Well-known comedy juggler Edward Jackman brought his act to Los Angeles audiences July 24-August 10 in a one-man show entitled, "Comedy... and Other Dangerous Stuff." He presented 90 minutes of off-the-wall comedy along with his expert juggling.
Tricks included six rings, seven balls, three balls with lots of difficult tricks, five balls with three and five-high pirouettes, devil sticks, cigar boxes, apple-machete-bowling ball and cigar boxes.
At one point he spun one ball while bouncing one on his head and juggling two in the other hand. He used his trademark finale of juggling three tennis rackets while balancing a ten-speed bicycle on his face.
Audiences were enthusiastic, but sometimes sparse in the 49-seat theatre. Jackman surprised many theatre-goers by changing clothes quickly at the end of the first act, slipping out the back door and entertaining them outside the theatre even during intermission.
This self-produced production, which forced Jackman to miss his first IJA convention in 10 years, was a change of pace from the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) campus circuit where he was voted 1985 campus comedy entertainer of the year.
Jackman also recently filmed a TV movie, "Here a Thief, There a Thief," in which he plays a fire juggling Mexican bandito passing torches around the kidnapped Audrey Hepburn. The film also stars Robert Wagner and will be aired this fall.
Juggler Carlos Ortiz performed recently with Circus Mayar in Mexico under the billing, "The fastest juggler in the Americas." He opened with a fast-paced acrobatic three club routine featuring one high with a backflip and a handstand catch of a high throw between his legs. He did four clubs in a half shower and then cascaded five.
He moved on to juggling three and four large gymnastic balls a la Francis Brunn. There were body rolls, two bounced on his head, two spun while he bounced one on his head, and one bounced while he skipped rope. Next was a combination trick of balancing a ball on a pedestal on his head while spinning two rings on his right leg and juggling five rings.
He spit one to three ping-pong balls, including one high with a somersault, and finished with seven ping-pong balls using his hands.
Jan. 12 McCarter Theater, New York, N.Y.. Jan. 14 Kent School, Kent, Conn. Jan. 20 Radford U., Radford, Va. Jan. 22 Wilson High, Bozeman, Mt. Jan. 23 University of Montana, Missoula Jan. 24 Helena Middle School, Helena, Mt. Jan. 26 Northern Montana State, Havre Jan. 29 Scottish Rite Auditorium, Ft. Wayne, In.
Nov. 4 Alfred, N.Y. Nov. 5 U. of Maryland, College Park Nov. 6 Grand Opera House, Wilmington, Del. Nov. 7 Bardavon Opera House, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Nov. 8 Suffolk Theatre, Commack, N.Y. Nov. 9 Ulster Arts Center, Kingston, N.Y. Dec. 2-7 Brooklyn Academy of Music, N.Y. Dec. 26 Stockton State, Pomona, N.J. Dec. 27-30 Annenberg Center, Philadelphia Dec. 31 Fulton Opera House, Lancaster, Pa. Jan. 5-17 Sydney, Australia Jan. 19-24 Hong Kong Feb. 3 Laie, Hawaii Feb. 4 Kaneohe, Hawaii Feb. 5 Maui, Hawaii Feb. 6 Kamuela, Hawaii Feb. 7 Hilo, Hawaii Feb. 8 Kauai Comm. Col., Lihue, Hawaii Feb. 11 - Mar. 13 St. Louis Repertory, St. Louis, Mo.
Nov. 2-5 NACA Convention, Lancaster, Pa. Nov. 7 Stetson U., Deland, Fla. (morning) Nov. 7 Embry-Riddle U., Daytona Beach (afternoon) Nov. 8-10 NACA Convention, San Jose Dec. 19-20 At My Place, Santa Monica, Calif. Dec. 24-27 Igby's, Los Angeles Jan. 9-10 At My Place, Santa Monica, Calif.
(Compiled from "Cirque" magazine, Editions de la Gardine, CH-2763-Sorvilier, Switzerland)