Nothing is ever quite as funny as seeing someone fail. Along the same lines, there are few things more exhilarating that seeing a failure succeed. Enter Jim. This Bostonian comedian-juggler-stuntman, complete with theme song and case full of props, performed his show for the Coffeehouse crowd in Alden on August 29th. Acknowledging the humor in his many-times-failed juggling tricks, he commented, "if I got everything right on the first try, this show would be five minutes long." Needless to say, the show filled its hour-long time slot.
In the long time tradition of jugglers, Jim juggles balls, clubs, and the occasional bra or field hockey stick, balances things on his head, and runs the gamut of stupid human tricks necessary for trickster super-stardom. Jim stresses the importance of going to college in securing a career. He did, in fact, spend one full year at UMASS/Amherst learning his more advanced tricks.
While most jugglers might be prone to fall into the cliché of working for the "ooh" and "ahh" of the crowd, Jim finds it just as easy to work off of the audience's complete silence. He makes jokes at the audience as well as himself and in doing so he draws the audience into his act, unlike most other jugglers. The mix of impressive juggling and slapstick is refreshing, few contemporary comedians will delve into physical comedy (the likes of Bobcat Goldthwait and Chris Farley are hard to come by), and the juggling aspect of Jim's show adds even more flavor to the routine.
Much of Jim's show is purely improvisational as he works with and off of the audience. He juggles things supplied and voted for by the audience (for example, a field hockey stick, a plastic dinosaur, and a bra), does things "wrong" until an audience member corrects him, and even lets members of the crowd (including me) throw clubs at him while he is standing on a teeter totter on top of a flimsy table. You've got to love a guy who has guts enough to trust a crowd of WPI students.
So check Jim out. If nothing else, it will give a self esteem boost to a very deserving comedian. His website is http://www.smirk.com.