Prop Shop

What's a Stage Ball?

by Eric Bagai

A four-inch stage ball is about the size and weight of a softball. So why not use a softball in your act? Or why use a stage ball at all? After all, beanbags. rings, clubs and rubber chickens have been around longer and certainly serve the same purpose - or do they?

No, they don't. Beanbags are designed for the juggler - and only secondarily for the juggler's audience. Beanbags are perfect for learning to juggle, but no matter how bright their colors, they still look like, well, beanbags. Clubs and rings look good in performance. They are great for showing off a numbers or passing act. But for three and four ball tricks, stage balls are usually better. For example, a four club or four ring (or four chicken) Mills' Mess looks less interesting than does a four ball Mills' Mess. (Yes, I know it's debatable, but I'm pushing stage balls for the moment, so we'll argue about it later.)

"It is designed to not bounce away from you when you drop it on a stage." This is the usual explanation of a stage ball. And it's true, but lame. It makes the ball sound like an inflated beanbag. And yes, this kind of ball doesn't bounce very much on a stage (or anywhere else), but that's not a sufficient reason for its name.

A good stage ball attracts attention. It looks big in the hand, like a cartoon ball, like a child's idealized conception of a ball: a perfect sphere, deeply saturated with a single, pure color, with bright highlights dancing on its surface. It looks as if it belongs on a spotlighted stage, or in a buskers' circle in the town square on a sunny afternoon. It looks "circus." It doesn't just look like a ball, it looks like the ball.

For the juggler, a good stage ball should have a texture that permits it to be gripped firmly and positively. At the same time, it should not cling to other balls held in the same hand. Its weight (regardless of size) should be about that of a heavier beanbag, so that it doesn't skitter away, and yet it should be light enough to be juggled for long periods. And sure, it shouldn't bounce away when you drop it.

Stage balls were developed and first brought to the juggling market in the late 1970s by Brian Dube. Others followed his example and the vinyl stage ball soon became standard equipment. Dube recently had new molds made, and he tuned up the line of colors offered so that they are brighter than any others I've seen. Interestingly, Dube 's new stage balls also feel a significantly harder to me than the ones he used to make. In any case, the result is a near-perfect version of what the traditional stage ball should be. But traditions change.

Some jugglers prefer the 100 mm (almost four-inch) stage ball from Mister Babache. The reason for this is that they find this ball has a better grip, especially for contact juggling. It is also much softer than other stage balls. When it gets dirty, its naturally tacky surface is easily renewed with a rinse in the drinking fountain - but this is just as true with all other stage balls. (I've found that disposable premoistened wipes work nicely too, just as they do for silicones.)

Beard produces 75 mm (about three-inch) stage balls with a matte surface that looks like that of a silicone ball, though of course they don't feel or bounce like silicone. Beard also make the OX ball, which looks like a small, shiny stage ball, but handles like a beanbag. I think both of these innovations are more a reversion to the beanbag than an extension of the stage ball, but they are very popular. (Beard also has regular vinyl and ultraviolet­fluorescent stage balls.)

Jugglebug, Klutz, and Infinite Illusions also produce three-inch stage balls, or rather, like everyone else, have them made to their specifications by plastics manufacturers. However, their specifications are generally similar, as are their prices. So go with your favorite vendor.