(Aug 2006)
Welcome to all the new subscribers! Apologies to all subscribers that it has taken 5 months since last newsletter! Life has been very busy as you will see from the content of this newsletter!
Using Comedy in your Juggling Routines
Many thanks to the fantastic Raspyni Brothers who ran the workshop at the British Juggling Convention way back in 2005, from which I took these notes!
To use comedy in your juggling routines, you need to build up your show from a solid framework/idea
- what stunts are you going to do?
- are you going to drop lots / make mistakes?
- Is the topic interesting?
- Is the topic too common?
If you had a 5minute routine to perform and had to describe it in just one sentence, how compelling would it be? eg bowling ball under a volunteers leg on a trampoline! Now that sounds quite interesting!
- Where are your comedy and danger points?
- What do the audience need to know? (the details)
- When will you tell them? (the reveal)
- Any moments of surprise?
Give the audience a specific goal such as how long a trick will last (so they do not think that the trick is going to last forever and turn their attentions elsewhere).
| Ability to Embellish | I know how hard the trick is, but the audience do not. If I say something is impossible, and act like it is impossible, then it looks impossible! |
| Comedy Comes from Information | Base the comedy on the routine and don’t just shoehorn any jokes in for the sake of humour. |
| Wordplay | The prop you intend to use… what does it sound like? What words rhyme with it? Think of common phrases that incorporate these words or slogans, popular culture (song titles etc) |
| What could go wrong? | Embellish this! Describe in detail. |
| Template of Questions | Creating a template of questions to ask clients in advance of a gig, may help you find out some useful jokes and vital details about your audience that can be incorporated into the act. |
| Environment | Look at the environment you will be performing in. Any humour to be found there? Did something happen to the previous acts or earlier on in the night (shared humourous experience) that could be joked about? |
| Off the Cuff Remarks | Write down your off the cuff improvised remarks if they get a laugh. Use them in your next shows if appropriate! |
I hope that you have found these notes useful. I also have lots of comedy tips from other comedy jugglers such as the excellent Team Rootberry who have in particular been very helpful in improving my comedy input into my routines! Let me know if you would like some more comedy information and I can e-mail some more notes to you. If you have any thoughts on comedy and juggling, then please let me know also!
Juggling Store News
60 new products added since last newsletter came out! The juggling store continues to grow from strength to strength, and many new sections of products have also been added such as:
- Glow Products (balls, hackysacks, devilstick, poi)
- Christian Juggling Resources
- Lots more DVD Titles
You can visit my online Jugglingworld Store here.
Juggling News
Over the summer months I have performed and ran workshops all over Scotland in places such as Inverness, Portsoy, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Orkney, Cowdenbeath, Selkirk, Galashiels, Jedburgh, Stirling, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire, Aberdeen and many more!
Orkney – At the start of June, my wife and I headed to Orkney where I had been hired by Orkney Presbytery (group of churches) to run workshops and perform gospel juggling shows. We were flown onto some of the smaller islands such as Papa Westray and Westray, and ferried around to other places, and had a great time. We spent 3 days working, and then had 3 days as a holiday. Orkney is beautiful. The people are so friendly. Life is so different and much less hectic on the Islands, and it is good to get away from it all for a while!
British Juggling Convention in Cornwall at Easter-time was fantastic.
European Juggling Convention in County Cork, Ireland this summer was fantastic! The locals were the most friendly we have ever seen at a European Convention, and the Millstreet venue was ideal. Next year is in Sunny Greece, so I am sure there will be many more people attending!
TOP TIP – Some Drop Lines!
- Yell “LOOK AT THAT” and point to the back of the room. As the audience turn round, quickly pick up the prop and continue juggling.
- Bend down to pick up the prop and say “THIS ACT IS PICKING UP”.
- “I am an optimist. I still have two left…”
- “You want to see the instant replay?” (then drop another one)
- Point at the dropped object, in a firm confident voice say “STAY” and then continue juggling with 1 less object.
- Pull out a large book with the words how to juggle printed on it. Read a few pages and say “oh, so that is how it is done”. Put away the book and continue juggling. If you drop again, then pick up the book, rip up a page inside, and stomp up and down on it angrily.
- “STAY BACK!!!! They’re dangerous when they’re wounded “
Please note that I found the above on various websites when I did a search for drop lines (they are not mine!)
Latest Tricks Pages
- Balancing Ladder
- Toothbrush Twirling
- Lots more Gyro/Jitter Ring tricks added also!
If you have any tricks you would like to add to my tricks pages, then please send them in! I can give you full credit, and you can be helping others to learn even more juggling moves. Everyone’s a winner!
God bless
Steve Thomson
Professional Juggler and Retailer
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