The Museum of Juggling

The Museum of Juggling's Ethnography Collection provides an historical perspective on what is apparently a very ancient pasttime. I was especially interested to learn about Otedama, a Japanese juggling game that began as a children's game, remarkably like jacks, only played with beanbags. It helped me make the connection between juggling as a game and juggling as a performance. Even though my background is in theater, and I understand games as a form of theater, I have been consistently intrigued by performances that aren't directed towards an audience, but rather performed for the sake of the performers (players). There's something seeming more intimate and more genuine about the things we do for fun, for ourselves or with each other. Apparently, juggling, like pretend-play, is one of those things we can do with or without an audience, alone or with each other, as a fun thing or as an art form.