As we near the launch of the largest juggling and object manipulation event in Australasia, people from every state of Australia, New Zealand, and right across the world are preparing themselves for the Melbourne Juggling Convention (MJC). With it comes a feast of activities and shows for all ages and abilities to be immersed in over 4 action-packed days, held within Collingwood College’s exceptional theatre and gymnasium complex right in the heart of Melbourne.

According to Mike Finch, Circus Oz Artistic Director, “Circus Oz has been delighted to watch the evolution of the now very successful Melbourne Juggling Convention. It supports Australian circus artists to develop their skills, to be inspired by new and exciting international art-form developments, and to perform new ideas for new audiences.”

This is the 4th year of the Melbourne Juggling Convention, which brings with it an innovative new structure integrating workshops, forums and shows to form the
MJC 2010 Act Devising Program

The essence of this year’s convention is performance art, where we wish to empower convention participants in creating a performance within the depths of juggling, object manipulation and circus arts. The Act Devising Program, free to anyone attending the convention, is designed to assist people with a passion for performance, inviting them to create and ultimately showcase their new piece of work on the dedicated ‘works-in-progress’ Creative Edge show.

‘Clown’, ‘comedy’, ‘voice’ and ‘improvisation’ are a small number of the specialisation areas we are pleased to be showcasing as part of the act devising program, bringing in leading practitioners in their field to facilitate them. In addition to our 5 headlining guests, another 15+ Melbourne-based guest artists have been invited to help run the forums and workshops as part of this program. Places are limited and already filling up, any person interested in taking part in the Act Devising Program is urged to go to the convention website to register their expression of interest.

Christian Parr, Founding Artistic Director, notes: “As one of the top three circus capitals in the world, Melbourne is home to an impressive wealth of circus and performance expertise. The act devising program is the vessel that brings upcoming, emerging artists face-to-face with some of Melbourne’s very best artists in their field. These mentors will work directly with their students, giving direction, inspiration and encouragement, ultimately assisting them in tapping into their full potential as circus artists.”

The MJC is not all about creating an act though, many other things are carefully scheduled to make sure there is something available for everyone:
• Over 70 hours of ‘public workshops’ running concurrently
• Highly entertaining shows every night
• Food being served all day every day by Lentil as Anything
• A video booth for anyone to digitally record a trick or anecdote
• An Object Manipulation Research Lab
• The Juggling Olympics
• Artwork gallery
• Volley-club tournament
• Table-tennis
• and more....

Not least on this impressive list of activities is ‘The BIG Show’, where the best circus artists around will perform together in a spectacular show at the Collingwood College theatre complex. Every year we aim to do more than entertain and this year’s show is set to blow your mind! Two action-packed hours with everything from foot juggling to clowning around, tight-rope walking to seriously high level juggling, this show will be something to remember!

MELBOURNE JUGGLING CONVENTION 2010
17-20 September, 2010
Collingwood College, Melbourne
Website: www.mjc.juggling.net.au
E-mail: mjcinfo@gmail.com
Early-bird 4-day passes:
On sale now, until 31st July. Cost: $90 (+ bf). Price increases from 1st August.
The BIG Show:
Date: Saturday 18th September (2pm & 8pm). Cost: $20 (+ bf)
Juggling Olympics:
Date: Monday 20th September (11am-1pm). Free event