Grade Levels:

6-adult

Length:

60 minutes

Taping Rights:

Unlimited

MARC Record:

Downloadable

Web Site:

KET Online

Teaching Materials:

See Below

This one-woman play by Kentuckian Liz Bussey Fentress spans 23 years, beginning when Liz is 21 and just graduated from the University of Wisconsin. With job prospects dim in her chosen field of theater, she takes a job as ringmistress, organist, and puppet show performer with Wayne Franzen’s Franzen Bros. Circus, a brand-new one-ring circus.

Through Liz’s portrayal of herself, Wayne, and an array of other circus characters and animals, she shares the trials and triumphs of the fledgling circus and her own efforts to pursue her dream of working in theater. As a 44-year-old at the play’s end, she realizes that her circus experience has taught her humorous, tragic, and life-changing lessons about what individuals can achieve if they believe in their dreams.

Liz’s Circus Story was originally produced on stage at Horse Cave Theatre. Liz rewrote the work for the television adaptation, a 2003 KET production directed by Vince Spoelker. The accompanying web site includes interviews with production personnel, behind-the-scenes photos and graphics, and other background material on how the work was transformed from one medium to the other, along with suggestions for classroom use.

Program of Studies:
Drama/Theater: Structure in the Arts, Humanity in the Arts, Purposes for Creating the Arts, Processes in the Arts, Interrelationships Among the Arts