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Ask a Performer: a touring juggler on what planners get wrong

An internationally touring juggler on riders, ceilings, set lengths, and the one question he wishes every planner asked.

October 21, 20261 min readBy dankranstz

CorporateFestivals

First in our Ask a Performer series: a juggler who has toured internationally and performed on the Circus Universe roster for years.

Narrated walkthrough · 1-minute video
Read the transcript

Ask a Performer: a touring juggler on what planners get wrong.

First in our Ask a Performer series: a juggler who has toured internationally and performed on the Circus Universe roster for years.

What do planners most often get wrong?.

A five-ball pattern goes four metres up.

In a room with a 3.5 m ceiling I become a three-ball act, and the client paid for five."

What should be in every booking email?.

"Age of the audience, the room's height, whether there is a stage, and what happens right before and after me.

If I follow the speeches, I know to open loud."

The ideal set?.

"Roaming, two hours with a ten-minute break.

Stage, twelve to twenty minutes.

The one question you wish planners asked?.

"'What do you need from us to do your best work?' The answer is usually small: a lockable room, water, and someone who knows my name at the door."

Performer riders explained: tech rider template.

There is more on this page, just below the video.

What do planners most often get wrong?

“Ceiling height. A five-ball pattern goes four metres up. In a room with a 3.5 m ceiling I become a three-ball act, and the client paid for five.”

What should be in every booking email?

“Age of the audience, the room’s height, whether there is a stage, and what happens right before and after me. If I follow the speeches, I know to open loud.”

Juggler with clubs checking a low ceiling in a church hall

The ideal set?

“Roaming, two hours with a ten-minute break. Stage, twelve to twenty minutes. Nobody needs forty minutes of juggling, including me.”

The one question you wish planners asked?

“‘What do you need from us to do your best work?’ The answer is usually small: a lockable room, water, and someone who knows my name at the door.”

Juggler tying shoes in a small green room beside a bag of clubs

Performer riders explained: tech rider template.

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