SIGNUM * Bindlestiff Family Cirkus * MARROW

Cirkus Subversive:
The Bindlestiffs hit the road with amazing acts & literary curiosities

In past issues, Signum has recommended the work of Okra P. Dingle, an extraordinary yarn spinner, ’zinemaker, and player of the mournful singing saw. We’re most decidedly delighted to present his report from on the road with the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus. –the editrixie

The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus occupies a strange position in the ranks of circuses past and present. Either it is not, strictly speaking, a circus, or it has expanded the definition of what a circus can be. The usual features which make up the foundation of any travelling performing troupe are there: acquiring skills and endless practice, presentation, booking headaches, long drives and money worries. There is also another element which lies behind, and somewhere near the center of the whole thing which redefines the notion of what it is that a circus does. The magic of a circus invites you into a space where it can be said that certain things may be true here, that are not true elsewhere. It may reveal what is felt to be lacking in that other world of everyday life. By drawing us into these currents, it asserts with a ridiculous determination that this could be a new model of life. It is the presence of this other element, the conscious directing of the Cirkus's collective focus on fostering autonomous zones and magical spaces of interaction and play, that establishes this particular circus as a new marker in the evolution of sideshow and related variety arts.

Bindlestiff performances run the gamut of variety arts entertainment, drawing on the burlesque, slapstick, sideshow, 3 ring circus, vaudeville, and performance art. These influences are reflected in the backgrounds of its working members. Co-founders Keith Nelson and Stephanie Monsieu started out playing on the streets and in bars as a fire performance duo called Fireplay. Before that, Stephanie was an artist and jeweler, and Keith spent a number of years as a juggler and activist in between stints with a self-designed Anarchist Studies Program at Amherst college. With Keith and Stephanie as its working core, The Bindlestiffs began to expand the troupe in the mid 1990s with fellow performers they'd met on the road or at home in New York City. Many performers have come to tour regularly with the Cirkus, while others have moved on to other projects after a couple years. When asked about the overall impact of the B.F.C. on its audience, Stephanie says, "I think its important to show that it is possible to create your own communities, your own morals, your own world that has a firm foundation in individuals supporting each other."

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