Fairy stars and the Mother lode: Children as aesthetic, economic, and sentimental commodities in California Gold Rush theatre

The actors, dancers, acrobats, equestrians, and singers that plied their trade throughout the California gold mines were particularly effective transmitters of popular sentiment. Their mere presence in the camps was tangible evidence of what Anglo-Americans recognized as "civilization," and their performances were inextricably linked to prevailing Euro-American notions of "home." Among the performers were a number of children who played minor roles, sang and danced between pieces, and occasionally constituted the primary attraction. While the employment of children in the theatre was not uncommon, their scarcity within the general population gave them extra cachet. The underlying ideology suggested by their presence on the stage was that of domesticity and served to re-affirm dominant nineteenth-century American cultural constructions of family, gender constructs, and morality.; This study addresses the popularity of young performers within the predominantly transient, male population, and purports that child actors, and the theatre that featured them, helped shape the emerging California culture by exerting a "civilizing influence" on the initially lawless populace. The period examined is from 1850, the year in which Rowe's Pioneer Circus first exhibited, to 1860, by which time domestic concerns had eclipsed mining as the primary way of life. "Child performers" refers to boys and girls between the ages of two and fourteen who appeared for the express purpose of providing entertainment in exchange for financial remuneration.; In addition to a historical examination of the characteristics, personages, and events of Gold Rush theatre, this dissertation addresses Victorian-American cultural constructions and the disparity between the notion of the "ideal child" and the lived experience of real children. Utilizing news articles, journal entries, letters, historical accounts and critical analyses, this work indicates that in addition to contributing to the sustenance of their own families, the child-as-performer was a contrivance in the marketing of ideology and culture to miners. As such, they played a key role in California's transformation from crude anarchy to cultural gem.