Season 9: Episode 165
In this episode of The Folklore Podcast we enter the secretive world of the circus and the carnival sideshow - a community with much tradition and folklore but at the same time many secrets.
Our guest Nathan Wakefield, himself a variety performer, uncovers the world of the Sideshow Geek - controversial and eccentric acts which shocked many an audience member in the sideshows of the past. But how much of the act was genuine, and how much was just that - an act?
Nathan's book, 'The Rise and Fall of the Sideshow Geek' offers an in-depth look at this fascinating topic, aspects of which are touched on in this interview. Please note that this episode carries a content warning for stories of acts which may have involved abuse of animals.
Read our review of the book here.
Useful links:
Nathan's performing website: https://nathanmcscary.com/
Nathan's publisher's website: http://outsidetalkerpress.com/
Book softcover: https://outsidetalkerpress.bigcartel.com/product/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-sideshow-geek
Book hardcover: https://outsidetalkerpress.bigcartel.com/product/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-sideshow-geek-snake-eaters-human-ostriches-other-extreme-hardcover
eBook Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/u/38YOew
To support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and access extra content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolkorepodcast
About our guest
Nathan is a variety entertainment performer, historian, and advocate from Southeast Michigan. Since he was a young boy circus, magic, and other forms of variety entertainment have fascinated him. As a practitioner, he specializes on the subjects of juggling, sideshow, and fire entertainment. Nathan performs within these genres and has a deep historical and technical knowledge of them as well.
With juggling, Nathan has sought out the best jugglers in the world to learn from, and is constantly pushing himself to learn new feats of manipulation. He enjoys presenting highly creative and conceptual forms of juggling and has innovated countless original juggling tricks. In addition to using common juggling props, Nathan also enjoys researching old vaudeville era gentleman juggling tricks, which he then engineers props for and recreates these old feats, most of which are rarely, if ever seen these days.
From 2012-2018, he served on the Board of Directors for the International Jugglers’ Association, and operated as Chairman of the Board from 2014-2018. During his time as Chair, he was responsible for overseeing the operations and direction of the 401(c)3 non-profit organization. This included budgeting for international programs, large-scale festival planning, and year around operational management, all in the name of the organization’s mission to “render assistance to fellow jugglers.”
Nathan has produced numerous variety shows, emceed large events, worked with countless booking agencies, been featured in several books, and has acted as a consultant for various media and publishing endeavors. He released a non-fiction book of his own called The Rise and Fall of the Sideshow Geek. The work is dedicated to the untold history of the sideshow geek and also presents an examination of adjacent acts. It was released in 2023 through Outside Talker Press. He has written about juggling for several online publications, such as eJuggle. In 2022, Nathan was a featured juggling coach on the HBO television series Hard Knocks.
Outside of live entertainment, Nathan is also involved in film, as an actor and award-winning independent film maker. He has also released several musical albums themed after variety entertainment and regularly lends his music to independent films as well as using his own original music during his performances.
As a fire performer, he is well versed and trained in multiple fire disciplines. Several of his fire props are original innovations and are exclusive to his performances. Nathan holds numerous certifications in the fire arts, including being a certified Firewalking Instructor through the Firewalking Center.
When he performs, he uses completely original presentations and material, as he is of the belief that he wants to leave his audiences with truly unique experiences that they will not encounter anywhere else. His stage name is “McScary” because he has always had a love for horror and the macabre, often bringing a playful dark flavor to his performances. However, Nathan’s goal is to be charming and fun during his performances, leaving both him and his audiences entertained. Hence, he’s not really scary, rather he is simply McScary.
Much like P.T. Barnum and other great showman, Nathan has a deep understanding and appreciation for how vital marketing is. He believes in quality, creativity, and honesty when it comes to the art of promotion and show. Outside of live entertainment, Nathan holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing. He has years of experience working in the field of marketing as a Consultant, Administrator, Analyst, and Multimedia Content Producer. The industries he has lend his marketing skills to include information technology, supply chain management, and escape games. He has written numerous articles on indirect material procurement for trade publications. Regularly, he helps with the media and marketing strategy for live events and branding for individual performers. Nathan continues to use his diversified marketing skillset to aid in his ongoing work in variety entertainment.
Nathan is available as a performer, producer, emcee event host, workshop instructor, team building exercise facilitator, and consultant. If you would like to talk with Nathan for your next event, or would like to discuss a topic within his wheelhouse of expertise, please drop him a line.
Nathan is a variety entertainment performer, historian, and advocate from Southeast Michigan. Since he was a young boy circus, magic, and other forms of variety entertainment have fascinated him. As a practitioner, he specializes on the subjects of juggling, sideshow, and fire entertainment. Nathan performs within these genres and has a deep historical and technical knowledge of them as well.
With juggling, Nathan has sought out the best jugglers in the world to learn from, and is constantly pushing himself to learn new feats of manipulation. He enjoys presenting highly creative and conceptual forms of juggling and has innovated countless original juggling tricks. In addition to using common juggling props, Nathan also enjoys researching old vaudeville era gentleman juggling tricks, which he then engineers props for and recreates these old feats, most of which are rarely, if ever seen these days.
From 2012-2018, he served on the Board of Directors for the International Jugglers’ Association, and operated as Chairman of the Board from 2014-2018. During his time as Chair, he was responsible for overseeing the operations and direction of the 401(c)3 non-profit organization. This included budgeting for international programs, large-scale festival planning, and year around operational management, all in the name of the organization’s mission to “render assistance to fellow jugglers.”
Nathan has produced numerous variety shows, emceed large events, worked with countless booking agencies, been featured in several books, and has acted as a consultant for various media and publishing endeavors. He released a non-fiction book of his own called The Rise and Fall of the Sideshow Geek. The work is dedicated to the untold history of the sideshow geek and also presents an examination of adjacent acts. It was released in 2023 through Outside Talker Press. He has written about juggling for several online publications, such as eJuggle. In 2022, Nathan was a featured juggling coach on the HBO television series Hard Knocks.
Outside of live entertainment, Nathan is also involved in film, as an actor and award-winning independent film maker. He has also released several musical albums themed after variety entertainment and regularly lends his music to independent films as well as using his own original music during his performances.
As a fire performer, he is well versed and trained in multiple fire disciplines. Several of his fire props are original innovations and are exclusive to his performances. Nathan holds numerous certifications in the fire arts, including being a certified Firewalking Instructor through the Firewalking Center.
When he performs, he uses completely original presentations and material, as he is of the belief that he wants to leave his audiences with truly unique experiences that they will not encounter anywhere else. His stage name is “McScary” because he has always had a love for horror and the macabre, often bringing a playful dark flavor to his performances. However, Nathan’s goal is to be charming and fun during his performances, leaving both him and his audiences entertained. Hence, he’s not really scary, rather he is simply McScary.
Much like P.T. Barnum and other great showman, Nathan has a deep understanding and appreciation for how vital marketing is. He believes in quality, creativity, and honesty when it comes to the art of promotion and show. Outside of live entertainment, Nathan holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing. He has years of experience working in the field of marketing as a Consultant, Administrator, Analyst, and Multimedia Content Producer. The industries he has lend his marketing skills to include information technology, supply chain management, and escape games. He has written numerous articles on indirect material procurement for trade publications. Regularly, he helps with the media and marketing strategy for live events and branding for individual performers. Nathan continues to use his diversified marketing skillset to aid in his ongoing work in variety entertainment.
Nathan is available as a performer, producer, emcee event host, workshop instructor, team building exercise facilitator, and consultant. If you would like to talk with Nathan for your next event, or would like to discuss a topic within his wheelhouse of expertise, please drop him a line.