fry by tablespoonfuls in butter, turning once, and sprinkling with sugar. Or, spread with Jelly, roll up, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
The result?
The recipe yielded 13 pancakes, and I can't say they resembled anything that I have come to expect of pancakes. I would describe them as thick, small crepes. Also, the amount of orange-flower water was not nearly enough to be detected. Still, the pancakes were good and they went quickly. I had a few with just the powdered sugar, sort of like a French Quarter beignet. And before my husband could even sample them, my picky-eater 3-year-old daughter smeared them with grape jelly and finished them off.
If anyone else gives them a try, I'd love to hear how they turned out for you.
Bye for now!
March 12, 2012
Contest: Week One Winner
What a busy week! I want to thank everyone who helped make the kickoff of the DeAnnaCameron.com Publication Celebration so much fun, and everyone who entered!
So, we've logged in all the last-minute entries. (Boy, you guys were busy last night!)...
And plugged the numbers into Random.org's True Random Number Generator....
And the winner of THE BELLY DANCER gift pack is....
Beverly Banks
Congratulations, Beverly! I'll be sending you an email in just a moment to get your mailing address.
Also, for everyone else who entered, you still have lots of chances to win. Your entries are automatically added to the pool for the weekly contests running through the end of April, including the one for the grand prize e-reader
For more information, check out the Contest page on my website. Thanks for playing, and !
So, we've logged in all the last-minute entries. (Boy, you guys were busy last night!)...
And plugged the numbers into Random.org's True Random Number Generator....
And the winner of THE BELLY DANCER gift pack is....
Beverly Banks
Congratulations, Beverly! I'll be sending you an email in just a moment to get your mailing address.
Also, for everyone else who entered, you still have lots of chances to win. Your entries are automatically added to the pool for the weekly contests running through the end of April, including the one for the grand prize e-reader
For more information, check out the Contest page on my website. Thanks for playing, and !
March 7, 2012
THE BELLY DANCER is back!
With all the excitement yesterday, I neglected to mention here that THE BELLY DANCER is back for a return engagement with a sleek new cover and a convenient new mass-market paperback size.And if that isn't enough to entice you, you'll find a sneak peek excerpt of DANCING AT THE CHANCE in the back. Whoo-hoo!
Look for THE BELLY DANCER at booksellers nationwide, as well as any online retailer.
Oh, would you like some links? Sure, we've got links :)
BN.com
Amazon
Indiebound
Vroman's
Powell's
Enjoy!
