April 2nd, 2024 – 2023 Year in Review

2023 was a phenomenal year for my performing and showman endeavors.

I applied to teach at three flow arts festivals in 2023, and was formally accepted into all three (Kinetic Fire, Great Lakes Flow Festival, and Carpe Diem). I debuted two new workshops that I devised (Two Up One Up Explorations and Factories that Make Boxes, my first advanced workshop). I taught three workshops at Great Lakes Flow Festival, and four workshops at Kinetic Fire and Carpe Diem. I was delighted to also perform in public galas at both Kinetic Fire and Carpe Diem, then emcee the gala shows the following night at both events. For my Carpe Diem performance, I also premiered my new ball juggling act that I spent the first half of the year choreographing and building a stage prop for.

In August, I did a nine-day performance contract for the longest-running traditional sideshow company, World of Wonders, which was a true delight. I performed as the resident fire-eater and rola bola/danger juggler for a string of shows at stops in Virginia as well as Pennsylvania. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes at an independent sideshow attraction like this, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The midway at night is truly magical and it is a joy to be a part of the entertainment.

My book The Rise and Fall of the Sideshow Geek was also released in the summer. This resulted in me doing book signings and lectures in Detroit as well as Chicago. During my time in Chicago, in addition to lecturing at the wonderful new establishment Sideshow Gelato, I also performed a few shows. I then made a return at the end of the year for another round of performances. I was deeply honored as well when the shop created an ice cream flavor in my name.

Thank you to everyone that booked me, performed with me, or came out to my shows in 2023. I am excited for what 2024 holds.

December 10th, 2023 – Nathan Releases a Book!

Earlier this year, I released my first full-length book, The Rise and Fall of the Sideshow Geek. The book is a history book about the history of the sideshow geek and the only work of its kind ever published. It was truly a labor of love that took me five years to write. The book is available now through Outside Talker Press and is even available as an eBook.

What People are Saying:

Nathan Wakefield pulls back the veil on a questionable brand of entertainment that has always existed in the shadows of carnival lore. The evolution of the geek and how the public reacted to this spectacle in different eras says so much about who we are. The next time I am looking to book a glass-eater or insectivore, or even a rubber chicken comedy geek act, I will take a breath, and think about the lineage of these acts; from ancient myths of infant eaters, to ale-swigging stone swallowers, to cat chompers, to snake glommers. – Keith Nelson, Co-Founder of The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus

An impressive survey drawing back the curtains on one of the most strange and macabre corners of the history of popular entertainment and a must read for sideshow fans and performers. Nathan Wakefield digs into the meat of the geek act with intellectual dexterity and humble curiosity, offering us a chance to revisit an act that will forever remain locked away on the stages of yesteryear. Step right up and peak inside (if you dare)! – Mistress Kali, Founder of The Southern Sideshow Hootenanny

Nathan Wakefield has produced a well-researched and documented history of a wild niche in show business: that of the sideshow geek and related curiosities. As alluded to in this oddly fascinating book, geek acts were akin to passing a car wreck, where even though you might see something horrible, you find it hard to look away. This book itself is like that as well. Skim through these pages and witness the spectacle of the unusual: geeks, wild men, human ostriches, and regurgitators. Performers eating live animals, sometimes neatly but often violently, and others swallowing unlikely animate and inanimate objects. All in the name of entertainment, or at least the morbid curiosity of generations of audiences. – Alan Howard, Performer, Author, Editor, and Aficionado of Variety Acts

Nathan Wakefield set himself a goal most humans would not: To write a definitive account of the history of the sideshow geek. He has accomplished his task masterfully; this book will be the go-to account on the subject for many years to come. – Matt “The Tube” Crowley, Sideshow Performer

An excellent read, and an excellent reference. The geeks may be gone from the sideshow, but they can always live in your sideshow library. – Trav S.D. Founder of The American Vaudeville Theatre and Author

A F—ing treasure! – Thomas Breen, Owner of World of Wonders Show

The Sideshow Geek has long been a controversial subject rife with rumor and speculation. Nathan Wakefield did a 5-year deep dive to research and sort out facts from fiction on a scandalous subject that might have otherwise been lost to time. This is a sensational must-read for anyone interested in uncensored gritty entertainment history. – Jan T. Gregor, Author of Circus of the Scars