The Bizarre & The Wondrous Perform at Edmonton Fest

By Conal Mullen

Jugglers from Australia were among a worldwide group of street perormers generating laughs and gasps at Edmonton's Eighth Annual International Street Performers Festival in Alberta, Canada, this summer.

Under producer Dick Finkel, the festival from July 10-19 had a strong showing of jugglers, from the well known Butterfly Man Robert Nelson to new kid on the block Larry Isaac, a I5-year-old Aussie who does a neat routine with four tennis rackets, jug­gles seven tennis balls, and is being called a whiz after only four years of tossing.

Among highlights were Rick Lewis from Vancouver, who juggles seven balls, balances ice-cream cones on his nose, and walks tightrope to the top of a 12-foot unicycle. Twelve volunteers hold the tightrope and unicycle while Lewis makes the ascent.

Also from Vancouver was Bill the Juggler, who replayed the old promise of juggling anything offered or getting a pie in the face. He said his most difficult combination was a six-foot in­flatable alligator, a bicycle wheel and a stroller.

Londoner David Holder, winner of the 1990 Australian Street Performers Festival, performed a comedy straight jacket escape on a six-foot unicycle. During one performance, a freak Al­berta storm that blew over backdrops and props didn't stop Holder. He made his escape atop the shoulders of Lee Ross, a New York comic who expertly mimicked the motions of a tall unicycle.

Juggler Ian McKellar from Melbourne spent the last three years building and balancing a massive one-man band that he plays atop a six-foot unicycle. The equipment weighs 32 kilograms, and includes a bass drum, cymbals, klaxon horn, sousaphone and kazoo. "I'm adding things all the time," he said.

Edmonton juggler-comedienne Kate Hull, performing as "Kate the Great," used three juggling babies to tell audiences about the trials of motherhood, and the pains of labor. Her drop line - "And then the baby dropped. "

Christopher Griffith from St. Paul, Minn., juggled five balls, each thrown into the pattern by an audience volunteer. Clown­Vaudevillian Kenny Ahearn from Wisconsin  juggled three clubs, bashing them in rhythm on a tin basin over a volunteer's head. He also caught three hats one on top of the other, thrown from various distances by audience members.

Juggler Raoul S.W Danger from Winnipeg tossed machetes and fire torches before his grand finale stilt routine-a fire-eating 10­foot radioactive Elvis Presley. Christof, a fabulous Australian clown, also juggles and uses stilts as part of a strong audience participation act. Bostonian magician-juggler Peter Gross juggled three knives and, to show they were "sharp," slid one into his forearm as only a magician can do!

Edmonton juggling trio Slow Children Playing hit the festival with a fast-paced comedy act that included a 10-club pass and a finale six-torch pass between Justin McCoy on a six-foot unicycle and Rob Cline on Ken Decore's shoulders.

The Australian Chalk Circle, Jenny McCracken, Peter Voice, Ulla Taylor and Beverly Isaac, included a picture of a five-ball juggler in their pavement chalk creations.

Pip, otherwise known as Petra Massey from London, performed a daring escape from a dirty linen bag. Australian Alan Lovett recited poetry in a voice and style that captured audiences instantly. Sensible Footwear from London sang funny and feminist songs, and hilarious Australian duo Friends of Moira hit the high notes with comedy songs. Calgarian Cathy Miller also sang humorous numbers.

Juggling musical notes were David Neiman from Cambridge on a hammered dulcimer, Ed Stander, "The Furry Eggs" on the Angelica, a set of 12 drinking glasses that produce incredible music; Carl Roth from Calgary on the fiddle, and Thomas Brugman from Holland with his Muziek-Mobiel, a machine made of alarm clocks, tambourines, bells, horns, sirens, cymbals and other odd items.

Street dancing involved U.S. hip-hop expert Russell Hines; and the imaginative and acrobatic Second Hand Dance Company from New York - Greg O'Brien, Andy Horowitz and Paul Gordon.

Randy Burns, a Vancouverite based in Las Vegas, performed an impeccable mechanical man, then spoke publicly for the first time in years when grabbed for an improv piece by Calgary comedy troupe Buck Naked (Rick Hilton and Dave Duncan).

Clowns, comedians and impersonators included Carolyn Sadowska, a roller-skating Queen Elizabeth look-alike from Victoria, B.C.; Edmonton funny people Michelle Kelly, Lynette Maurice and Zandra Bell; Deborah Williams from Vancouver; and Michael Carl O'Neil's Charlie Chaplin from Ontario. Local artists creating face murals were Leslie Fulks, Janice Boudreau and Jacquie Paul.

Anderson, a masterful clown-comedian from Detroit, led the festival's professional development workshop that helps jugglers, mimes and other street performers improve their acts.

The jugglers also ran daily, well-attended juggling workshops for the public through­out the 10-day festival, and held several public shows, including a fire show: