A renegade show at a juggling convention is "an open stage where anyone can, at short notice, get up and perform just about anything." At their best, they allow amateur jugglers to perform a couple of unique tricks for fellow jugglers without having to prepare a whole programme. Conventionally, a renegade show takes place in the earlier evenings of a juggling convention as a means for the jugglers to collaborate and share material that is unpolished or risqué. Acts in a renegade show, perhaps as a reaction to the commonly "g-rated" content of most juggling performances, frequently include drinking, heckling, and nudity, and are usually not open to the public (as opposed to the "gala show" at a juggling convention, an invitational and ticketed performance open to the public).
Format
A renegade show usually occurs late in the evening and can continue for several hours (depending on the number of acts). Binge drinking is often a component of a renegade show. At some conventions, each act is offered a drink in exchange for performing. Sometimes the Master of ceremonies takes a drink for each one consumed by the performers. Since many acts at a renegade show are of low quality, sometimes the audience is encouraged to allow or deny a drink to a performer (determined by applause or heckling). Creative heckling is usually encouraged at a renegade show, sometimes resulting in performers getting booed off the stage.[citation needed] At larger conventions, the audience can come and go as they like, with a show concluding when the audience shrinks to a small enough size. Often a renegade show concludes when the alcohol supply runs out.[citation needed]
Designed to showcase the polished material of new performers and the unpolished material of experienced performers, a renegade show is an ideal venue to try out new work, new ideas, bad ideas, unfinished or half-thought-through ideas, just to improvise or to do 'satire' or make parodies of performances seen on the main stages at the convention. People come and sign-up to perform on an ad-hoc basis (or even just jump onto the stage when there's no one ready to perform). Sometimes the music is provided (randomly) by the sound technician; sometimes the performer has some music to work with; and sometimes performers perform acts that don't incorporate any kind of juggling at all (such as comedy, music, dance, burlesque, etc.).
History
The origins of the renegade show: a small group of jugglers at the International Jugglers' Association convention in the United States decided that they wanted a late night cabaret. This was not possible at the official IJA event, so they found a local bar/venue and put on a show. The idea was motivated and created by the Renegade Juggling Company (based in Santa Cruz, California) hence the name 'Renegade Show'. In the 1980s, the Renegade Juggling Company came to the European Juggling Convention and put on a Renegade Show at the convention. It was a great success and since that year the Renegade Show has been an event at the EJC. To begin with it really was just a few jugglers (10 or 20) having a laugh, over the years the Renegade Show has become, more or less, an essential element of the EJC and also of many national and local juggling conventions. It's still a place to improvise and be creative.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to theatre:
Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object or many objects at the same time, most often using one or two hands but other body parts as well, like feet or head. Jugglers often refer to the objects they juggle as props. The most common props are balls, clubs, or rings. Some jugglers use more dramatic objects such as knives, fire torches or chainsaws. The term juggling can also commonly refer to other prop-based manipulation skills, such as diabolo, plate spinning, devil sticks, poi, cigar boxes, contact juggling, hooping, yo-yo, and hat manipulation.
Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen – but it is also related to both the old French word "emprouer" and the English "improve", to improve. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of improvisation can apply to many different faculties across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines; see Applied improvisation.
Stand-up comedy is a comedy performance to a live audience in which the performer, known as a comedian, comic or "stand-up", stands on a stage and delivers various humorous and satirical monologues ,and occasionally also physical acts, typically involving no other props except a microphone and a stool. The performance is usually a rhetorical sketch with rehearsed scripts, but many comics employ live crowd interaction as part of their routine.
A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function.
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is practiced all over the world and dates back to antiquity. People engaging in this practice are called street performers or buskers. Outside of New York, buskers is not a term generally used in American English.
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety and size of settings, from private houses and small nightclubs, dedicated concert halls, amphitheatres and parks, to large multipurpose buildings, such as arenas and stadiums. Indoor concerts held in the largest venues are sometimes called arena concerts or amphitheatre concerts. Informal names for a concert include show and gig.
A heckler is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes. Hecklers are often known to shout discouraging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of disturbing performers and/or participants.
Fire performance is a group of performance arts or skills that involve the manipulation of fire. Fire performance typically involves equipment or other objects made with one or more wicks which are designed to sustain a large enough flame to create a visual effect.
A master of ceremonies, abbreviated MC or emcee, is the official host of a ceremony, staged event, conference, convention, or similar performance.
An open mic or open mike is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether they are amateurs or professionals, often for the first time or to promote an upcoming performance. As the name suggests, performers are usually provided with a microphone plugged into a PA system so that they can be heard by the audience.
Many countries, cities or juggling clubs hold their own annual juggling convention or juggling festivals. These are the backbone of the juggling scene, the events that regularly bring jugglers from a wide area together to socialize. The attendance of a convention can be anything from a few dozen to a few thousand people.
The European Juggling Convention (EJC), is the largest juggling convention in the world, regularly attracting several thousand participants. It is held every year in a different European country. It is organised by changing local organisation committees which are supported by the European Juggling Association (EJA), a non-profit association founded in 1987 in Saintes, France. Like most juggling conventions, it features a mix of workshops for jugglers, a "renegade" performance performed for participants, games, performances and a public show, usually spread out over a period of a week in the European summer. Accommodation is usually in the form of tents provided by participants.
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music. Opera houses, bandshells, and concert halls host classical music performances, whereas public houses ("pubs"), nightclubs, and discothèques offer music in contemporary genres, such as rock, dance, country, and pop.
Getai refers to boisterous live stage performances typically held during the Ghost Festival in the seventh lunar month and on the birthdays of Chinese deities. These shows typically last from 7.30pm to after 10pm and are commonly organised in Singapore, Malaysia and some parts of Indonesia. Additionally, stage setups are usually composed of temporary structures like tents situated in the suburbs of the city- namely, in empty fields, parking spaces or housing estates.
Concert etiquette refers to a set of social norms observed by those attending musical performances. These norms vary depending upon the type of music performance and can be stringent or informal.
Performing arts – are art forms where the participant engages in a physical performance using their body, voice, language, or use of specific equipment for entertainment purposes.
The Passing Zone is an American comedy-juggling duo comprising Jon Wee and Owen Morse. Wee, originally from Minnesota, and Morse, a California native, met at a juggling convention in northern California in 1986 and decided two years later to team up. Since then, the Passing Zone has won 18 gold medals from the International Jugglers' Association (IJA) and holds five Guinness World Records.
A music session is a social gathering of musicians and singers who perform music in a relatively informal context. Much of the music performed at such events is traditional music for the area, popular songs and other well-known tunes. In sessions, the participants typically improvise the accompaniment, song arrangements and musical ornaments to the melodies of songs or tunes. The venue may be a public bar, tavern, village hall or a private home.
The Israeli Juggling Convention (IJC) takes place each year during the Passover Holiday. The IJC is the second biggest juggling convention in the world with around 2000 participants each year.
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