Ten performers from the Coney Island Circus Sideshow will visit Hamilton College as part of the Sophomore Seminar, Freaks, on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the Fillius Events Barn. The performance is free and open to the public.
The performers are associated with Sideshows by the Seashore, a traditional ten-in-one circus sideshow located at the world famous Coney Island amusement park. Established by Coney Island, USA in 1985, Sideshows by the Seashore is the first professional non-profit theatre dedicated to keeping alive the American sideshow.
Billed as freaks, wonders and human curiosities, among the performers visiting Hamilton are the tattooed man Eak the Geek, fire performer Insectiva, Ravi the Bendable Boy and snake charmer Princess Anaka.
The Sophomore Seminar, Freaks, will investigate how what has been considered to be normal has been conceptualized and defined from both philosophical and biological perspectives through the study of individuals and groups categorized as freaks. The class will examine descriptions of particular mental and physical "abnormalities," and pay special attention to the historical and cross-cultural differences in what is considered to be normal.
The performance is sponsored by the Dean of the Faculty, the Office of the President, and the departments of biology, philosophy, and theater.
