I recently started practicing swing poi, and I noticed that there are lots of poi concepts that can be applied to diabolo. You can find concepts like this with clubs too, so… maybe we can find concepts with staffs, devil sticks, or other props that we can apply to diabolo as well. There’s no big difference between different props; you …
Brad Weston’s Stagecraft: Bubbles
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This column explores different art-forms and the creatives who work in them. We look at how choreographers approach their work, what an improviser needs in his tool kit to do well, and how a painter sees the world. In each case I will apply the techniques of each specific art-form to juggling and demonstrate ways in which we can apply the creativity of other disciplines to our own.
This month I sat down with bubble performer Geoff Akins [bubbleshows.com] to find out how he manages to make a living with soap and water. In his show, Geoff not only blows bubbles, he inspires a whole new generation to get out there and be true to their own visions. His program is not only cool to watch, it makes you think about what you can accomplish in your own life.
Perhaps inspired by the topic of bubbles, we met up at a laundromat halfway between our homes. In a couple of hours we managed to make a short movie, get our laundry done, and share some ideas about what it means to be a working artist.
YOU MUST BE AN IJA MEMBER TO READ THE INTERVIEW WITH GEOFF AKINS…
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This exclusive article is for IJA members only. Go to https://ezine.juggle.org/membership-options-page/ to join the IJA for this and other benefits.
Notes and queries and a case full of clubs: Efficiency
In the last 12 months, 12 weeks (a total of 52 days) of my juggling-working life has been spent teaching. Teaching juggling to advanced students at circus schools in Holland, Sweden, France, Germany and Ireland has accounted for 25% of my income in that time. That is a sizeable amount, and teaching is clearly by now one of the major …
Be Funnier with Scotty Meltzer: Creationism
In my first column, Comedy Darwinism, I wrote about ways to leverage your creativity onstage. Or as a skeptic might put it: “How to flop around onstage, randomly trying this and that, until you get lucky enough to get a laugh.” Fair enough. So if evolution through natural selection isn’t enough for you… If you think: “What are the odds …
Brad Weston’s Stagecraft: Mime
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This column explores different art-forms and the creatives who work in them. We look at how choreographers approach their work, what an improviser needs in his tool kit to do well, and how a painter sees the world. In each case, I will apply the techniques of each specific art-form to juggling and demonstrate ways in which we can apply the creativity of other disciplines to our own.
Mime: the most hated variety art-form in America. It’s also the least understood and, at this point, one of the rarest. Billy the Mime [https://billythemime.net/] is pushing the boundaries and delivering a solidly entertaining and thought-provoking show. The creator’s name is Steven Banks. I got him on the phone and we spent close to an hour talking about creativity and what it takes to be successful.
When I first contacted Banks to do this interview, all I knew about him was that he was a mime. What I didn't know was that he’s also a musician, an actor, and a writer for television and books. He had his own sitcom on PBS, wrote a New York Times bestselling book, and as head writer for SpongeBob Squarepants, he was nominated for an Emmy.
YOU MUST BE AN IJA MEMBER TO READ THE INTERVIEW WITH ARTHUR TRACE…
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This exclusive article is for IJA members only. Go to https://ezine.juggle.org/membership-options-page/ to join the IJA for this and other benefits.
Juggling and Your Beliefs
I’m amazed at how many people I run across that after seeing me juggle say, “Wow, I could never juggle.” I then think back to all the practice I did, all of those awkward throws that I threw too far away, the chasing the balls after they hit my foot, the figuring out to practice over my bed so I …
Planting Kudzu
Kudzu is a climbing, semi-woody, perennial vine in the pea family. Once kudzu is established, it grows rapidly at a rate of up to a foot a day, and can be almost impossible to remove. When I got back into the juggling community in 2011, it didn’t take long for me to figure out that my juggling was nothing particularly …
Be Funnier with Scotty Meltzer: The Secret of Great Comedy
What is the secret of great comedy…? I’ll give you a hint. It’s not timing. It’s practice. I don’t know how to sit down and write a funny joke. But I do know how to write two dozen jokes and then find out which ones are funny. And this is how every comedy writer that I’ve ever talked to creates …
Celebrating “The Barn”
Anyone who’s known me for more than a minute or two knows I’m a big advocate of the Celebration Barn Theater. “The Barn” is a renowned theater school offering intensive summer workshops for variety and circus performers. I recently had a moment that reminded me why I’m so passionate about my favorite summer destination. Sun-season means different things to different …