Unit 2 Performers

Living statues Entertainment on the street Go sightseeing in many cities today and among the famous buildings, street markets, and other attractions, you'll see a special kind of display: living statues. These street performers who are sometimes dressed as famous characters from history or from popular culture-have become a common sight in tourist areas of Paris, London, Barcelona, Hollywood, and other cities. The performance involves standing completely still for long periods of time. This kind of performance has a long history. It has existed in various forms since the sixteenth century. The French used the term tableaux vivants, which means "living pictures." A group of actors stood in positions to illustrate a scene, but they didn't speak or move during the display. The subject of the displays was often religious or from mythology. In some places, they were part of royal occasions. In the Catalan region of Spain, tableaux vivants have been a popular tradition since the early eighteenth century. Nowadays, Catalonia is also famous for its modern living statues. In fact, there are so many of them on the streets of Barcelona that the city council decided to control the number and give out only thirty licenses for fifteen locations. Local resident Joan Castells explained, "You can't move past the crowds on the pavement, and most of them are not really entertaining people, they're just begging." Now, each licensed artist can perform either in the morning or in the afternoon. So why do so many people want to be living statues? Joan Castells says, "It's an easy way of earning money. All you need is some makeup and a costume." But according to one of the living statues in Hollywood, "Preparation takes ages-and so does getting clean at the end of the day. It's also extremely difficult to stay completely still for long periods. I can't even move my eyes or show that I'm breathing." And although it's "understood" that if you take a photo, you leave some money, not everyone is so kind and generous. "Nobody gets rich doing this," said the living statue from Hollywood. Perhaps they don't get rich, but every performer has some tricks to encourage people to give them money. Every time a tourist throws them a coin, they react with a quick, small movement. Perhaps they wave or turn their head or touch the person. The statue comes to life for just a moment, entertaining the crowd and rewarding the payment. And maybe giving the tired and aching performer a chance to move into a new, more comfortable position. 'still (adv) /stal/ not moving royal (adj) connected to a king or queen

Practice Conversation 1 Look at the photo and descibe it using three sentences. 2. Discuss what you think it feels like to be a living statue. 3 Describe what a living statue does. 4. Explain where you can see living statues. 5. Tell what similar art forms in history there have been. Read the article again and discuss these questions. 1 Who is the main audience for this kind of performance? 2 What are the main differences between living statues and tableaux vivants? 3 What makes a living statue successful? 5 Find these words in the article. Try to guess their meaning. Then replace the words in bold in the sentences (1-4) with these words. illustrate (line15) A group of actors stood in positions to illustrate a scene, but they didn't speak or move during the display. Living statues resident (line 26) begging (line 29) Local resident Joan Castells explained, "You can't move past the crowds on the pavement, and most of them are not really entertaining people, they're just begging." react (line 45) Every time a tourist throws them a coin, they react with a quick, small movement. 1 Sadly, we see a lot of people who are asking people for money in the street nowadays. 2 The audience was shouting at him, but he didn't say or do anything in response! 3 The pictures in the book show what the story is about really well.. 4 We spoke to a person who lives in this area about the traffic problems. 6 Would you like to be a street performer? Why or why not? What kind would you be? Tell the class. living statue pavement artist musician sand sculptor magician