Visiting a Fair in Arkansas

While I was on the road in Oklahoma last week, I flew in a day early to drive a couple hours to visit a fair that some friends were performing at.

To my surprise, there was also a magic show at the fair.

pat davidson and tess

I don’t know Pat and Tess, but watched the show. It was interesting, it was a 20 minute show and about 6 minutes of that was a merch pitch. I don’t know how I feel about that. Sometimes what is seen as the audience lacks knowledge of whatever financial deal is happening behind the scene and the pitch being 1/4 of the is the deal that was made with the booker.

The show was a quick change act, then the multiplying bottles, the product pitch (activity book and Squirmel) and then juggling. In the show I saw Pat had a lot of drops. At the end of the show, I was going to go up and say hi and introduce myself, however he was onstage re-running the juggling stuff to work out why he was dropped. That’s the mark of a pro! He didn’t just accept the drops, the tried to fix them. That really impressed me!

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast: Wren the Juggler

On this episode we welcome in Wren the Juggler. Wren tells us all about how he became a juggler and how meeting the love of his life helped him overcome his mental block of being a performer.

the moi

We also discuss the various game shows he has appeared on and how he won the wheel of fortune. A great interview with a first time performer the 2024 festival.

The Moisture Festival Podcast -Lindsay Benner

In this episode we hear talk with festival favorite Lindsay Benner. We discuss how she was able to see Bill Irwin at a young age and the impact it had on her.

She tells us about her first street shows in San Francisco and how she really had to take a different approach than she expected. We learn about how she was able to stretch out a 7 min cabaret act into an award winning 45 minute show. A fantastic glimpse into the world of the ultra awesome Lindsay Benner. 

Getting More Out of What You Already Have

One way to build a show is to get more time out of the props you already have. There is a limit to the payoff the the trick, like a 15 minute Professor’s Nightmare routine might be a bit much (but maybe not). It’s up to you to figure out what the maximum of any routine you do is.

I have a trick rope routine that I do in the show. By trick rope, it’s a lasso demonstration, not a rope trick. The whole thing runs about 3 minutes and is fairly basic, but has some laughs and a big applause ending. I’m working on adding a few more things to it to hopefully build it out a minute.

I’m working on adding some vertical loop tricks to the routine…but first I need to work on doing butterflies which is the basic skill for vertical loops.

The challenge with something like lasso tricks is that they are a high practice, low payout skill. People think that it’s easy based pretty much on cartoons and think you can do tricks with the rope that are basically impossible due to how gravity works. That said, people still like it.

The nice thing is that most magicians aren’t going to put in the time to learn to do lasso tricks, so it gives me something semi unique right off the bat! The side bonus with lasso is that it’s easy to travel with, and has no set up. I can grab it and do it!

-Louie

Always be Practicing!

While I was at the airport recently, I looked out the window and say one of the aircraft marshaller’s juggling the marshalling batons:

This guy is using his downtime at work to practice and get good at a skill!
Practicing in your downtime with other tasks in a great way to pick up new skills! I learned to do rubik’s cube and a lot yo yo tricks in the time between when I finish setting up my show and my show’s start time. Sometimes it’s just 15 mins, or whatever. That’s time I could be scrolling through Instagram, or learning something new!

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Jeremiah Johnston

On this week’s episode we are joined in person by Jeremiah Johnston. We learn all about his passion of juggling and teaching other people circus arts.

We discuss the different types of object manipulation and how he fused multiple disciplines into his performance. He tells us how he developed his show and the people that helped him along the way. A really great conversation with a very talented performer. 

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Brad Weston

This week we welcome in the amazing Brad Weston. He tells us about his interest in the variety arts at a young age and describes some of his first street shows at a zoo.

We learn about clown college, a school for comedia del arte and the differences between the two. Brad also tells us about how one contract at a theme park allowed him to move his whole family. A great conversation that comes on the heels of first appearance at the Moisture Festival. 

Friday Night Show

The variety of acts that I saw in New Orleans was amazing! Here’s the highlight reel of the Sideshow Hootenanny‘s Friday night show:

@louiefoxx Sideshow Hootenanny – Friday night show! #sideshow #juggling #fireeating #sideshowhootenanny #neworleans #nola #badass ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

There was a great mix of traditional skills, and crazy new twists on classic stunts! One of the highlights for me was Chris Broken and his chainsaw guitar!
Going to events like inspires me to be better. If you’re not going to industry events to see how people are pushing boundaries within their art (and yours), you really should be!

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Peter Irish

On this episode we interview 6 time world hackysack champion Peter Irish. He tells us about how he came to be considered the one of the best hackysack players of all time and how that led to him combining that skill with juggling.

We learn about his practice regime, his visual art and how he appeared in one of Adam Sandler’s worst movies. A great conversation a few weeks before his first appearance at the festival. 

The Moisture Festival Podcast – PAZ

On this episode we are joined via zoom with the multi talented Paz. From his car he tells us about the origins of his name, how tennis led him to law school and how law school led him to the circus.

We talk about creating shows that combine circus with other popular pastimes and how by doing so it has allowed Paz to travel the world. A great conversation with a man who does just about everything.