Comedy jugglers bringing family act to Marvel
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Tickets are available at the SUNY Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center, which now has expanded hours until 7 p.m. weekdays. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.fredonia.edu/tickets or by phone at 716-673-3501 (1-866-441-4928). The Gizmo Guys Family Show is approximately one hour in length and is recommended for ages 6 to 12.
The Gizmo Guys Family Show will take center stage in Marvel Theatre on Friday, March 14 at 7 p.m. The event is the final offering in the 2007-08 Kaleidoscope Family Series sponsored by Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate. The event, which is part of the Lake Shore Savings Season, is sponsored by Mark and Michelle Twichell.
Performing as the Gizmo Guys, Allan Jacobs and Barrett Felker have been touring worldwide since 1987, appearing before more than a million people during more than 2,500 live performances. They have performed for millions more on television. In addition to touring extensively in the U.S. and Canada, the Gizmo Guys have performed in places as diverse as Saudi Arabia and Japan and have taught juggling at the renowned French and Canadian national circus schools.
The Gizmo Guys take the art of comedy juggling to a new level. Their act includes original routines, quick-witted verbal repartee and world class juggling skills in a very light-hearted approach to the art. As the New York Times noted, the Gizmo Guys are “master jugglers with ebullient energy and exquisite skill . . . human virtuosity with a touch of lunacy.”
The appeal of the Gizmo Guys lies in their uniquely winning combination of dazzling technique and infectious humor. Their rapid-fire act exhilarates and inspires sidesplitting laughter in audience members of all ages.
“It’s great to see three generations enjoying a live event together,” Jacobs said. “Different ages appreciate different aspects of the show. There are great visuals for the younger kids and plenty of laughs for the adults.”
Jacobs was taught to juggle by his roommate while attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he graduated in 1977. Shortly thereafter, he co-founded the comedy group Slap Happy (with Brian O’Connor and Tom Keegan) which was twice awarded Best Comedy of the Year by The Boston Globe, played at more than 200 colleges and universities, enjoyed a four-month run at The Other End in New York City, and made numerous appearances on local and national television.
When not touring with Slap Happy, Jacobs taught at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s Clown College, won the International Jugglers Association’s Team Championship with Fred Garbo, and Solo Championship and collaborated as technical consultant on “The Complete Juggler,” written by Dave Finnigan and published in 1987 by Vintage books.
Felker learned the art of juggling at the age of 15, from his cousin. After completing his studies at the University of Arizona, he moved to Boulder, Colo., where he collaborated with Peter Davison and Kezia Tenenbaum and in 1980 won the International Jugglers Association’s Team Championship. Later that year he launched a solo career by taking an eight-week contract with The Harlem Globetrotters that was extended time and again. Three years, five continents and 30 countries later, he settled in Europe where he worked his solo act in circuses and variety theaters for two more years and learned to speak Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese.
In 1985, Felker teamed up with Jim Strinka to form The Dynamotion Jugglers, a duo that appeared with New York City’s Big Apple Circus, Germany’s Circus Krone and on television variety shows in Europe and South America.
Jacobs and Felker met at a juggling festival in Wilmington, Del., in 1977 and were friends for 10 years before they started working together.
“Allan had been working with a musical comedy group in Boston and New York and I had been traveling in Europe working in circuses and night clubs,” Felker said. “He wanted to work with another juggler and I wanted to work with someone whose stage skills complemented my juggling skills.”
The pairing proved a success and the Gizmo Guys having working together for more than 20 years now
“I think the real secret to our success is that we are better together than we would be working separately,” Felker said. “We are able to create something on stage that is a true collaboration. Apart from that, all I can say is that people keep booking us -- which has kept us too busy to pursue anything else!”
