Celebration of the American Tent Show

Filmed at the Festival of American Folklife, July, 1981
Table of Contents
1. Tent Show Pitch, Betty Bryant, 00:00-1:18
2. Introduction to the Celebration of the American Tent Show, host Glenn Hinson, 1:19 - 2:53
3. Toby Show, Dale Madden and Lois Stillian, 2:54-9:00
4. Showboat Dancing, Betty Bryant, 9:01-14:48
5. Sweeping Bit, Roberta Griffin, 14:49-15:46
6. Chautauqua Recitation and Song, Anna Blair Miller, 15:47-22:47
7. String Band Swing, Bogan and Armstrong, Howard Armstrong, Ted Bogan, L.C. Armstrong, 22:48-33:21
8. Deck of Cards, Lois Stillian, 33:22-38:40
9. Early Bluegrass String Band and Trick Fiddling, The Hired Hands, Homer L. “Pappy” Sherrill, DeWitt “Snuffy” Jenkins, Harold Lucas, 38:41-49:59
10. Melodramas - Tess of the Storm Country, Betty Bryant, Roberta Griffin, Ed Dougherty 50:00 - 56:50
11. Medicine Show Bit, Julian "Greasy" Medlin, Lois Stillian, 56:50 - 1:04:02
12. Medicine Show Bit, Fred Foster Bloodgood, 1:04:03 - 1:13:12
13. Old Time Magic, “The Floating Lady,” Ken and Roberta Griffin, Ed Dougherty, 1:13:13- 1:20:09
14. Medicine Show Bit, “Niagara Falls,” Homer L. “Pappy” Sherrill, DeWitt “Snuffy” Jenkins, Julian "Greasy" Medlin, 1:20:10 - 1:33:08
Hosted by Glenn Hinson
Curated by Steve Zeitlin, Amanda Dargan, and Glenn Hinson
Filmed by Barr Weissman
Musicians: Marcy Maynard, Tex Maynard
Edited by Lee Eaton
A Celebration of the American Tent Show
In 1981, in a large tent at the Smithsonian’s Festival of American Folklife, A Celebration of the American Tent Show unfolded to the joy of Festival audiences. The show brought together a series of early American entertainments - Toby shows, chatauquas, medicine shows, dramatic monologues, carnival talkers, out time country reviews, string band swing, showboat dances, melodramas, and old time magicians.
Curated by folklorists Amanda Dargan, Glenn Hinson, and Steve Zeitlin, the show features the original performers presenting a wide variety of entertainments mostly popular in the period following the Civil War to the beginning of World War II. These uniquely American forms of travelling entertainment served rural communities across the nation. Troops of actors and actresses, musicians, dancers, magicians and other entertainers gathered together under the canvas big tops and traveled from railroad whistle stops to crossroads villages. They brought to small town and rural America a type of theater which combined elements of vaudeville, minstrelsy, circus and American folk culture. The forms that they presented ultimately reflected the folklore and popular culture of the region in which they were appearing. Shot in 1981, featuring entertainers whose heydays were 30 to 50 years earlier, A Celebration of the American Tent Show represents a time capsule of a time capsule. But since recording equipment was not common in rural America when these shows were traveling, the performances represent a valuable record of this nation’s entertainment history.
For the essay, “Trouping Under Canvas: The American Tent Show Tradition” see the 1981 Festival of American Folklife Program Book, pages 10-15.
folklife-media.si.edu/docs/fe...