Noted New Vaudevillian Pushes

 Importance of Performance

 

Interviewers: Sandy Brown and Bill Giduz

 

(Background Note:  Benny Reehl was a guest instructor/ director at this year's IJA convention. He brought some impressive credentials to the job. Reehl is a director/performer/promoter from Gardiner, Maine, who presents more than 200 shows annually under the name of the New England New Vaudeville Revue. He is also founder of the annual New England Vaudeville Festival, which since 1982 has provided a chance for New Vaudevillians to convene, see each other's work and share ideas. The festival has also introduced a great many people in the general public to the quality, variety and range of talent in the growing popular entertainment art form. The eighth festival, held in June in Gardiner, featured 53 variety artists, a parade, street performance and a fire juggling finale.His 10-day intensive workshops attract professionals and semi-professionals interested in building new stage material and expanding performance/presentation skills. His next workshop will be in Hawaii F eb.14-26, 1990. Anyone interested in more information can contact him at Gardiner ME.)

 

JW: Did you see anything in Baltimore, your first IJA convention, that surprised

you about the juggling world?

 

Reehl: The thing that intrigued me most was the number of younger jugglers who have become so accomplished with such a wide variety of technical skills. But, I was also intrigued that they tend to use the same props. I keep looking for the reappearance of the rolling hoops, plates and other objects we all know have been juggled and manipulated in the past. It's a great place, though, to seek out someone to help you reach your next level of skill because they'll always juggle with you at a convention. You don't find that elsewhere.

 

I was interested in the number of people who are starting Juggling Institutes, and how unified and organized some of the affiliates have become. The convention itself was also very well organized. Everyone was attuned to what needed to be done.

 

Mostly, though, I loved the dialogue interchange the convention allows, pulling people together on a social level so they can talk and find out what's going on in the performing world. That's incredibly valuable. I was operating on four hours sleep a night and I didn't think I could do that. It was just dialogue after dialogue with people from Europe and all over this country.

 

JW: Assuming most of them were "New Vaudevillians..." How do you define that broad term?

 

Reehl: I think that "New Vaudeville" is a current term to define a style of performance that is centuries old. It is one aspect of popular theatre that features independent touring variety artists who either are specialists in one performing discipline or equally skilled in many. Beyond that, they tend to present original material in a highly personal style that usually emphasizes "performance" as opposed to "plot" and have a keen sense for spontaneous interaction with their audiences. Also, most new vaudevillians tend to work in combinations of solo to quintet ensemble and actively book and promote themselves.

 

JW: Why are more and more jugglers seeking out directors like yourself for critique and help in developing their shows?

 

Reehl: I think it's because more people are realizing it is extremely difficult to work as your own director. Some performers attempt to use an audience to develop their material, but I feel it's the least efficient way. Even the most seasoned professional often misreads an audience's reaction. I think audiences are the place to polish material, but not to write it. Using an outside eye can save a lot of time and often presents options you never would have considered on your own.