T. I. Cheek

Tounge in Cheek

Dusty Galbraith

Dear Professor Cheek, I do shows at schools, fairs and festivals, nothing spectacular, but it's fun and I sure can use the money. I run into lots of people who are much better jugglers than I or at least as good, but they won't perform. What holds these sorts of people back from taking the plunge? Signed, Curious 

Dear Curious, Some people claim they are "technical" jugglers. Translation: they juggle for their own amusement and injury. These folks seem to think performers are prostituting their blessed talent, or worse that they're giving it away free for the fun of it. I wonder why the skill of being able to "entertain" with the craft of juggling is thought of less as a skill to work on and more a way to "sell out." Nothing wrong with the techies. Juggling feels good. Go ahead, impress yourself and your friends in the gym with those 9 and 10 ball flashes. You're an inspiration to the rest of us. 

Lots of people who "say" they'd like to perform have lots of excuses: Not good enough. Don't have flashy props. No one to discuss routines with. 

The first excuse is basically BULL! You don't have to be a great juggler to do a great how. Some really excellent acts are built around the simplest moves but combined with the talent to entertain. I've seen some outstanding jugglers who can't perform worth horse hockey. The art of entertaining is a whole lot more than throwing up and catching it without dropping. 

Some fools think all they need to do is juggle in front of a crowd, throw out a couple of "pat" lines and they'll be carried off on shoulders with a hat full of money. Their technical skills may wow some of the audience at first, but after a few minutes boredom sets 

Excuse #2 "No flashy props" is BULL too. I've seen some of the best acts done with cheap/tacky props. Some of them were mine; the props, not the acts (one night The Raspyni Brothers lost their clubs and used mine for their show!). 

The last excuse about having someone to discuss a routine with may hold a lot of truth. Jugglers especially lack mentors - coaches who will share routines that are proven successful with people starting out. Beginners never may have the chance to learn what a good routine looks like in front of an audience. They try to make up their own routines based on limited knowledge of effective showmanship and stagecraft. Entertaining with juggling requires a lot more than just "I can do this trick... and I can do this trick..." etc. 

Juggling to entertain for a group of mostly Jugglers ain't easy! Changing the emotional state of an audience from an idle curiosity to a standing ovation can be more difficult than "preaching to the congregation" (i.e. impressing jugglers who understand what you're doing). The pressure is greater while performing, even if the tricks are not so technically difficult. It's a different type of skill needed for performing. I think that anyone who has tried juggling in front of an audience and has walked away without enjoying it, must be doing something wrong. It's addictive. Soon after I started juggling I was pulled like a magnet to performing in front of others. Not that I'm a ham or anything. I was hooked when I saw the delight in the eyes of the young and old alike. And you can get paid. 

On the other hand, I just read a survey about what people fear most. The number one fear was "Public Speaking." Number two was "Death." So, at a funeral, most people would rather be in the box than give the eulogy! In that light, it shouldn't be a really big surprise that lots of good jugglers don't want to perform. On the bright side, if everybody wanted to perform we'd have to work harder to get more gigs. Maybe they should stick with those 9 and 10 ball flashes and leave the fun and the money to us!

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