Page 7 Spring 1991
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NOTES ALEXANDER
FELDMAN visited Japan twice last fall. The first contract saw
him perform a 15-minute cabaret act twice a night for a month at a
restaurant/nightclub in Osaka. The second was for the week-long
Tokyo Gas Festival 2001, where he performed a 20-minute street-style
act under the roof of the Tokyo Dome baseball stadium. The
combination of the dome's super high ceilings and windless interior
were ideal for hurling a diabolo to great heights! TOM
BRUBECK reports that a professional sculptor has created a
bronze figure called "The Juggler" for Woodside Urban Park
in Silver Spring, Md. The almost life-sized Dickensian character, in
top hat and flying tails, is mounted on a unicycle and is juggling
hoops. The work was done by Marcia Billig of Bethesda, Md., for the
Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Representatives of the park system and the sculptor selected the
site. "I like jugglers," said Billig, "and the
subject is entertaining, and sort of inviting people to the
park." The Juggler was originally made of clay, then cast in
bronze. The project took about a year, and is one of 12 public and
seven private commissions carried out by the sculptor in that
county. We
had some replies to our Fall issue request for personalized juggling
license plates. IJUGL - HOWIE TERRILL of Spring City, Pa.; JUGGLN
- DAN KIRK of Menasha, Wise.; JUGGLE - ALLEN BLACK of
Blackville, S.C.; JUGLR OT - RONI LYNN, an occupational
therapist from Hollywood, Fla.; JUGGLE ALAN BELANGER,
a.k.a. Spunky T. Clown in North Andover, Mass.; JUGGLE - JEK
KELLY of Omaha, Neb.; JUGGLE - PETER BRADLEY of Morris
Plains, N.J.; JUGGLER - AMY & MARK ACKMAN of Cedar
Rapids, Iowa; JUGGLE - BILL DIETRICH of Erie, Penn.; I
JUGL - ROY MELANSON of Highland, Calif.; I JUGGLE - BILLY
BARRETT of Topanga, Calif.; 1 JUGLR - TODD CLAXTON of
Montgomery, III.; JUGL IT - RUSS MELTON of Barboursville, Va. Amateur
Soviet juggler MIKHAIL STAROSELETSKY is looking for a sponsor
to finance a trip to the St. Louis convention this summer. A dentist
by profession, he has juggled for
17 years. He is writing a book, and hopes to repay the money for
sponsorship when it is published. But in the meantime he wants to
show his unique tricks and inventions to as wide an audience as
possible. If you are interested in sponsoring him, contact the
Juggler's World editorial office. Some
notes on jugglers gathered from "THE CIRCUS REPORT"...
THE CONNORS Former
Pickle Family Circus juggler SARA FELDER opened her own show,
"Beyond Brooklyn" in February at the Marsh Theatre in San
Francisco. The
Presbyterian Hunger Fund in Porterville, Calif., continues to grow,
thanks to MYRON WILCOX, ERMA DONALDSON and juggling.
Donaldson has made more than 1,600 juggling balls for Wilcox, who
sells them to raise money for the fund. During the past five years
he has netted $3,679 from sale of balls, school programs and
festival shows. FRED
GARBO will once again be teaching Antic Arts Workshops at
Celebration Barn Theatre in South Paris, Maine. The two week
intensive training session in June offers acrobatics, dance, object
manipulation, slapstick and improvisation. BOB NICKERSON is dribbling his way through a school assembly tour of the northeast and midwest. New twists to his act include shooting baskets while juggling basketballs, and juggling baseball bats and golf clubs. Nickerson did a halftime show for the Portland Trailblazers team last December and modestly reports "it was the only game they had lost up to that point in the season."
If
you see someone juggling clubs and playing kazoo on TV, it's probably ROY
MELANSON of Highland, Calif. Dressed in mock colonial garb, he
buzzed the tune of Yankee Doodle and juggled in an attempt to become
one of ABC's "America's Funniest People" recently. He's been
doing the Yankee Doodle routine as the finale to his act for a couple
of years, and gathered his courage for a try on the show when the
camera crew came to the local mall. MARK
NIZER was headline act at Trump Castle casino in Atlantic City,
N.J., during the first two weeks of January. He was a showcase act at
the NACA National Convention in Nashville. Others at NACA were STEVE
RAGATZ, SEM & TERESA ABRAHAMS and FRANK BIRDSALL as
roving artists, and MICHEL LAUZIERE as a Mainstage Alternate. The
Public Broadcasting System telecast a "Great Performances"
program about MICHAEL MOSCHEN in late January. During the
hour-long show he juggled up to five balls inside a wooden triangle,
did palm rolling with from eight down to one crystal ball, manipulated
a single silver hoop and directed a three-person troupe in a dance
number. You can order a videocasette of the show for $23.45
(postage included) from: In Motion VHS; S. Burlington VT. The
Jan. 28 issue of The New Yorker magazine includes CINDY MARVELL
as its "Talk of the Town." The page-long profile
concentrates on her performance of poetry with juggling, describing
several of the routines to explain how she integrates the two arts.
Marvell left in early February for a six-month job at Holland Village
in Japan, but will return to attend the UA festival this summer. IN
MEMORIAM: This past December the IJA lost one of its most beloved
performers, SPARKPLUG of Bounce & OooLaLa's Vaudeville
Circus. Sparkplug was tragically struck by a car while chasing a cat
in front of his house in Key West, Fla. He was a fine singer, a ball
player par excellence and a true-hearted friend. We remember him with
deep affection and will miss him very much.
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Contributions to this column came from Andrew Conway and Laura Green |