NOTES

* Variety in Motion, Baltimore's Ricky and Mardine Schnitker, wiIl be taking a break from their work on the college circuit to appear at Australia's World Expo for six weeks in September and October. They will also defend their Halifax, Nova Scotia, street performing title in August.

 

* Owen Morse is finding enjoyment and good press in his 5 ball joggling these days. The 1987 IJA 100-meter champion got full page coverage in the Los Angeles Times. His current five ball times of between 13.5 and 13.8 seconds are not far from his Akron three ball time of 12.12 seconds. Morse, a student at the University of California-Irvine, does family comedy juggling at Disneyland on weekends. He introduces the audience to juggling this way: "Juggling means you toss more balls than you have hands. So with one ball, you can't use any hands... " He then proceeds to do a series of one ball neck catches! Morse said he plans to enter the IJA joggling races again in Denver, and to enter the Teams Championship with Jon Wee.

 

* Randy Judkins is juggling, judging one-act play competitions for secondary schools and schooling his young son, Kyle, in juggling in Scarborough, Maine. Judkins will also employ his deadpan visual comedy in an original play titled "You Can't Get There From Here," which is a downeast treatment of life in Maine.

 

* Sheila Curtis of Portland, Maine, opened recently for musician Leon Redbone. Her two 25-minute fast-paced acts feature original characters laced with skills in juggling, mime, unicycling and balloon hoop­la. She will be entertaining at celebrations throughout the northeastern states and on the street in Quebec this summer.

 

* The Charlotte team of Hang Time, Sean Sullivan and Steve Langley, performed their street act and some community service shows during the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C., in May and June.

 

* Scotty Meltzer of the American Dream writes that the big advantage of performing at Japanese theme parks is being surrounded by women shorter than he is who laugh at all his jokes! "Aside from the four shows a day, it's like a vacation," writes the shorter half of the Meltzer/John Park team. Also appearing at Holland ViIlage with American Dream were former IJA champion Andrew Head and a British juggler, Steve Rawlings. Rawlings' act included juggling three clubs while balancing a bottle on his chin that supported an ungimmicked glass tray on which he placed four glasses of wine. He also juggled three torches while tap dancing, and concluded the bit by lighting his hat on fire!

 

* When Dr. David Silver began practicing juggling at his Morris, Conn., dental office, it quickly became an effective method for breaking down barriers between himself and his young patients. "For the fearful child, afraid of a dental visit, juggling works as a natural way to get acquainted," said Silver. "Children who would not even look at my face come out of the corner and gravitate towards me as I juggle. " The drops act as a way for the children to get involved in helping Silver out. They also throw him a starter that he uses to go into a routine. Best of all was the eight-year-old who required extensive dental treatment but was not happy about it. Though he cooperated, he didn't say a word during his several visits until the day Silver picked up his clubs when the youngster was on his way out the door. He looked up in amazement and uttered the first words Silver ever heard from him ­ 'Wow!" Since then, doctor and patient have gotten along well. Silver said his next goal is to figure out a way to incorporate a juggling routine with the one musical instrument he plays - the bagpipes! Any suggestions out there?!

 

* Karen Quest and Bart Landenberger began six months of work at Holland ViIlage theme park in Japan at the end of April. They arrived at about the same time other jugglers - Mark Lippard and K.C. Canter, formerly of Manic Expressions ­ were leaving after a 10-day stay there booked through the Juggler's Network.