Juggler's World: Vol. 43, No. 1

Notes

• Alexander Feldman visited Japan twice last fall. The first contract saw him perform a 15-minute cabaret act twice a night for a month at a restaurant/nightclub in Osaka. The second was for the week-long Tokyo Gas Festival 2001, where he performed a 20-minute street-style act under the roof of the Tokyo Dome baseball stadium. The combination of the dome's super high ceilings and windless interior were ideal for hurling a diabolo to great heights!

• Tom Brubeck reports that a professional sculptor has created a bronze figure called "The Juggler" for Woodside Urban Park in Silver Spring, Md. The almost life-sized Dickensian character, in top hat and flying tails, is mounted on a unicycle and is juggling hoops. The work was done by Marcia Billig of Bethesda, Md., for the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Representatives of the park system and the sculptor selected the site. "I like jugglers," said Billig, "and the subject is entertaining, and sort of inviting people to the park." The Juggler was originally made of clay, then cast in bronze. The project took about a year, and is one of 12 public and seven private commissions carried out by the sculptor in that county.

• We had some replies to our Fall issue request for personalized juggling license plates.
  • IJUGL - Howie Terrill of Spring City, Pa.
  • JUGGLN - Dan Kirk of Menasha, Wisc.
  • JUGGLE - Allen Black of Blackville, S.C.
  • JUGLR OT - Roni Lynn, an occupational therapist from Hollywood, Fla.
  • JUGGLE - Alan Belanger, a.k.a. Spunky T. Clown in North Andover, Mass.
  • JUGGLE - Jek Kelly of Omaha, Neb.
  • JUGGLE - Peter Bradley of Morris Plains, N.J.
  • JUGGLER - Amy & Mark Ackman of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
  • JUGGLE - Bill Dietrich of Erie, Penn.
  • I JUGL - Roy Melanson of Highland, Calif.
  • I JUGGLE - Billy Barrett of Topanga, Calif.
  • 1 JUGLR - Todd Claxton of Montgomery, Ill.
  • JUGL IT - Russ Melton of Barboursville, Va.

• Amateur Soviet juggler Mikhail Staroseletsky is looking for a sponsor to finance a trip to the St. Louis convention this summer. A dentist by profession, he has juggled for 17 years. He is writing a book, and hopes to repay the money for sponsorship when it is published. But in the meantime he wants to show his unique tricks and inventions to as wide an audience as possible. If you are interested in sponsoring him, contact the Juggler's World editorial office.

• Some notes on jugglers gathered from "The Circus Report":
  • The Connors - David, Sissy and their daughters - with the Gary Strong Louisiana Christmas Tour.
  • Master Eros with the great American Circus.
  • The Raspyni Brothers appeared on Jonathan Winters' magic and comedy special on the Showtime network in December, and on Comic Strip Live in January.
  • Pat and Lauren Davidson juggled in the Showfolks of Sarasota Circus.
  • Rio Gonzales with France's Cirque Achille Zavatta.
  • Will Shaw juggling fire with a holiday circus in the Bronx.
  • T.J. Howell working a cruise ship from Santo Domingo to Ecuador in January.
  • Mark Faje and Carter Brown do a passing act, and Brown does solo hoop rolling with the Big John Strong Show. Eddie Dominguez is also a clown in the show.
  • The Lang Family with the one-ring Circus Fantasy.

• Former Pickle Family Circus juggler Sara Felder opened her own show, "Beyond Brooklyn" in February at the Marsh Theatre in San Francisco.

• The Presbyterian Hunger Fund in Porterville, Calif., continues to grow, thanks to Myron Wilcox, Erma Donaldson and juggling. Donaldson has made more than 1,600 juggling balls for Wilcox, who sells them to raise money for the fund. During the past five years he has netted $3,679 from sale of balls, school programs and festival shows.

• Fred Garbo will once again be teaching Antic Arts Workshops at Celebration Barn Theatre in South Paris, Maine. The two week intensive training session in June offers acrobatics, dance, object manipulation, slapstick and improvisation.

• Bob Nickerson is dribbling his way through a school assembly tour of the northeast and midwest. New twists to his act include shooting baskets while juggling basketballs, and juggling baseball bats and golf clubs. Nickerson did a half-time show for the Portland Trailblazers team last December and modestly reports "it was the only game they had lost up to that point in the season."

• If you see someone juggling clubs and playing kazoo on TV, it's probably Roy Melanson of Highland, Calif. Dressed in mock colonial garb, he buzzed the tune of Yankee Doodle and juggled in an attempt to become one of ABC's "America's Funniest People" recently. He's been doing the Yankee Doodle routine as the finale to his act for a couple of years, and gathered his courage for a try on the show when the camera crew came to the local mall.

• Mark Nizer was headline act at Trump Castle casino in Atlantic City, N.J., during the first two weeks of January. He was a showcase act at the NACA National Convention in Nashville. Others at NACA were Steve Ragatz, Sem & Teresa Abrahams and Frank Birdsall as roving artists, and Michel Lauziere as a Mainstage Alternate.

• The Public Broadcasting System telecast a "Great Performances" program about Michael Moschen in late January. During the hour-long show he juggled up to five balls inside a wooden triangle, did palm rolling with from eight down to one crystal ball, manipulated a single silver hoop and directed a three-person troupe in a dance number. You can order a video cassette of the show for $23.45 (postage included) from: In Motion VHS; Box 2284; S. Burlington VT 05403.

• The Jan. 28 issue of The New Yorker magazine includes Cindy Marvell as its "Talk of the Town." The page-long profile concentrates on her performance of poetry with juggling, describing several of the routines to explain how she integrates the two arts. Marvell left in early February for a six-month job at Holland Village in Japan, but will return to attend the IJA festival this summer.

• IN MEMORIAM: This past December the IJA lost one of its most beloved performers, Sparkplug of Bounce & OooLaLa's Vaudeville Circus. Sparkplug was tragically struck by a car while chasing a cat in front of his house in Key West, Fla. He was a fine singer, a ball player par excellence and a true-hearted friend. We remember him with deep affection and will miss him very much.

Contributions to this column came from Andrew Conway and Laura Green