Category: Arron’s Blog

Arron’s everyday stuff.

Shifting Goals

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Warning: This post is a bit of an ego boost, sorry! 

I don’t think I’ve ever subscribed to the “I’ve just flashed X number of objects” of approach to juggling. I’ve never set up a camera and spent 35mins trying one trick that’s probably too hard for me, I did today…

When I started juggling (10 or so years ago) juggling 7 clubs was a big deal. Very few could even blag it and even fewer performed it consistently on stage (this hasn’t changed yet). A well known juggling book* has this to say about The Seven Club Cascade, “…it is highly unlikely the more than one or two readers will ever have the actual experience of driving this pattern”. Funny how such statements date so quickly.

The love it or hate it the WJF should be partly credited to the rise of more 7 club jugglers.

And this makes you wonder what’s possible….

*Guess the juggling book

Dr. Seuss ‘If I ran the circus’

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I love circus books. I love Dr. Seuss. So when I was given ‘If I ran the circus‘ by Dr. Seuss I was excited!

Unlike a lot of books aimed to be read by children Dr. Seuss books are fun to read! The plots aren’t mind numbingly predictable and the vocabulary is nicely varied. But the thing that always made them stand out to me was the superb illustration. The amazing colours, characters and even the lettering made Dr. Seuss books a joy to read.

‘If I ran the circus’ is no different, as you might imagine it’s a brilliantly surreal take on traditional circus (I’d guess mostly heavily influenced by Barnum & Baileys). Elephants on stilts, a walrus who can stand on one whisker, a juggling dot “Who can juggle some stuff, You might think he could not” and many more amazing attractions feature in ‘Circus McGurkus’ which the book centres around.

It’s a fun book, perfect for any youngsters learning to read or possibly any circus performers looking for some inspiration! 

Attitudes

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Below is one of my favourite TED Talks.

 I think circus is slowly starting to get the idea and power of the Internet, slowly changing its attitude. 

Juggling has been on the net with a global community for many years now, it was far ahead of other circus disciplines in its embrace of the ‘WWW’. I suspect that is partly due to the personalities involved and the relative ease to describe tricks in photos, words and numbers (the close and now obvious link with Maths and Juggling) as opposed to the more difficult to descride acrobatic/physical circus disciplines.

But the rest of circus is catching up, there are now straps artists sharing moves, routines and ideas online with a global community. 6 years ago that didn’t happen. 

The more people investing time and passion in a given subject means the more the subject grows and develops. Not just in terms of technique but also artistic approach. But this only happens if artists are willing to show their work to the world. Share their new knowledge and let others help develop it. it’s a scary thing to do. It leaves you feeling exposed and vulnerable. But gives you and others a chance to grow.

Technology is changing the world as we breath, it’s making sharing stupidly easy. And that’s a great thing.

 

World Circus Culture Movie needs funding

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This film has been in the making for a while and now it’s near completion.

World Circus Culture, follows five circus acts from different countries as they rehearse and compete at the “Academy Awards” of circus competitions, the Monte Carlo Circus Festival. Through these personal stories, the film will open peoples’ eyes to the true culture, art, business, and history of circus on an international scale as never seen before.

They’re are looking for a bit more support, have a look here for more info on how you can help.

http://worldcircusculturemovie.com/

Lab:time

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I applied for the first round of Lab:time funding, looking for help developing ideas for a show. I received Lab:time funding for one part of my proposal, ‘Explore light trails with jugging’ and was allocated £750 and access to the Creation Studio at Circus Space.

The hardest part of the process was coordinating a date that worked with Circus Space, myself and the participants.

I spent a couple of fun, yet intense days working with Howie Bailey a VJ (and with the help of Jon Udry, a fellow juggler). 

Lab:time allowed me the luxury to explore and develop an idea that I was certain would produce useful results. Not having the pressure of a deadline or end client to please allowed time to investigate different techniques that may have been overlooked in a different environment.  

I’d strongly recomend applying to Lab:time if there is an interesting idea relating to circus lurking in the back of your mind. If there’s not, then get thinking!

Related links:

Video of the Week – Taschen Book

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After my rant from this post I thought I’d post something a little more helpful on the subject of circus history.  Released by world famous publishers Taschen, ‘The Circus 1870-1950’ book should be on the (reinforced!) shelves of anyone remotely interested in circus history.

Read more about the book here and buy it for cheap on Amazon.

Or if you like supporting local shops do that, go out of the house into daylight (more likely rain) and have a lovley conversation with an actual human (although my experience of local book shops is a little more like this).

*Note in the video above the clips of Lottie and Francis Brunn, cool eh?!

Related articles

Know Your History!

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Why is it that few modern circus artists seem to know or care about the history of circus?

The job of an artist is to be creative, rather than recreative. Knowing the history of your discipline is important; You don’t want to merely repeat what others have done before you.

It’s a good idea to know the history of the genre you’re involved in and possibly the history of other related disciplines. In a world where we know ‘knowledge is power’, why would anyone not want to know as much as they can about their passion or career?

With this in mind, why can I still have a conversation with a professional who knows nothing about the history of what they are doing!?

I’m not saying everyone needs to be an expert or want to be on Time Team, but please take the time out to educate yourself, just a little.

Questions | creating VS making a living

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Is it possible to be creating the new, pushing yourself and shifting paradigms (and any other clichés you can think of) while simultaneously earning bread and getting out in front of the public and strutting your stuff?

Does making a living from your art mean you limit your possibilities?

Are you a sell out if you don’t dress up as a rabbit, repeatedly jump through a hula hoop and shout “gangways” over and over again?

I think you can do both (but I’m not sure I do) but not many manage it at any rate!

Video of the Week – Marko Karvo

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I first saw Marko Karvo perform in the WinterGarten in Berlin several years ago and really enjoyed his act. I was lucky enough to see him again on Monday but this time a little closer to home, at the London Palladium. I was sat 3 rows from the stage and was reminded at how impressive the precision of Marko’s movement is, how expressive his face is and by his parrot that flew over my head!

Enjoy… (skip the advert)

http://www.markokarvo.com

Bob Bramson

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A third gernaration circus artists and legendary juggler, highly respected all over the world by audiences, agents and jugglers. Bramson’s act is a classic, full of charm and packed with signature tricks and touches that made him successful on stage for over half a century.
 
If you’ve had the misfotune to never have come across his work before read this and this.
 
I started this blog with the aim to engage with circus performers, to share experiences and thoughts with others. So when heard Bob Bramson’s memoirs were coming I knew it would be a must read for me.

When my signed copy of ‘An Artists’s Luggage and Other Baggage | A Memory Kaleidoscope’ came through the letter box it was with more than a little excitement that I began to read.

My signed copy (showing off!)

The book is easy to consume, written in both German and English (Circus Geeks own Luke Wilson did the translation) and broken down into short paragraphs and chapters that flow nicely from one to the next. In the middle of the hardback are some historical photos and circus posters featuring Bramson and his family.

There are many anecdotes and incedents that standout; black market dealings, facing down tigers, running into the queen and techniques to quieten a crying baby. Bramson lived through the second world war and under Stasi enforcement, he took his art to new levels and had a varied and exciting career working with some of the biggest stars in the best venues – it makes a great read.

I’d recommend this book to anyone but particularly to any current or aspiring performing artists. And of course it’s a must read for anyone interested in circus.

The book is available on Amazon.

Staying healthy on tour

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Traveling to a different venue each day can be exciting, fun and refreshing. But it can also be gruelling, hard on the body and mind. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way…

Photo by Sura Nualpradid

Don’t be afraid to get away from the group. A common mistake to make when working/living in close proximity to your fellow artists is not taking time for yourself. Of course you want to be a team player but it’s important to have some alone time, space to think. Don’t be afraid to miss out on a nights socialising to keep your sanity!

Watch a film, read a book, surf the net – anything that gets you some personal time and not thinking about the show or tour.

Exercises. This can be a tough one, particularly if you’re doing get in/build up, performing and traveling all in the same day but it’s important to do if your used to training hard and will make you feel better. Get up 30 mins early and go for a run. In every show run I’m in I try and find a point in the show where I’m not needed and do some simple conditioning, that way I don’t need to ‘remember’ to do it, it’s as much of a habit as putting my costume on.

Eat healthy. I’ve always found this one tough but when on tour it’s even harder. Eating out can really start to lose it’s appeal when you have to do it all the time. Take any opportunity you have to cook something for yourself. Smoothies also help!

What are your tips for surviving a tour? Please leave your suggestions below!

Video of the week – Penn

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Penn & Teller are my favourite magic act, their art is thought provoking, accessible and entertaining. I recently read Jillette‘s book ‘God No‘ which I really enjoyed and would recommend to anyone who is not overly offended by swearing.

Here is a nice interview with half of arguably the greatest double act of all time:

Poor Lighting

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Being able to deal with less than idea conditions has been massively helpful to me over the years, particularly in the past few weeks on tour where there is little time to spend worry about lights after the get in and prop setting has been done.

Poor lighting affects almost all circus disciplines but none more so than juggling.

Here are a few training methods (some more useful than others) to help you train for poor lighting:

Practice in sunglasses
Practice directly under a bright light
Set up a bright lamp to shine in your eyes
Practice in low level lighting
Practice outdoors on a sunny day
Run your routine with someone switching on and off the lights
Practice with one eye shut (I’ve had to do a routine immediately after being accidentally poked in the eye!).
Practice with both eyes shut (are there tricks you can do blind, if so can you take advantage of this on stage?!)

Any suggestions? I’d love to hear how you train for poor lighting, leave a comment!

On the Road

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Although I’ve done my fair share of different types of show over the years I’ve never toured. This is my first time on the road, living out of a suitcase for weeks on end, performing at a different venue each day and unloading the set each time (it’s confirmed my suspicion that when it comes to props and staging stand up comedians have it sussed).

I’m enjoying sitting in the passenger seat, watching the road go by. I particularly enjoy the night time journeys, being driven down curvy country lanes looking out for rabbits, hairs and even the occasional dear.

Makes me think; I really should learn to drive.