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Transcription: [00:21:57]
{SPEAKER name="Jones"}
They would play here tonight and be someplace tomorrow night and some place the next night. And they had a lot of, uh, uh, people working, they had uh, 50, 60, people working, they had people put up these tents like this. Those people they'll go there they'll take down the night and put it up the next day and you wake the next day. You did a lot of traveling, that's what they call a 'one night stand'. You hear a lot of good people say, 'now
[00:22:21]
I'm like the "Florida Blossom" or the "Brown Skin Model" or the "Silas Green Show."
[00:22:25]
One night stand, when a guy talking to a girl, a girl talking to a boy, say you only got a one night stand. That's where that word, 'one night stand' come from cause they did one night.
[00:22:36]
{SPEAKER name="Interviewer"}
Now what sort of entertainment, exactly, how-how would a minstrel show run, let's say from beginning to end to give an idea of what sort of things you'd see if you went to such a show?
[00:22:46]
{SPEAKER name="Jones"}
Well you went to a minstrel show, they would open up with a band. Next you would have, uh, a line of girls dance. And next you would have what we call a principal, and maybe a tap dancer, maybe a singer, uh, somebody doing something, some of 'em be doing tricks and things. But that the next come a chorus and then you'll come again, a tap dancer, a comedian. And then you'll go again and then the middle that's where the band would take it's whole. You have a band and that band would play, and let you feel them. And then whatever's the star - whoever the star was, would come on after that.
[00:23:24]
{SPEAKER name="Interviewer"}
So you'd close out with a star?
[00:23:26]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
You-you close, uh, the whole show close, but the star would be the last one to come on. [?] last one to come on. And after the star then they bring the whole act, called a finale, everybody come on and do a finale.
[00:23:41]
{SPEAKER name="Interviewer"}
So basically, when we're talking about minstrel shows in this century, we're really talking about full scale stage shows. Shows that carry comics, shows that carry the band, carry singing stars, all working under a tent, and showing one night stands all through, especially the southern states and the east coast states.
Transcription Notes:
Florida Blossom, Brown Skin Model, and Silas Green Show were all traveling variety shows/minstrel shows.