Interview with Sword Swallower Roderick Russell

“Roderick Russell is an original and unique form of entertainer. He controls his own mind with such skill that he accomplishes the astonishing while simultaneously influencing the minds of others to create the most powerful and profound types of personal experience.

Known the world over for his unique mind over body stunts such as his world record sword swallowing, he combines his self-knowledge with his understanding of human psychology to deliver sophisticated and artistic presentations unlike any other out there.”

SW: The above statement is from your website marketing, I would like to use it as our starting point.

“An original and unique form of entertainer.” Could you explain what original and unique mean in relationship to your performances and how your audience reacts to your presentation?

RR: I see how it is. You actually want me to justify my marketing! Lucky for me though, the marketing is a result of a long, hard look at how my material plays on the stage, so it comes from a basis of truth.

The terms original and unique have been two that have plagued me since my earliest days. I say plagued, because that’s exactly how it feels. I have this disorder, a compulsion, to be original. I suppose to a certain extent many performers do, but it took me an exceptionally long time to come to terms with the fact that even ”standards” become original when spoken through an individual performer’s own voice.

Though much of what I do on stage is indeed original to me and my performances, the terms original and unique as they are used here are really intended to transcend the question of choice of material and instead reflect the impact of performance. Theater can be an enormously transformative experience for both performer and audience. Done well, a thoroughly seasoned Shakespeare aficionado can walk away from a performance of Hamlet saying “I’ve never seen anything like that before”, despite it being his fortieth viewing. To put it in sideshow terms, Todd Robbins doing Melvin Burkhart’s blockhead routine – complete and perfect down to the inflection of the voice – is original and unique. Are they Todd’s words? No. Was it Todd’s idea? No. Did Todd improve upon the technique in order to be original? No. Heck, it’s not even Todd’s nail! But nobody can deliver it like Todd can. This comes from strength and conviction of character, from a powerful and impactful stage presence and an authentic attempt to communicate. Very few people, given the same routine, could make it unique and original.

So to answer your question of how the audience reacts to my presentation, when I do my job properly, people often tell me that they’ve never seen anything like it – even when I know they’ve seen the same routine performed by others. It is my hope that by delivering my material with conviction, I am able to not only entertain, but also to subtly encourage people to go out on a limb, reach for their dreams, foster a healthy skeptical attitude and, my greatest hope, to simply inspire. Of course, that’s the ideal, and the nature of live performance puts us squarely in front of failure as a possibility. That’s part of its allure.

SW: Are you saying being unique is a matter of taking ownership over the material, and then presenting it in such a way that it becomes and extension of who you are? Is this what makes it new and original, and if so, how do you accomplish it?

RR: I think that what I’m saying, actually, is that being unique has absolutely nothing to do with the material. Naturally this view can be taken to the extreme, and I do accept for the fact that we’re all only human. Frankly, some plots for material are by their nature simply hideous and would take a truly gifted performer to do them justice. But when it comes down to it, the strength and uniqueness of a performance depends entirely upon the characteristics of the performer, not the material.

Consider Stevie Starr, for instance. Stevie does a regurgitation act. Regurgitation is, arguably, one of the more unique acts out their today. I will be the first to admit that I am thoroughly and entirely entertained by Stevie, and I’ll also be the first to tell you that it has nothing to do with the regurgitation. I feel confident that he could be just as entertaining playing the spoons. It’s true that I’m amazed at the things he’s able to accomplish regurgitation-wise (did I really just say that?) but his skill with the physical stunt has nothing to do with his skill as an entertainer. If he brought his character and off-beat charm to any stunt, he would be successful with it.

Likewise, I can’t exactly say that I’m a fan of Michael Jackson or Madonna’s musical oeuvre, but it’s undeniable that they are truly incredible performers and I love watching them. Why is that so, if I don’t like their material? Because they exude originality, charisma and a gift for entertainment, that uniqueness of which we speak.

You ask if the material is presented as an extension of the entertainer. This is a pretty accurate description, in fact, and it’s important to bear in mind that the entertainment really begins with the individual on stage. If you begin with the material and try to infuse it with your personality you’re approaching it backwards – and it’s darn difficult. You need to discover who you are first, and present that. That’s what the people come to see. Not another fire breather or glass eater. That’s just icing on the proverbial cake.

SW: “He controls his own mind with such skill that he accomplishes the astonishing…”, I have heard many performers talk about mind control, what does this statement mean to you and why is mind control important to accomplishing your act?

RR: Mind control in all its manifestations plays a very prominent role in every one of my shows. On a very basic level, many of the routines that I perform require a great deal of personal discipline and one-pointed focus. I would venture to say, and this probably goes for a lot of sideshow entertainers as well, that staying calm under pressure – especially as it manifests itself as personal risk – is one of the challenges that I face. In many of my shows I utilize the subtleties of language and employ mnemonic techniques to create the illusion of miracles. This too requires an enormous attention to detail, be it attentiveness to the words that I’m using to create an effect or the proper ordering of information in my mind for later retrieval. And every interactive theater performer knows firsthand the discipline that it takes to run a show – from soup to nuts – while dealing with an interactive audience on-the-fly.

Yet beyond the personal, the term mind control, as insidious as it sounds, applies to the psychology of creating an imaginative experience in the minds of the spectators as well. This aspect is perhaps the most important one, for if you can’t induce an audience to go – mentally – where you’d like them too, you don’t have a show. Not a very good one anyhow. It’s not about what we do on stage, it’s about what the audience experiences in their seats, and that happens entirely in their head. Stagecraft is not about learning how to walk, talk or move on stage, it’s about how to create beliefs in the minds of an audience.

SW: What kind of preparation and precautions do you do before you go on stage?

RR: I make sure that my mic has a fresh battery, props are all in their proper place and that I’m hydrated.

Seriously though, speaking to the danger inherent in much of the material that I perform, I used to meditate to quiet myself, assure that I was hydrated (because there’s nothing worse than swallowing a sword when your throat is seized shut due to lack of water), and make sure that anything that I would be sticking in my body was cleaned and disinfected.

While learning to swallow swords it was absolutely necessary to stretch and meditate before practicing. For a couple years after I learned, in fact, swallowing a sword at least once a day was a necessity, and I would take plenty of time not only before a show but also immediately before the swallow itself to quiet my mind.

These days, since I do so many shows, I rarely if ever practice in between, and beyond staying hydrated (which is important for so many other reasons!) and (usually) cleaning my swords, I don’t do anything. I’m very grateful to have conditioned myself enough such that raising the blade above my head serves as the psychological anchor to put me in that calm place. If anything, I’m excruciatingly mindful while in the process of performing, but rarely now do I take time before a show.

SW: “While simultaneously influencing the minds of others to create the most powerful and profound types of personal experience.” I have seen many performers on stage. A good performer draws their audience into the energy of their show. Is this what you mean by “influencing the minds of others”, and could you explain how this creates a powerful and profound personal experience for your audience?

RR: You hit the nail right on the head. A good performer creates an experience for the audience, and as I mentioned above, this experience is the show, not the stunts being performed on stage. The real question which you hit on here is how do we create a powerful and profound experience? We do that by drawing the spectator in personally, making what we are doing personally relevant to them as an individual, and by involving them emotionally. Like any good drama, we appeal to their emotions as well as their intellect and give them a reason to care about what we’re doing. Once we accomplish that they are no longer passive spectators sitting in their seats, but rather, individuals riding the imaginative roller coaster which you’ve designed for them – and you take them wherever you want to go. Of course, it’s easiest if they like you first, which many on stage today don’t take the time to see too.

SW: What do you mean by “…if they like you first, which many on stage today don’t take the time to see too?”. Would you explain why it’s important to make that connection with your audience? How does that connection help your audience to become part of your experience?

RR: Too many people are presenting “stunts” today, and are not entertaining. I feel that many believe that all they need do after walking on stage is pace back and forth frantically, yell, be “wild” and then stick their hand in an animal trap – and people will scream as if they got the fright of their life. Then they wonder why they don’t get repeat bookings! That same performer will find that and audience goes wild when he sticks a lit torch in his mouth – unfortunately not because they think it’s great or amazing or filled with astonishment, but because they are hoping that the performer will burn themselves.

Many don’t take the time to get the audience invested, make them care about what they’re doing. Properly executed, a simple extinguish of a torch is accompanied by hushed silence by the crowd, and only after the feat do they respond. What the audience exudes while applauding is an appreciation for beauty, subtlety and the remarkable nature of us as humans. They appreciate the act in the here and now, and go away remembering it, perhaps even using it as inspiration in their own lives.

It’s the difference between seeing a car wreck and Cirque du Soleil. But even those entertainers who are out for the “shock value” aspect of what they’re doing still need to give attention to their stagecraft and presentation. Jabbing needles through your body is not so shocking if you don’t care for the person doing it. It’s just a disgusting act that you’d rather not see. On the flip side, one of the simplest stunts in a sideshow entertainers arsenal, the bed of nails, can be presented in such a way that spectators are riveted, completely enthralled with the impossibility of it and frightened to tears that what they are witnessing is truly horrific. None of it is horrific in and of itself, of course, and there’s no reason to cry when Johnny reclines on the bed of nails, but the spectators can be made to experience and react nevertheless.

Horror is psychological. Establish rapport with your audience, make them like you and give them a reason to care, touch their emotions and move them personally, and you can create any experience for them you like – more intensely than any mere stunt – not just horror and shock.

SW: “Known the world over for his unique mind over body stunts such as his world-record sword swallowing.” What other stunts do you include in your act and is the statement “unique mind over body stunts” really what you mean, or is it a practiced skill, or a combination of both?

RR: I could list all of the stunts which I do or have done in the past, but the ones that I most frequently do include the sword swallowing, escape art (most commonly a straight jacket, eighty feet of chain and two padlock escape) fire eating, fire breathing and, during the summer outdoor festival season, I perform and lead firewalks. I also perform an original variation of a routine that I call the Russian Shell Game. I’ve performed a lot of stunts throughout the years, but my current set list represents the stunts that are most valuable to me in the widest variety of venues with proven, solid presentations worked out through hundreds of performances.

Regarding your distinction between “mind over body” and “practiced skill”, I would argue that effective control of the body via the mind is a practiced skill. I wish it were a gift that I didn’t have to learn!

SW: You’ve performed a lot of stunts throughout the years, but your current set represents the stunts that are most valuable to you in the widest variety of venues. I have heard many performers talk about having different stunts or performances for different audience. Is your set of stunts and the manner in which you present them acceptable for all audiences, and if not, what modifications do you make and for what audiences do you make them?

RR: Well, the stunts I perform most often are chosen also for their convenience and repeatability – though lugging that much chain around can become a major inconvenience.

But yes, I perform different routines for different audiences. Part of being an effective entertainer is first meeting the audience where they are psychologically. Only then can you lead them to where you want to go.

The inclusion of certain elements of humor is of course a consideration for every show. A great deal of my material is entirely family appropriate, but some families are more conservative than others. I feel them out, and adjust on-the-fly.

Often in resort, faire or festival shows I will include several routines designed to get children onto the stage. Parents love to see their children as the center of attention, and during these shows I often intentionally take a step back and let them shine. In fact, it could be argued (and would be, by me) that you should always let your volunteers shine, be they children or not, and one should never, ever treat them with disrespect.

My theater show and theater audiences are radically different from my festival shows. I’m controversial, outspoken and step on a lot of people’s views – in a nice, artistic way, as it should be. Though there’s no “adult” material, it’s certainly not a children’s show, and I’ve eliminated many elements that are designed to appeal to a wide cross-section of the population. My theater audiences are targeted, and my material reflects that.

In a theater environment I take full advantage of lighting and sound, and have accordingly changed the entire style of some of the stunts, such as the sword swallowing. And in my latest theater show, I don’t do a single escape, which is the first time since introducing escapes that I haven’t included one.

SW: “He combines his self-knowledge with his understanding of human psychology to deliver sophisticated and artistic presentations unlike any other out there.” How does your knowledge of human psychology help in your presentations and how does your act differ from others in the business today?

RR: Psychology does more than help in my show, I’d say. In fact, it could be argued that the show is the psychology. If it were not for the innumerable subtleties, I think that all of my material would fall flat. Watching someone get tied up or draw a picture (for my mentalist friends) really is not all that exciting. It’s the psychology that creates the investment on the part of the audience, which in turn fuels their involvement and ultimate success of a routine.

The question of how my act differs from others in the business today is a very difficult one. One with which I have struggled for years, in fact.

As I mentioned, much of my material is just plain original in its presentation and/or plot. But then, we also dismissed that as the deciding factor regarding originality. I also mentioned that I do perform some “standards” as well. Yet in every case, I would argue that it’s how I perform it that makes it so radically different from others in the business. And that’s not to say that it’s better than others in the business, only different. I’ve had to work long and hard to find my own individual style and voice, and that is what comes through on stage.

For instance, many sword swallowers – heck, most sword swallowers – have a standard presentation that begins with them standing in front of the crowd verbally building interest in the stunt they are about to perform, after which they swallow the sword – and then proceed to swallow more swords of differing lengths, shapes and numbers. I don’t condone that, and in fact, perform my own “stand-up” sword swallowing routine as well. But when I’m performing my theater show, I do no such thing. I don’t say a single word, in fact, while performing the sword swallow, yet I speak volumes.

My theater routine – entitled Tango in E minor – is exactly that, a tango with the sword. It starts in silence, proceeds to an instrumental introduction which has me conversing (with my body language mind you, not words) with an unseen partner, picks up on the first note of the melody with a sudden revelation of the sword as my heretofore unseen partner and progresses into a sensual, frightful, erotic and humorous dance which culminates with me fully embracing the sword – by swallowing it.

Several years ago I created and toured a theater show in which I did the sword swallow as set to a t’ai chi routine and taiko drumming – complete with very dramatic lighting and an entire storyline, though not one word is ever uttered. The sword is dramatically revealed – on the first loud drumbeat – suspended in the air. I am revealed in a squatting position behind the sword on the second drumbeat. The routine builds from there and is a truly intense, edge-of-your-seat experience which hits you with surprise when you least expect it.

These are both very dramatic routines, and both are unique. It is sword swallowing as presented through my voice which I have personally found on the stage – which ironically is vocally silent in these two examples.

It is through presenting my ideas in this way that I believe my work is different than others in the business today.

John Robinson, Melvin Burkhart, Pain Control, Regurgitation, Roderick Russell, Stevie Starr, Todd Robbins, dance, fakir, fire eating, human blockhead, performance art, performing arts, sideshow, sideshow world, sword swallower, sword swallowing, taiko, tango