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Ray Jason |
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Page 7 Winter 1984-85
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The Guru of Street Juggling by
Nancy Levidow San Francisco, CA Ray
Jason, San Francisco's best known street juggler, has become something
of a city landmark in the past 13 years.
Known
to thousands who have seen his show at Fisherman's Wharf or
during half-time at the San Francisco Forty-Niners football games at
Candlestick Park, Ray Jason, 37, has made a career out of being San
Francisco's trademark street performer. And he's not one bit shy in
discussing it, either. He stated without the least hint of a boast,
"The level of local notoriety I have is really
mind-boggling."
Jason,
commonly touted as the city's first street juggler, explained, "I
feel really proud that I was one of the seminal influences because it
was real hard at the beginning, and I know that the fact that I was
the first is not merely an accident or a chance in timing. Others who
might've been the first wouldn't have stuck with it, and it might not
have continued."
Jason's street career began early in the 1970's after returning from Vietnam and "not feeling much like contributing to the mainstream." Reviving a skill learned in childhood, he practiced for six weeks, put together a little act with balls, hoops, clubs and torches, and took to the streets.
"It
was awful," he laughs, recalling the early routines. "In those
days $17 or $18 was a really good day, but I was living in a gypsy van
that I built so I was able to survive. I lived in the truck for the
first year. I couldn't have afforded anything else."
Moving
on to Renaissance Fairs, street fairs and well-traveled city streets,
Jason's act developed along
And
what can a performer offer the streets? Juggling torches blindfolded
("I make it 60-70 percent of the time") is his pride and joy,
although cascading three 14-pound bowling balls
comes in a close second. Also among his repertoire is tap dancing while juggling, five balls, four
basketballs, and eating an apple while riding a unicycle and juggling
two hatchets. Doing outdoor shows in the strong summer winds prompted
him to learn the bowling balls. "You get tired of having your
tricks disintegrate on you because of the wind," he explained.
Besides
doing a verbal act, he also has a purely visual act that plays well to
the crowds in the upper tier in a large stadium. Though he works out
regularly and practices daily, pure technique is not as central as
overall entertainment value for him. "I don't kid myself into
thinking I'm a world-class juggler like Dick Franco or Albert Lucas,
but then again even they would have a hard time working Candlestick
Park with that wind."
Unlike
other street performers of equal caliber and stature who have gone on
to
In
an article he authored in Co-Evolution Quarterly (Winter
1978-79) he stressed that entertaining on the streets means a
challenge to captivate people, freedom from contracts and censorship,
opportunity to try experimental material, and the chance for a
moderate amount of local recognition.
He
certainly has attained recognition! After performing half-time shows
at 10 games each season, in 1979 he earned the title of "Official
Juggler of the San Francisco Forty-Niners Football Team." On the
tenth anniversary of his street juggling debut, Mayor Diane Feinstein
declared July 18, 1981, as Ray Jason Day in honor of his
accomplishments and dedication as an entertainer and spokesperson. In
October, Jason was memorialized in stone in local artist Ruth Asawa's
massive sculpture in the new Ramada Renaissance Hotel. recently opened
near Union Square.
In
his time on the streets, Jason has watched a long progression of new
acts, but has not always liked what he has seen. Performers with acts
based on ridicule and cheap shot humor, racist and sexist material
disturb him. "It twists your soul when you see acts like that
flourishing. I was distressed for about two years, and went on a
personal crusade for a while where I'd take guys out to dinner and
talk to them about it. I guess it's hard for them to stop - it sure
gets the laughs and fills the hat." Happily, he sees that
phase ending and a new direction emerging toward gentle, charming and
unusual acts.
As
a proponent of street performing as a viable lifestyle, Jason makes a
strong case. His own example proves that cultivating a strong
connection with the community can be greatly rewarding, personally and
professionally. "There is a big difference between being famous
and being loved. My objective is to receive genuine affection from my
audience and from my fellow citizens. To know that they're glad to
have me in town doing what I do well means a lot more to me than being
in a Broadway show."
Jason
is now working on a new balancing sequence he hopes to perform at the
Super Bowl, should the Forty-Niners make it through the play-offs. He
balances a stepladder on various places on his arms and head, climbs the
stepladder with a torch balanced on his nose, juggles on one foot on top
of the stepladder, and ends lying on his back on top of the stepladder
and juggling torches upwards over his head.
Soon
after the end of football season, Jason will leave on his second voyage
to the other side of the world. This time he will sail his 30 foot sloop
and juggle his way to Mexico, across the Pacific islands and on to New
Zealand. "I'm leaving because I want to have another adventure. It
allows you to come back with a certain degree of freshness. "
His
first juggling sortie in 1979 lasted to months and found him performing
on streets in Paris, markets in Bangkok and the Great Wall of China.
Performing while traveling
has provided him a way to meet people and be accepted into a community. Jason
advises novice juggling performers to decide early whether to work
indoors or outdoors. For those who do choose the open air he said,
"I would encourage them not to look at street performing as second
class work. It's not - it's great, tough work. The sense of achievement
and satisfaction you get is truly amazing. " |
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Ray Jason |
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