Greetings Guys...

Ok...so a buddy of mine needed my help today and asked if I would take over a gig for him as a "Carnival Barker." I said sure b/c it was something different that would be a challenge and take me out of my comfort zone a little bit.

The gig is NO MAGIC, but would be 2 hours of me acting as a barker where I'm talking about the feji mermaid and other oddities.

I need you help. Can anyone guide me to some good resources on this type of stuff. I've got just over a month to learn about this type of thing before the gig.

Your help would be most appreciated....

Lots of us could quote principles, but I think the best learning might come from authentic transcripts - see the "Bally" section of this page on my site:

http://www.goodmagic.com/carny/car_a-c.htm

It's a box about a quarter of the way down the page, and all the text in blue is dialog taken from actual accounts, recordings and transcripts.

If I can help more actively, email me at wayne@goodmagic.com

Best of luck!

Not "Barker", the term is "Outside Talker" or simply "talker".


Read everything you can on http://www.sideshowworld.com

ask us questons.


Brett.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the show that all your friends and neighbors are talking about. It's the show they've all come to see. It's P.T. Barnum's Feejee Mermaid. Did you ever wonder, my friends, why all the ocean-going peoples of the world have shared the same beloved legend, the legend of the mermaid? A beautiful woman with the lower body that of a fish...

You see the image of the mermaid over and over again throughout history. It appears in the temple carvings of Mesopotamia, in the Roman mosaics found buried beneath the ashes of Pompeii. Again and again, the same image. Did you ever wonder whether the wide ocean ever held a creature that might have been the basis of this legend?

My friends, today is the day that you can see the truth behind the legend of the mermaid. For the price of a cup of lemonade, you can see something that you'll remember for the rest of your life. Now here's what you're going to see when you go inside the tent. It's not a girl in a costume...it's not that kind of show! It is, in fact, the mummified remains of an extinct species believed to be the basis of the mermaid legend.

Tickets are available right now! My friends, when I think of all the things in my life that I regret, they are all things that I didn't do. Don't miss this chance to see something that you'll remember for the rest of your life!

And so on...

Get Wayne's CD. That Eeka pitch is a thing of beauty, every word perfect. It paints a vivid picture of a great show. Goofy, but irresistable.

Yours,

Paul

Thanks guys...I appreciate it.

It's bargain night in Coney Island.

Bugger I think I missed the three minute bargin slot ... but I wouldpay 3 any way ...... just to see that girl dance with my python .... poh shes using her own

WoW! Todd, are your fingers sore and tired from all that?

Todd, I remember several years ago when you, Bob Brown, Lindsey Smith, Bruce Walstad and I were in Chicago. Bruce wanted to stop at this store. There were some books on the outside. You picked one up and did your spiel on the street. One guy came up and wanted to buy two (of the same books). It was an honor to watch the master in action.

Glad to see you still have the touch. Glenn

You will find a great many bally and pitch recordings in our Blow-off "Live Bally Recordings & Audio Clips" section on Sideshow World.

I have many more bally tapes coming in the future so check often.

John
Sideshow World