Page 12 Winter 1993-94
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REVIEWS BOOKS Club
Passing, A Jugglers Guide to Social Interaction, Part One. By
Brendan Brolly, Jonny Popper and Simon Schofield; illustrated by
Scott Tomlinson. BB Books, ISBN 0951996940, 86 pp. In the US,
available from Infinite Illusions and Brian Dube' Inc. for about
$15; in the UK, from most juggling shops for 7.50 pounds. Published
just a few months ago in Britain, this is one of the few books
that focuses solely on the widely popular activity of club
passing. It attempts to help spread the fun and joy of this
interactive form of juggling. The volume teaches basic club
passing, then some trick throws, variations and a number of
patterns, including some involving left hand passing and some
with multiple people. Even if you can already pass, there are
very likely a few tricks and patterns that you can pick up here.
If
you've been wanting to learn to pass and can already juggle
three clubs, the book will take you through some exercises
quickly up to passing six. Don't be surprised if it takes longer
to become adept at passing than it does to read the
instructions, which are fairly brief and to the point. Learning
to pass is best done with a live teacher and impossible without
at least a partner. But if you and your partner are isolated
from other jugglers, this book can help get you going anyway.
After
teaching beginning passing, the book talks about doubles and
triples, various trick throws, flourishes and other
combinations, multiplexing and kickups. The final third of the
book explains various passing patterns, including passing with
both hands, numbers passing, and finally eleven patterns for
three or more people. Although an experienced juggler may be
familiar with most of the ideas, he or she will probably find a
few new things to work on and a few reminders of worthwhile
things to try again.
The
book is 5-3/4 inches high and 8-1/4 inches wide and thus not too
difficult to prop open so you can look at the drawings while you
learn a trick. The faceless drawings themselves are pleasant and
cute, while still being fairly realistic and showing the body
positions for trick throws. Unfortunately, the fingerless hands
fail to provide useful details of the grip or catch, even in
those cases where it is important. Where rhythm is important for
a pattern, however, it is well displayed by the use of two
alternating columns that show what your right and left hands do.
Juggling
not being a science, there are a few ideas in the book that go
against some popularly taught notions, such as where to hold the
club in a normal throw. In addition, in some cases there are
actually alternate ways of doing something that the text
suggests can only be done one way (e.g., in a seven-club
1-count, the person starting with four clubs can throw either
straight or diagonally). Not generally suggested are any
practicing techniques, such as using just one club when trying a
trick throw for the first time. The reader is left to come up
with ways to work up to each new trick.
Mainly
just amusing are the misspellings of an author's first name on
the cover, his last name on the copyright page, and the
illustrator's last name on the title page. Another amusement is
the disabling of gravity in a couple of drawings; unfortunately
these are near the beginning where the new passer might be
mislead by them. And with a physicist among them, the authors
might have gotten the relationship between the height and number
of spins (duration) of a pass a bit more accurate.
This is an idea book. Tricks and patterns are described concisely, without going into a lot of detail about the difficulties of doing what is described. In a few places, terminology is used that the beginner might not immediately understand, such as in the description of the "Shower Pass" trick. There are a few hints about particularly common problems, but for the most part the book encourages you to experiment to figure out what works. And if you'd rather be doing than reading, this book will head you there.
For
those of you already well into the art of club passing, this book
probably isn't for you, unless you're a collector or just like the
drawings. But for the beginning and intermediate club passer, this
is a good book to have. And we can all look forward to the release
this spring of Part Two, A Further Detailed Look At What Two Or
More People
Can Get Up To With Lots Of Clubs. Selling Your Specialty Act To Hollywood. By John Stevens. Published by Wizard Works, Hollywood CA. $10 (including postage)
Selling
Your Specialty Act To Hollywood is a brief (20 pages with
numerous photos) booklet by an author with much experience in the
field.
If
you don't have "an act," fear not, Selling deals
exclusively with landing peripheral work in commercials, film and
print ads via your demonstrable skill, ie. juggling, magic, fire
eating, etc.
Most
helpful is the inclusion of 27 agents (sans phone numbers), which
alone could very well make Selling worth its $10 price tag.
Also included are the addresses of the two unions you may have to
join, plus two state labor commissions.
Aside
from the helpful factual information, however, Selling
consists mostly (I use the word carefully) of tongue-in-cheek
narrative which conveys no real insight into the Hollywood machine.
The author does offer a few tips on extracting as much money as
possible from this lucrative field, plus some common-sense advice
regarding resumes, photos and benefits. But all in all, Selling
offers even less than its 20 pages implies. by
David Deeble VIDEOS Secrets
of a Hollywood Fire Eater. Wizard Works, , Hollywood CA
90028. Running Time: Approx. 28 minutes.
Fire
eating has a long, mysterious and dangerous history. Usually thought
of as
a sideshow type of act, fire eating might be a legitimate part of a
juggler's repertoire and would provide a spectacular finish for a
performance.
Jack
Stevens is obviously a highly skilled professional who carefully and
deliberately follows his own instructions in every trick he
performs. But for all the build up at the beginning of the video
(slow motion, dark lighting, the setting in an alley, with eerie
background music) that goes on too long, this is a production that
seems hyped and strains for an effect. There are brief transition
bits from old movies (like explosions!) that actually undercut the
seriousness of the work.
Stevens
explains how tq make fire torches out of wire coat hangers and
cotton and then describes the best-burning liquids to use for
different effects. He covers keeping excess fluid off equipment and
body, the importance of substantial saliva in the mouth to
provide a moist barrier, the critical use of exhalation to avoid
burning the lungs, head position, and monitoring wind factors.
He
demonstrates touching the flames with the hands, placing the torch
on the tongue, "eating" the fire, holding the burning
torch in the teeth, holding a flame briefly in the mouth (the
"volcano"), and the spectacular effects he calls the
"Gas Jet" and "The Blast." There is a fine
demonstration of Stevens doing his act for an audience.
But
the major point that cannot be covered in a video is the delicate
and precise sureness that such techniques must require. Stevens
mentions getting a few burns and blisters(!) as he learned his art
(he claims to have taught himself much of what he does). Simple to
say "Be sure not to ever inhale when the torch is in front of
your mouth, always exhale." It is not difficult to imagine the
kind of panicked, reflex action that might occur with an
unsupervised, slightly nervous beginner.
Although
Stevens covers himself legally with numerous disclaimers sprinkled
liberally through the tape, this video makes me uneasy. Stevens
himself obviously remembers and knows how precise the timing and
pressure of various techniques must be for a certain level of
safety. I have enormous respect for the dedication it took to learn
such an art. But he seems more concerned in creating a mysterious
persona and a kind of aggressive showbiz posture, almost at times
defying or teasing the viewer to try. I'm sure he didn't intend that
effect, but I question his judgment in presenting the material -
like aerobics - as if it were really possible to acquire the
expertise.
As
an informational tape, for those who have a desire to know "how
it's done", I recommend it. But I urge anyone with even the
remote idea of learning how to eat fire, please,
first check your priorities. Then, if you absolutely must, go study
personally with someone your trust. by
Craig Turner Ministers
of Fun: The First International Juggling Festival, Tbilisi, Georgia,
USSR. A Documentary Produced and Directed by John Hunt. Avant-Garde
Communications, Inc. Los Angeles CA; Price: $44.95 (includes
postage). Running time: Approximately 50 mins.
This
is a juggling video that is more than a juggling video. In September
of 1991, an
international group of jugglers and lovers of juggling decided to
meet in Tbilisi, Georgia, USSR. For those of you who may not
remember, this was perhaps not the most prudent time for a group of
fun-loving jugglers to be there. The beginning of the break-up of
the Soviet Union was in full swing and within Georgia itself, many
political forces both benign and ominous were at work. Military
police in Tbilisi had fired on a large crowd of demonstrators and
massive protests had occurred in response. There were many Georgian
natives who felt (and who say so on the video) that a juggling
festival at that time was trivializing a momentous and serious phase
in modern Georgian statehood.
But
despite the political and military obstacles, even acknowledging
some misgivings by various political groups, jugglers from many
nations decided to make the trek. This video is their story, a story
that goes beyond a record of juggling fun and skill, into a
demonstration of how juggling became a way for people of many
persuasions to come together and enjoy each others' company.
The
video takes us from the original organizing effort and the hassles
of getting to Georgia and settled in with local residents. There are
some amusing stories and incidents recounted by participants. Both
jugglers and locals are interviewed. We see interactions on the
street, in juggling groups, and during the juggling show. The video ends
with a series of vignettes of some of the acts, however this is not
a video that I would recommend for teaching or learning.
There
are some brief demonstrations of high-level skill, notably excellent
diabolo techniques by Maike Aerden and a fun comedy routine with
Marcus Marconi, but anyone purchasing this video to find ideas or
check technique will probably be disappointed. It is the rough,
documentary quality of this video that will appeal. by
Craig Turner |