In the first half of the twentieth century, a type of trick known as “statue tricks” was quite popular. Statue tricks consist of multiple balances on various body parts at the same time. There is no tossing involved, although in rare cases spinning may occur. Nevertheless, all of the objects being balanced or manipulated are in constant contact with the …
Rare Juggling Books (Part 2)
As I mentioned in part 1 of this short, 2 part series, the three major categories of juggling books are instructional books, historical / biographical books, and routine books (comedy, messages, patter, performance tips). I previously discussed six rare instructional books, including some that are now online. Now I’d like to discuss some hard to find historical, biographical, and routine …
“Throw Joy” Review
Wes Peden describes his latest juggling film “Throw Joy” as “53 minutes of sledgehammer hitting ice-cream cake.” Although his new offering has a much more straightforward title than many of his previous releases, that description is oddly accurate. Wes Peden fans will be delighted to know that “Throw Joy” features Peden’s signature creative, technical, innovative, inspirational, and periodically bizarre styling …
Be Funnier with Scotty Meltzer: Comedy Karaoke
Using volunteers is one of the easiest ways to get laughs. Adding a volunteer to a bit instantly makes it seem more spontaneous, raises the stakes, allows solo performers to do dialogue instead of just monologue, and creates opportunity for conflict—all great ingredients for comedy! But beware: Audience participation is such a powerful tool that many variety acts overuse it. In …
Rare Juggling Books (Part 1)
There have been hundreds of books written about juggling. I have about 70 juggling books in my library, while jugglers such as Hovey Burgess, Paul Bachman, Erik Aberg, and Hermann Sagemuller have larger collections. While this is a tiny fraction of the number of books authored about illusion and magic, it’s still more than the average non-juggler might think. The …
Common Juggling Misconceptions
There are a myriad of misconceptions regarding the art of juggling. Many are on the part of audience members, whose lack of understanding and knowledge is laughable, but somewhat understandable. However, many members of our own community fall victim to false beliefs as well. Some are about performing and some are about the history of juggling. It’s these historical misconceptions …
The Triple Ball Stack Balance – An Old Trick Re-Learned
There are some tricks that were popular during a certain period of time and then seemingly disappeared from the juggling landscape. I can’t think of a better example of this than the triple ball stack balance. I don’t mean a triple ball spin stack, which is one of my favorite tricks to perform. While that trick is rare, the trick …
Inverted Toss and Bounce Juggling
My first exposure to inverted, or upside down, juggling was a picture of Bobby May bouncing five balls off of a drum while balancing on a head pedestal, his roller skated feet pointing toward the ceiling. I was astonished that such a trick was even possible. While May’s trick wasn’t the first example of inverted juggling, it may be the …
The Development Of The Juggling Club (Part 5)
In the final installment of this five part series, we’ll examine a very wide array of clubs that fit into the categories of lighted clubs, functional clubs, bottle clubs, unique clubs, and novelty clubs. I think this article will be the most interesting of the series for many readers. Lighted Clubs Unlike the other categories of clubs discussed so far …