for an opening bit

[giant kid]

hi im new to the forums but i have done a little busking in a college town with my uke, i want to put together a show and open with some juggling stuff, about how good should i be at it before i go out and use it as my opener?

[Schuyler]

That depends on what you want to achieve. If you want a comical act about how you can't juggle, almost no skill is required. If you want a comical act about how you can't juggle but then start doing it behind your back as if you don't even realize you're pulling off a neat trick and start turning around to see what the people behind you are laughing at, that will take a little more work.

The biggest part is figuring out what you want to do and then practice towards being able to achieve it. Did you have something in mind already? What kind of a show do you want to do? Are you more interested in making people laugh or stunning them with how amazing you are?

I'm sorry for the non-answer to what really is a direct question. But the longer you stay here, well, you'll learn that it's a world where there aren't concrete answers. Unless you're outright doing somebody else's show you'll get a lot more questions than answers. When you think about it, the questions are an answer in and of themselves. Sorry I can't be more helpful in the way you were looking for

[Evan Young]

presentation is the key. my stage partner gets a huge applause for tying his shoe. just be big, confident, and give the audience something to like about you.

[Rachel Peters]

I concur.
I've seen mediocre jugglers be better entertainers than technically perfect jugglers.
*COUGH*named after a popular 80's comic strip character *COUGH*
It's not about the tricks.
Unless you think of "charm" as tricking people into liking you.

My one and only juggling trick is called "Let's skip the middle man". That's where I just throw the balls directly to the ground, since that's where they're guaranteed to end up anyway.

I love that joke. ...a little too much.

[giant kid]

i would say im decent at juggling i mean iv only been doing it for about a month and i want to be able to impress a bit but i do like the comic aspect of it, i have this joke when i drop them, i reach down to pick em up and say "ok people everyones not perfect like george bush" but should i just go out and juggle and wing it or put together a specific routine and play by the book?

[Schuyler]

The hardest part is realizing that this isn't like any other job. Really, there isn't a "Correct" way to make a show and nobody here is going to just tell you what you should do. It's not that we won't, it's that we can't.

For about a month you say? Alright, well, make a total fool of yourself. Really, it's the safest course. When you work up some real technical skill then you can start doing shows to impress people.

TIP: Most juggling acts look just like every other juggling act. Remember this when thinking about what you want to look like.

I'd recommend as a "wow" trick for your skill level the boston mess. Learn mills mess first and then just keep at it. It's one of my favorite tricks because it looks more difficult than it is. Check out this link for good tricks to start out with. It has descriptions of each trick accompanied by a video of the trick being performed and the same video in slow motion. It's a really good resource.

[Butterfly Man]

should i just go out and juggle and wing it or put together a specific routine and play by the book?

Wing it ... you'll learn faster what it is "they" (the audience) want from you ... comedy is harder for most folks because they usually try to do the type of comedy that they have seen and admired ... that usually doesn't work ... the reason is that generally the audience will determine what type of humor they want from you ... it might make you feel more secure to go out there with planned material (hopefully yours) but in my opinion a specific routine just gets in the way of your development.


P.S. I just had my 1st colonoscopy and the doctor said he found breakfast cereal up there ... I wasn't surprised ... I've been a juggler for so long I have Trix coming out of my ass.

[Rachel Peters]

I just spat coffee and avacado salad out my nose.

[giant kid]

thanks that helps a whole bunch, and sounds quite delicious, ha

[Frisbee]

which is worse avocado salad out the nose or trix out the ass?

[Rachel Peters]

Definitely Trix.
Avacado is smooth as can be.

"I've been juggling for so long, I've got Cap'n Crunch coming out my ass!!" ...SHOOT! I knew I'd screw it up!!

[RiffRaff]

Originally posted by Rachel Peters "I've been juggling for so long, I've got Cap'n Crunch coming out my ass!!"

That's one happy Cap'n!

[Evan Young]

Well, since we promoted shows with no skill so much, I feel it only right to mention that killer skills and tricks are pretty amazing too. You still have to present the trick well, but an amazing trick is an amazing trick, and can get you trough some rough audiences.


About a year and a half ago I shared a pitch with a juggling duo with tricks that would blow mine away. I had a lot more street experience than them, so my show was much more successful, except on days when it was too hot to laugh. their hats were literally double mine on those super hot days. Similar scenarios can be imagined on stage venues.

[jayrodin]

hey cuz. dunno if i told you this before or not but i learned to juggle in ithaca ny about a year ago. it was a rainy day so i went out and got some balls from a novelty store and started practicing under one of the bodegas. the rain soon let up and there was a steady trickle of foot traffic. every so often someone would stop and ask to play with my balls. some sucked, some were pretty good and would end up staying for 10 mins or longer showing me stuff. by the end of the day i could do reverse cascade, toss uhm under my legs, under my elbows, behind my back, etc. i was pretty impressed with myself cause i'd tried to learn as a kid and just couldn't do it. i still sucked but i was learning. next day i went out armed with a t shirt that said "juggler in training" and set my hat out. same thing happened, peopled stop every so often and teach me some stuff but this time i had a steady flow of patter, nothing to funny just talking to people and cracking jokes where i could, oh! and my hat was filling up with dollar bills. i mean, it wasn't anything great, it wasn't a show, but i was learning how to juggle and making $20 an hour and that's not bad.

EDIT***

I'd recommend learning all your stuff out on the street in front of people. I've learned most of the skills i use that way. The main thing is being comfortable in front of the crowd when you feel all that pressure you aren't going to perform well and you aren't going to have fun. If you get out there right away and just fool around (have fun) you'll get a lot of ideas and material and learn how to make people love you. you'll also lose your fear pretty quickly when you go out there and make a fool out of yourself then realize the worst thing that happened was you learned something and made a little dough.

[giant kid]

ya, im really excited to get out there and just do something. Its just normally around 12 degrees. Not the best performing climate. Once its warm enough its gona be so much better than last year. I had no idea what i was doing then. Thanks for the advice though, it sikes me up for this summer