Subject
Fwd: Re: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts Inversions
From
Date
Body
Nabokov makes a reference to a type of actor in "Oriental show" who
plays two parts at once. Quoted from Nabokov's Butterflies 85-86
Consider the tricks of an acrobatic caterpillar (of the Lobster Moth)
which in infancy looks like bird's dung, but after molting develops
scrabbly hymenopteroid appendages and baroque characteristics, allowing
the extraordinary fellow to play two parts (like the actor in Oriental
shows who becomes a pair of intertwisted wrestlers): that of a writhing
larva and that of a big ant seemingly harrowing it.
-Victoria
On Mar 25, 2005, at 1:04 PM, Donald B. Johnson wrote:
>
>
> ----- Forwarded message from Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com -----
> Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 11:56:03 -0500
> From: "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
> Reply-To: "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
> Subject: RE: RE: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
> To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum Yes, there must be some theatrical
> slang or
> argot for the type of performer who enters the stage in one guise only
> to
> completely reverse this perception before the grand finale. Is there a
> dictionary or glossary of terms from the show world? Henry Mayhew had
> lists for
> the types of criminals and beggars in 19nth century London. A friend
> of mine has
> an encyclopedia of underworld argot that records thousands of
> expressions from
> as far back as the 18nth century. I often try to buy this off him when
> he's
> drunk.
>
> I've either seen or read of frail and timid old ladies who sling off
> their sad
> coats to be revealed as young show girls who dance up a storm. There
> are
> precarious drunks who turn out to be expert marksmen, knife throwers,
> acrobats,
> or equestrians. Moving from variety shows to plays and films, there
> are
> vulnerable, drunk old men who fall victim to gamblers only to turn the
> tables
> and win back everything and more. These types evolve upwards into
> Zorro, the
> Scarlet Pimpernel, various spies, gentleman cat burglars. And these,
> I think,
> evolved or were modernized or pomodernized into the constellation of
> super
> heroes who Clark Kent, or Peter Parker, or Bruce Wayne it by day, and
> then
> strip down into caped crusader togs when the feathers hit the fan.
> These types
> evolve downwards into various psychos and nightmare types descended
> from the
> little old lady AKA wicked stepmother who sold Snow White the apple,
> all the
> way to Tony Perkins, prop. Bates Hotel.
>
> There's something exhilarating about an entity changing into its
> reverse. It's
> an action that releases an explosion of power one way or another. When
> the
> change is from weakness to strength, I think it triggers an
> unconscious desire,
> or hope, that one day we all may excel ourselves and be revealed as
> more than
> what we are.
>
> But the sudden change of a person one knows and for whom one feels
> love, such as
> a mother, or one's child, into a diabolical persona, is a universal
> dread that's
> fueled changeling stories, vampire tales and lycanthropy and zombie
> legends in
> probably every culture in the world.
>
> Probably the example that may have usually been uppermost in VNs mind
> was
> lepedopteral mimesis, where the humblest moths and butterflies could
> acquire
> the most elaborate disguises to survive
>
> AB
>
>
>
>> ----------
>> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
>> Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
>> Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 11:15 AM
>> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>> Subject: Fwd: RE: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
>>
>> <<File: ATT2295935.htm>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Forwarded message from Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com -----
>> Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 14:07:18 -0500
>> From: "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
>>
>>
>> The entrance of the dark beast, "running strongly" reminded me of the
>> demonic
>> pursuer of Mary Hyde/Mary Lamb, as she dreams it toward the end of
>> Martin
>> Amis's novel Other People. The effect of a dancer who is revealed as
>> standing
>> upright when his or her costumed self was upside down is a Central
>> European,
>> Asian, probably universal entertainment that has seen service from
>> ancient
>> times all the way to vaudeville and beyond. This performance, with its
>> surprises, reminded me of the circus Huck Finn sneaks into and is
>> completely
>> fooled by the blustering drunk who insists on joining the bareback
>> riders'
>> performance, and then rides frantically around the circus ring faster
>> and
>> faster, shedding a blizzard of ragged clothes until he stands
>> revealed,
> gliding
>> along erect with his arms folded, as the star of the show.
>>
>> A. BROWN
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> EDNOTE. Ah, yes. But what are these acts called? There must be a name
>> for this
>> kind of performer.
>>
>>
>>
>>> ----------
>>> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of D. Barton Johnson
>>> Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum>
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 1:03 PM
>>> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>>> Subject: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: D. Barton Johnson
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 9:55 AM
>>> Subject: circus acts query
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I have been trying to determine whether the variety acts described
>>> below in
>> Nabokov's ADA are based on actual performances or are imaginary. No
>> luck--in
>> part because I have no idea of how to approach the question. What
>> such acts
> are
>> called? Have any of you seen such acts?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> FROM NABOKOV's NOVEL ADA.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The stage would be empty when the curtain went up; then, after five
> heartbeats
>> of theatrical suspense, something swept out of the wings, enormous
>> and black,
> to
>> the accompaniment of dervish drums. The shock of his powerful and
>> precipitous
>> entry affected so deeply the children in the audience that for a long
>> time
>> later, in the dark of sobbing insomnias, in the glare of violent
>> nightmares,
>> nervous little boys and girls relived, with private accretions,
>> something
>> similar to the > '> primordial qualm,> '> a shapeless nastiness, the
>> swoosh
> of
>> nameless wings, the unendurable dilation of fever which came in a
>> cavern draft
>> from the uncanny stage. Into the harsh light of its gaudily carpeted
>> space a
>> masked giant, fully eight feet tall, erupted, running strongly in the
>> kind of
>> soft boots worn by Cossack dancers. A voluminous, black shaggy cloak
>> of the
>> burka type enveloped his silhouette inquiétante (according to a female
> Sorbonne
>> correspondent > -> we> '> ve kept all those cuttings) from neck to
>> knee or
> what
>> appeared to be those sections of his body. A Karakul cap surmounted
>> his top. A
>> black mask covered the upper part of his heavily bearded face. The
>> unpleasant
>> colossus kept strutting up and down the stage for a while, then the
>> strut
>> changed to the restless walk of a caged madman, then he whirled, and
>> to a
> clash
>> of cymbals in the orchestra and a cry of terror (perhaps faked) in the
> gallery,
>> Mascodagama turned over in the air and stood on his head.
>>>
>>> In this weird position, with his cap acting as a pseudopodal pad, he
>>> jumped
> up
>> and down, pogo-stick fashion > -> and suddenly came apart. Van> '> s
>> face,
>> shining with sweat, grinned between the legs of the boots that still
>> shod his
>> rigidly raised arms. Simultaneously his real feet kicked off and away
>> the
> false
>> head with its crumpled cap and bearded mask. The magical reversal >
>> '> made
> the
>> house gasp.> '> Frantic (> '> deafening,> '> > '> delirious,> '> >
>> '> a
>> veritable tempest of> '> ) applause followed the gasp. He bounded
>> offstage >
> ->
>> and next moment was back, now sheathed in black tights, dancing a
>> jig on his
>> hands. pp. 183-4
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> For the tango, which completed his number on his last tour, he was
>>> given a
>> partner, a Crimean cabaret dancer in a very short scintillating frock
>> cut very
>> low on the back. She sang the tango tune in Russian:>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Pod znóynïm nébom Argentínï,
>>>
>>> Pod strástnïy góvor mandolinï
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> '> Neath sultry sky of Argentina,
>>>
>>> To the hot hum of mandolina
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Fragile, red-haired > '> Rita> '> (he never learned her real name),
>>> a
> pretty
>> Karaite from Chufut Kale, where, she nostalgically said, the Crimean
>> cornel,
>> kizil> '> , bloomed yellow among the arid rocks, bore an odd
>> resemblance to
>> Lucette as she was to look ten years later. During their dance, all
>> Van saw of
>> her were her silver slippers turning and marching nimbly in rhythm
>> with the
>> soles of his hands. pp. 185
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> This message and any attachments contain information, which may be
> confidential>
>> or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please refrain
>> from any
>> disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this information. Please
>> be aware
>> that such actions are prohibited. If you have received this
>> transmission in
>> error, kindly notify us by calling 1-800-262-4723 or e-mail to
>> helpdesk@bbdo.com. We appreciate your cooperation.
>>
>> ----- End forwarded message -----
>>
>>
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
> Yes, there must be some theatrical slang or argot for the type of
> performer who enters the stage in one guise only to completely reverse
> this perception before the grand finale. Is there a dictionary or
> glossary of terms from the show world? Henry Mayhew had lists for the
> types of criminals and beggars in 19nth century London. A friend of
> mine has an encyclopedia of underworld argot that records thousands of
> expressions from as far back as the 18nth century. I often try to buy
> this off him when he's drunk.
>
> I've either seen or read of frail and timid old ladies who sling off
> their sad coats to be revealed as young show girls who dance up a
> storm. There are precarious drunks who turn out to be expert marksmen,
> knife throwers, acrobats, or equestrians. Moving from variety shows
> to plays and films, there are vulnerable, drunk old men who fall
> victim to gamblers only to turn the tables and win back everything and
> more. These types evolve upwards into Zorro, the Scarlet Pimpernel,
> various spies, gentleman cat burglars. And these, I think, evolved or
> were modernized or pomodernized into the constellation of super heroes
> who Clark Kent, or Peter Parker, or Bruce Wayne it by day, and then
> strip down into caped crusader togs when the feathers hit the fan.
> These types evolve downwards into various psychos and nightmare types
> descended from the little old lady AKA wicked stepmother who sold Snow
> White the apple, all the way to Tony Perkins, prop. Bates Hotel.
>
> There's something exhilarating about an entity changing into its
> reverse. It's an action that releases an explosion of power one way or
> another. When the change is from weakness to strength, I think it
> triggers an unconscious desire, or hope, that one day we all may excel
> ourselves and be revealed as more than what we are.
>
> But the sudden change of a person one knows and for whom one feels
> love, such as a mother, or one's child, into a diabolical persona, is
> a universal dread that's fueled changeling stories, vampire tales and
> lycanthropy and zombie legends in probably every culture in the world.
>
> Probably the example that may have usually been uppermost in VNs mind
> was lepedopteral mimesis, where the humblest moths and butterflies
> could acquire the most elaborate disguises to survive
>
> AB
>
>
>
> ----------
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
> Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 11:15 AM
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Subject: Fwd: RE: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
>
> <<File: ATT2295935.htm>>
>
>
>
> ----- Forwarded message from Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com -----
> Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 14:07:18 -0500
> From: "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
>
>
>
> The entrance of the dark beast, "running strongly" reminded me of the
> demonic
> pursuer of Mary Hyde/Mary Lamb, as she dreams it toward the end of
> Martin
> Amis's novel Other People. The effect of a dancer who is revealed as
> standing
> upright when his or her costumed self was upside down is a Central
> European,
> Asian, probably universal entertainment that has seen service from
> ancient
> times all the way to vaudeville and beyond. This performance, with its
> surprises, reminded me of the circus Huck Finn sneaks into and is
> completely
> fooled by the blustering drunk who insists on joining the bareback
> riders'
> performance, and then rides frantically around the circus ring faster
> and
> faster, shedding a blizzard of ragged clothes until he stands
> revealed, gliding
> along erect with his arms folded, as the star of the show.
>
> A. BROWN
> ----------------------------------------------------
> EDNOTE. Ah, yes. But what are these acts called? There must be a name
> for this
> kind of performer.
>
>
>
>
> > ----------
> > From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of D. Barton Johnson
> > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 1:03 PM
> > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > Subject: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 9:55 AM
> > Subject: circus acts query
> >
> >
> >
> > I have been trying to determine whether the variety acts described
> below in
> Nabokov's ADA are based on actual performances or are imaginary. No
> luck--in
> part because I have no idea of how to approach the question. What
> such acts are
> called? Have any of you seen such acts?
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > FROM NABOKOV's NOVEL ADA.
> >
> >
> >
> > The stage would be empty when the curtain went up; then, after five
> heartbeats
> of theatrical suspense, something swept out of the wings, enormous and
> black, to
> the accompaniment of dervish drums. The shock of his powerful and
> precipitous
> entry affected so deeply the children in the audience that for a long
> time
> later, in the dark of sobbing insomnias, in the glare of violent
> nightmares,
> nervous little boys and girls relived, with private accretions,
> something
> similar to the > '> primordial qualm,> '> a shapeless nastiness, the
> swoosh of
> nameless wings, the unendurable dilation of fever which came in a
> cavern draft
> from the uncanny stage. Into the harsh light of its gaudily carpeted
> space a
> masked giant, fully eight feet tall, erupted, running strongly in the
> kind of
> soft boots worn by Cossack dancers. A voluminous, black shaggy cloak
> of the
> burka type enveloped his silhouette inquiétante (according to a
> female Sorbonne
> correspondent > -> we> '> ve kept all those cuttings) from neck to
> knee or what
> appeared to be those sections of his body. A Karakul cap surmounted
> his top. A
> black mask covered the upper part of his heavily bearded face. The
> unpleasant
> colossus kept strutting up and down the stage for a while, then the
> strut
> changed to the restless walk of a caged madman, then he whirled, and
> to a clash
> of cymbals in the orchestra and a cry of terror (perhaps faked) in the
> gallery,
> Mascodagama turned over in the air and stood on his head.
> >
> > In this weird position, with his cap acting as a pseudopodal pad,
> he jumped up
> and down, pogo-stick fashion > -> and suddenly came apart. Van> '> s
> face,
> shining with sweat, grinned between the legs of the boots that still
> shod his
> rigidly raised arms. Simultaneously his real feet kicked off and away
> the false
> head with its crumpled cap and bearded mask. The magical reversal > '>
> made the
> house gasp.> '> Frantic (> '> deafening,> '> > '> delirious,> '> >
> '> a
> veritable tempest of> '> ) applause followed the gasp. He bounded
> offstage > ->
> and next moment was back, now sheathed in black tights, dancing a
> jig on his
> hands. pp. 183-4
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > For the tango, which completed his number on his last tour, he was
> given a
> partner, a Crimean cabaret dancer in a very short scintillating frock
> cut very
> low on the back. She sang the tango tune in Russian:>
> >
> >
> >
> > Pod znóynïm nébom Argentínï,
> >
> > Pod strástnïy góvor mandolinï
> >
> >
> >
> > '> Neath sultry sky of Argentina,
> >
> > To the hot hum of mandolina
> >
> >
> >
> > Fragile, red-haired > '> Rita> '> (he never learned her real
> name), a pretty
> Karaite from Chufut Kale, where, she nostalgically said, the Crimean
> cornel,
> kizil> '> , bloomed yellow among the arid rocks, bore an odd
> resemblance to
> Lucette as she was to look ten years later. During their dance, all
> Van saw of
> her were her silver slippers turning and marching nimbly in rhythm
> with the
> soles of his hands. pp. 185
> >
> >
>
>
>
> This message and any attachments contain information, which may be
> confidential
> or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please refrain
> from any
> disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this information. Please
> be aware
> that such actions are prohibited. If you have received this
> transmission in
> error, kindly notify us by calling 1-800-262-4723 or e-mail to
> helpdesk@bbdo.com. We appreciate your cooperation.
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
>
____________________________________
Victoria N. Alexander, Ph.D.
Dactyl Foundation for the Arts & Humanities
64 Grand Street
New York, NY 10013
212 219 2344
www.dactyl.org
Support the arts! Copy and paste the link below to donate to Dactyl
Foundation using PayPal.
https://www.paypal.com/xclick/
business=art%40dactyl.org&item_name=Member+%2420+Friend+%24100+Patron+%2
4500+Benefactor+%241000&item_number=Various+Levels&no_note=1&tax=0&curre
ncy_code=USD
----- End forwarded message -----
plays two parts at once. Quoted from Nabokov's Butterflies 85-86
Consider the tricks of an acrobatic caterpillar (of the Lobster Moth)
which in infancy looks like bird's dung, but after molting develops
scrabbly hymenopteroid appendages and baroque characteristics, allowing
the extraordinary fellow to play two parts (like the actor in Oriental
shows who becomes a pair of intertwisted wrestlers): that of a writhing
larva and that of a big ant seemingly harrowing it.
-Victoria
On Mar 25, 2005, at 1:04 PM, Donald B. Johnson wrote:
>
>
> ----- Forwarded message from Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com -----
> Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 11:56:03 -0500
> From: "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
> Reply-To: "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
> Subject: RE: RE: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
> To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum Yes, there must be some theatrical
> slang or
> argot for the type of performer who enters the stage in one guise only
> to
> completely reverse this perception before the grand finale. Is there a
> dictionary or glossary of terms from the show world? Henry Mayhew had
> lists for
> the types of criminals and beggars in 19nth century London. A friend
> of mine has
> an encyclopedia of underworld argot that records thousands of
> expressions from
> as far back as the 18nth century. I often try to buy this off him when
> he's
> drunk.
>
> I've either seen or read of frail and timid old ladies who sling off
> their sad
> coats to be revealed as young show girls who dance up a storm. There
> are
> precarious drunks who turn out to be expert marksmen, knife throwers,
> acrobats,
> or equestrians. Moving from variety shows to plays and films, there
> are
> vulnerable, drunk old men who fall victim to gamblers only to turn the
> tables
> and win back everything and more. These types evolve upwards into
> Zorro, the
> Scarlet Pimpernel, various spies, gentleman cat burglars. And these,
> I think,
> evolved or were modernized or pomodernized into the constellation of
> super
> heroes who Clark Kent, or Peter Parker, or Bruce Wayne it by day, and
> then
> strip down into caped crusader togs when the feathers hit the fan.
> These types
> evolve downwards into various psychos and nightmare types descended
> from the
> little old lady AKA wicked stepmother who sold Snow White the apple,
> all the
> way to Tony Perkins, prop. Bates Hotel.
>
> There's something exhilarating about an entity changing into its
> reverse. It's
> an action that releases an explosion of power one way or another. When
> the
> change is from weakness to strength, I think it triggers an
> unconscious desire,
> or hope, that one day we all may excel ourselves and be revealed as
> more than
> what we are.
>
> But the sudden change of a person one knows and for whom one feels
> love, such as
> a mother, or one's child, into a diabolical persona, is a universal
> dread that's
> fueled changeling stories, vampire tales and lycanthropy and zombie
> legends in
> probably every culture in the world.
>
> Probably the example that may have usually been uppermost in VNs mind
> was
> lepedopteral mimesis, where the humblest moths and butterflies could
> acquire
> the most elaborate disguises to survive
>
> AB
>
>
>
>> ----------
>> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
>> Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
>> Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 11:15 AM
>> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>> Subject: Fwd: RE: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
>>
>> <<File: ATT2295935.htm>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Forwarded message from Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com -----
>> Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 14:07:18 -0500
>> From: "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
>>
>>
>> The entrance of the dark beast, "running strongly" reminded me of the
>> demonic
>> pursuer of Mary Hyde/Mary Lamb, as she dreams it toward the end of
>> Martin
>> Amis's novel Other People. The effect of a dancer who is revealed as
>> standing
>> upright when his or her costumed self was upside down is a Central
>> European,
>> Asian, probably universal entertainment that has seen service from
>> ancient
>> times all the way to vaudeville and beyond. This performance, with its
>> surprises, reminded me of the circus Huck Finn sneaks into and is
>> completely
>> fooled by the blustering drunk who insists on joining the bareback
>> riders'
>> performance, and then rides frantically around the circus ring faster
>> and
>> faster, shedding a blizzard of ragged clothes until he stands
>> revealed,
> gliding
>> along erect with his arms folded, as the star of the show.
>>
>> A. BROWN
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> EDNOTE. Ah, yes. But what are these acts called? There must be a name
>> for this
>> kind of performer.
>>
>>
>>
>>> ----------
>>> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of D. Barton Johnson
>>> Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum>
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 1:03 PM
>>> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>>> Subject: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: D. Barton Johnson
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 9:55 AM
>>> Subject: circus acts query
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I have been trying to determine whether the variety acts described
>>> below in
>> Nabokov's ADA are based on actual performances or are imaginary. No
>> luck--in
>> part because I have no idea of how to approach the question. What
>> such acts
> are
>> called? Have any of you seen such acts?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> FROM NABOKOV's NOVEL ADA.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The stage would be empty when the curtain went up; then, after five
> heartbeats
>> of theatrical suspense, something swept out of the wings, enormous
>> and black,
> to
>> the accompaniment of dervish drums. The shock of his powerful and
>> precipitous
>> entry affected so deeply the children in the audience that for a long
>> time
>> later, in the dark of sobbing insomnias, in the glare of violent
>> nightmares,
>> nervous little boys and girls relived, with private accretions,
>> something
>> similar to the > '> primordial qualm,> '> a shapeless nastiness, the
>> swoosh
> of
>> nameless wings, the unendurable dilation of fever which came in a
>> cavern draft
>> from the uncanny stage. Into the harsh light of its gaudily carpeted
>> space a
>> masked giant, fully eight feet tall, erupted, running strongly in the
>> kind of
>> soft boots worn by Cossack dancers. A voluminous, black shaggy cloak
>> of the
>> burka type enveloped his silhouette inquiétante (according to a female
> Sorbonne
>> correspondent > -> we> '> ve kept all those cuttings) from neck to
>> knee or
> what
>> appeared to be those sections of his body. A Karakul cap surmounted
>> his top. A
>> black mask covered the upper part of his heavily bearded face. The
>> unpleasant
>> colossus kept strutting up and down the stage for a while, then the
>> strut
>> changed to the restless walk of a caged madman, then he whirled, and
>> to a
> clash
>> of cymbals in the orchestra and a cry of terror (perhaps faked) in the
> gallery,
>> Mascodagama turned over in the air and stood on his head.
>>>
>>> In this weird position, with his cap acting as a pseudopodal pad, he
>>> jumped
> up
>> and down, pogo-stick fashion > -> and suddenly came apart. Van> '> s
>> face,
>> shining with sweat, grinned between the legs of the boots that still
>> shod his
>> rigidly raised arms. Simultaneously his real feet kicked off and away
>> the
> false
>> head with its crumpled cap and bearded mask. The magical reversal >
>> '> made
> the
>> house gasp.> '> Frantic (> '> deafening,> '> > '> delirious,> '> >
>> '> a
>> veritable tempest of> '> ) applause followed the gasp. He bounded
>> offstage >
> ->
>> and next moment was back, now sheathed in black tights, dancing a
>> jig on his
>> hands. pp. 183-4
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> For the tango, which completed his number on his last tour, he was
>>> given a
>> partner, a Crimean cabaret dancer in a very short scintillating frock
>> cut very
>> low on the back. She sang the tango tune in Russian:>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Pod znóynïm nébom Argentínï,
>>>
>>> Pod strástnïy góvor mandolinï
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> '> Neath sultry sky of Argentina,
>>>
>>> To the hot hum of mandolina
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Fragile, red-haired > '> Rita> '> (he never learned her real name),
>>> a
> pretty
>> Karaite from Chufut Kale, where, she nostalgically said, the Crimean
>> cornel,
>> kizil> '> , bloomed yellow among the arid rocks, bore an odd
>> resemblance to
>> Lucette as she was to look ten years later. During their dance, all
>> Van saw of
>> her were her silver slippers turning and marching nimbly in rhythm
>> with the
>> soles of his hands. pp. 185
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> This message and any attachments contain information, which may be
> confidential>
>> or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please refrain
>> from any
>> disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this information. Please
>> be aware
>> that such actions are prohibited. If you have received this
>> transmission in
>> error, kindly notify us by calling 1-800-262-4723 or e-mail to
>> helpdesk@bbdo.com. We appreciate your cooperation.
>>
>> ----- End forwarded message -----
>>
>>
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
> Yes, there must be some theatrical slang or argot for the type of
> performer who enters the stage in one guise only to completely reverse
> this perception before the grand finale. Is there a dictionary or
> glossary of terms from the show world? Henry Mayhew had lists for the
> types of criminals and beggars in 19nth century London. A friend of
> mine has an encyclopedia of underworld argot that records thousands of
> expressions from as far back as the 18nth century. I often try to buy
> this off him when he's drunk.
>
> I've either seen or read of frail and timid old ladies who sling off
> their sad coats to be revealed as young show girls who dance up a
> storm. There are precarious drunks who turn out to be expert marksmen,
> knife throwers, acrobats, or equestrians. Moving from variety shows
> to plays and films, there are vulnerable, drunk old men who fall
> victim to gamblers only to turn the tables and win back everything and
> more. These types evolve upwards into Zorro, the Scarlet Pimpernel,
> various spies, gentleman cat burglars. And these, I think, evolved or
> were modernized or pomodernized into the constellation of super heroes
> who Clark Kent, or Peter Parker, or Bruce Wayne it by day, and then
> strip down into caped crusader togs when the feathers hit the fan.
> These types evolve downwards into various psychos and nightmare types
> descended from the little old lady AKA wicked stepmother who sold Snow
> White the apple, all the way to Tony Perkins, prop. Bates Hotel.
>
> There's something exhilarating about an entity changing into its
> reverse. It's an action that releases an explosion of power one way or
> another. When the change is from weakness to strength, I think it
> triggers an unconscious desire, or hope, that one day we all may excel
> ourselves and be revealed as more than what we are.
>
> But the sudden change of a person one knows and for whom one feels
> love, such as a mother, or one's child, into a diabolical persona, is
> a universal dread that's fueled changeling stories, vampire tales and
> lycanthropy and zombie legends in probably every culture in the world.
>
> Probably the example that may have usually been uppermost in VNs mind
> was lepedopteral mimesis, where the humblest moths and butterflies
> could acquire the most elaborate disguises to survive
>
> AB
>
>
>
> ----------
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
> Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 11:15 AM
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Subject: Fwd: RE: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
>
> <<File: ATT2295935.htm>>
>
>
>
> ----- Forwarded message from Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com -----
> Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 14:07:18 -0500
> From: "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
>
>
>
> The entrance of the dark beast, "running strongly" reminded me of the
> demonic
> pursuer of Mary Hyde/Mary Lamb, as she dreams it toward the end of
> Martin
> Amis's novel Other People. The effect of a dancer who is revealed as
> standing
> upright when his or her costumed self was upside down is a Central
> European,
> Asian, probably universal entertainment that has seen service from
> ancient
> times all the way to vaudeville and beyond. This performance, with its
> surprises, reminded me of the circus Huck Finn sneaks into and is
> completely
> fooled by the blustering drunk who insists on joining the bareback
> riders'
> performance, and then rides frantically around the circus ring faster
> and
> faster, shedding a blizzard of ragged clothes until he stands
> revealed, gliding
> along erect with his arms folded, as the star of the show.
>
> A. BROWN
> ----------------------------------------------------
> EDNOTE. Ah, yes. But what are these acts called? There must be a name
> for this
> kind of performer.
>
>
>
>
> > ----------
> > From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of D. Barton Johnson
> > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 1:03 PM
> > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > Subject: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 9:55 AM
> > Subject: circus acts query
> >
> >
> >
> > I have been trying to determine whether the variety acts described
> below in
> Nabokov's ADA are based on actual performances or are imaginary. No
> luck--in
> part because I have no idea of how to approach the question. What
> such acts are
> called? Have any of you seen such acts?
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > FROM NABOKOV's NOVEL ADA.
> >
> >
> >
> > The stage would be empty when the curtain went up; then, after five
> heartbeats
> of theatrical suspense, something swept out of the wings, enormous and
> black, to
> the accompaniment of dervish drums. The shock of his powerful and
> precipitous
> entry affected so deeply the children in the audience that for a long
> time
> later, in the dark of sobbing insomnias, in the glare of violent
> nightmares,
> nervous little boys and girls relived, with private accretions,
> something
> similar to the > '> primordial qualm,> '> a shapeless nastiness, the
> swoosh of
> nameless wings, the unendurable dilation of fever which came in a
> cavern draft
> from the uncanny stage. Into the harsh light of its gaudily carpeted
> space a
> masked giant, fully eight feet tall, erupted, running strongly in the
> kind of
> soft boots worn by Cossack dancers. A voluminous, black shaggy cloak
> of the
> burka type enveloped his silhouette inquiétante (according to a
> female Sorbonne
> correspondent > -> we> '> ve kept all those cuttings) from neck to
> knee or what
> appeared to be those sections of his body. A Karakul cap surmounted
> his top. A
> black mask covered the upper part of his heavily bearded face. The
> unpleasant
> colossus kept strutting up and down the stage for a while, then the
> strut
> changed to the restless walk of a caged madman, then he whirled, and
> to a clash
> of cymbals in the orchestra and a cry of terror (perhaps faked) in the
> gallery,
> Mascodagama turned over in the air and stood on his head.
> >
> > In this weird position, with his cap acting as a pseudopodal pad,
> he jumped up
> and down, pogo-stick fashion > -> and suddenly came apart. Van> '> s
> face,
> shining with sweat, grinned between the legs of the boots that still
> shod his
> rigidly raised arms. Simultaneously his real feet kicked off and away
> the false
> head with its crumpled cap and bearded mask. The magical reversal > '>
> made the
> house gasp.> '> Frantic (> '> deafening,> '> > '> delirious,> '> >
> '> a
> veritable tempest of> '> ) applause followed the gasp. He bounded
> offstage > ->
> and next moment was back, now sheathed in black tights, dancing a
> jig on his
> hands. pp. 183-4
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > For the tango, which completed his number on his last tour, he was
> given a
> partner, a Crimean cabaret dancer in a very short scintillating frock
> cut very
> low on the back. She sang the tango tune in Russian:>
> >
> >
> >
> > Pod znóynïm nébom Argentínï,
> >
> > Pod strástnïy góvor mandolinï
> >
> >
> >
> > '> Neath sultry sky of Argentina,
> >
> > To the hot hum of mandolina
> >
> >
> >
> > Fragile, red-haired > '> Rita> '> (he never learned her real
> name), a pretty
> Karaite from Chufut Kale, where, she nostalgically said, the Crimean
> cornel,
> kizil> '> , bloomed yellow among the arid rocks, bore an odd
> resemblance to
> Lucette as she was to look ten years later. During their dance, all
> Van saw of
> her were her silver slippers turning and marching nimbly in rhythm
> with the
> soles of his hands. pp. 185
> >
> >
>
>
>
> This message and any attachments contain information, which may be
> confidential
> or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please refrain
> from any
> disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this information. Please
> be aware
> that such actions are prohibited. If you have received this
> transmission in
> error, kindly notify us by calling 1-800-262-4723 or e-mail to
> helpdesk@bbdo.com. We appreciate your cooperation.
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
>
____________________________________
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