Blog du Wren

Summer Performance Recap 2017

By my rough count, Della and I had approximately 40 shows during our busy time, July and August. While it felt like we barely had time to catch our breath or do laundry, it rarely felt like we had time to capture it in words or pictures. But now that things have calmed down, I thought it might be fun to consolidate some of the photos, videos, and observations into an end of the season wrap-up (like I did last year!) Info and photo credits in the captions.

Sunday October 8 2017

File under: pics, juggling

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Minor Media Mentions - Summer Juggling 2017

I always find it a thrill to have a photo of me in a newspaper—some mix of validation, fame, and glee. This summer, it has happened a few times for various juggling events we've been a part of. I wanted to post them here as an addition to my minor media mentions series, kind of a digital scrapbook.

Firstly, to your right, we have a picture of me from the Skagit County Fair, featured on the front page of the Skagit Valley Herald. That makes 2 years in a row of making the front cover for our performances at the Fair! Hopefully that bodes well for the Fair asking us back next year to be a part!

There were also a couple of photos from the Anacortes American. The was of us at the 3rd of July celebration at the Heart of Anacortes. The was also taken at the Heart of Anacortes, but this time for a show we did for the Anacortes Library. The library show was super fun for me because many of my old high school classmates with in the audience with their kids and the show got a great response!

Later towards the end of the summer, I'll do a more inclusive Summer of Juggling wrap up post (like I did last year!) with drone video, lots of pictures, a run down of the major events we did, and more!

UPDATE: The weekly paper* arrived this morning and low and behold, who was staring right back at me? Me! Granted I didn't even get a mention in the story or even my name in the caption, but it is a pretty neat shot!

Monday August 28 2017

File under: media, juggling

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Circus Camp

This year, as a sort of New Year's resolution, I set forth to try to make it the year of "Yes!", accepting opportunity more readily than I have in the past. That was especially pertinent to my burgeoning circus career. If there's an opportunity, I'm on it. And it led down some interesting paths. Some turned out to be thankless gigs that paid very little. Some were gigs that pushed our limits and made us better performers. Some were hidden gems. And some were, well, just plain new.

It was through this yessing that Della and I found ourselves teaching circus camp to kids on San Juan Island, Lummi Island, and in Bellingham. Teaching circus is something that we've done quite a bit of in the past, both through Chautauqua and as part of festival, parties, etc. But these are always shorter sessions that let kids (and adults!) come and go as their interest waned or was diverted. The circus day camp where the kids get dropped off and picked up many hours later is a whole different ball game, one which we weren't entirely prepared for.

For the most part, it was awesome. There were some amazing kids who were super into learning, being helpful, and being fun! And from the feedback from students and parents, I'd say that the camps were a success, with the kids having a good time and nobody getting hurt*. But kids are kids, and there was definitely more "don't hit her with that", "pick up your trash", and "take that sharp stick out of your nose" than we expected, esp. with the younger kids. I can hardly blame them for not wanting to juggle for 3 hours straight, but it was still a bit of a learning curve.

Faces have been blurred because of privacy or whatever

Faces have been blurred because of privacy or whatever

One thing about the year of "Yes!", you learn a lot. And that has been wonderful. For next year, however, if circus camp opportunities roll around, we'll have more knowledge about what variable best suit our talents and interests. What does that mean, I don't know. But I know that at least for now, I'm happy to going back to just performing for a while.

Wednesday August 9 2017

File under: circus, juggling

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MTVs Promposal

For the last year or so, I've been spending some energy pursuing one of my life goals of being an extra in a movie. I made my first significant progress a couple of months ago with a fleeting appearance on SyFy's Z-nation (covered here). Well, I'm happy to report that I'm moving on up towards that goal with my recent appearance on MTV's reality show called Promposal.

The filming of the show was super fun. We were brought in to be the background circus folks for the filming of a high school music video. Mostly, we just juggled and looked circus-y whenever they pointed the camera at us. Otherwise, we just sat back and watched the magic happen. It was fun seeing both the professional side of things (the MTV crew with the fancy equipment, lights, etc.) and the high school side of things (disorganized but having a ton of fun). We were there for 4 hours with a lot of waiting around (as is par for pretty much anything in TV/film or so I'm learning). At the end, we had no idea how much screen time we'd get if any.

Fast forward 2 months to air date. I was super excited to see myself and my circus buddies on such a popular network. We actually got a fair amount of screen time too! While a lot of it was , there were a few -ish . And by golly, I even got a few clips, one with a !! To top it all off, we even got our names in the ! Overall, I'm super stoked on the whole thing—the filming, the screen time, the excitement!

If you have access, I encourage you to check it on MTV. I think it's even carried On Demand on various carriers. Otherwise, check for reruns, as I think it might happen every now and again. If you don't have access, shoot me an e-mail and we can try to work out getting you hooked up.

Yes, I consider this a big step towards my movie extra life goal Just like NYT crossword and some of the others, it doesn't happen overnight. But with persistence, hopefully it will become a reality. And whatever the case, as long the road to movie extradom is as fun as this Promposal experience was, I'm excited for the ride!

Tuesday May 30 2017

File under: extra, juggling

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www.WrenAndDella.com

May I proudly present, for you viewing and beta-testing pleasure, the brand new www.WrenAndDella.com! Over the past 3 or 4 years, Della and I have been ramping up our performance presence beyond an act here or there in various shows. We have created our own stand alone show and really started booking lots of events (parties, festivals, fairs, etc.). It only seems fitting, now, that we have ourselves a professional looking website. And here it is.

We're both pretty stoked on how it turned out. It's great to have some wonderful photos and videos of our acts in the same place. We'll continue to tweak some of the text over time, and hopefully replace the grainy video with some professionally shot stuff after we amass it, but for now, we're hoping that it serves the dual purpose of letting people know who we are and what we're about when they see we are performing near them and increase our booking!

Every time I post about my juggling "career", I laugh a little about how far I've come—from never wanting to perform to being a professional juggler. But, as in so many elements of life, things change, and that can be a good thing. In this case it is: I get to do a job I love with a person I love making people smile. If I've gotta have a job, I can't think of a better one!

Anyway, feel free to check out the website and let me know if you see anything awry. Please include the browser/operating system/device you're using if you find a layout/technical issue. (A screen shot of how it should look can be found here). And if you know anyone looking to hire some dynamic, fun, genuine entertainment, point them our way!!

Wednesday April 19 2017

File under: juggling

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ACPT 2017-Tournament and Talent Show

In what has become a lovely yearly habit for me, I recently attended the 2017 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament out in Stamford, CT. With it being my 4th year, I now know my way around the tournament and hotel, have met some great people that I always look forward to seeing year after year, and have some helpful data to see the progress my solving skills are making. But overall, I just have a lot of fun.

First, the progress: This year, I finished , putting me in the 54th percentile, my second best showing. Besides one stupid error (which cost me about 20 places in the rankings), I don't feel bad. The puzzles were decidedly harder this year. As usual, destroyed me with a super complicated double theme. , supposedly an easier one, left me somewhat flummoxed with names of elements I've never heard of. Puzzles , , and I aced and had just 1 square wrong on each of and . So, overall, I'm not displeased—room to improve but still a strong enough showing.

But the real fun of the tournament, for me at least, was the talent show. Since my first trip to the ACPT, I've been brewing this act combining my love of juggling and love of crosswords. This year, after poking at it here and there over the years, it all came together and I had a chance to present it. It was a hit, with people really appreciating the nerdiness as much as the talent. I'm excited to work out the kinks and get a few more run throughs to really solidify it. Then the hope is to add it to our upcoming summer shows. I'm sure the reception won't be nearly as great as it was with a room full of hardcore crossworders, but hopefully it will stand on its own. See for yourself!

Thanks to all who made the ACPT such a fun and successful event! Hope to see you all again next year!

Thursday March 30 2017

File under: crosswords, video, juggling

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2017 Valentines Day Act

This year, Della and I had the pleasure of once again being in the Bellingham Circus Guild's My Circus Valentine show. The show turned out super great, with 5 sold out, standing room only shows. The cast was amazing, the acts were fun, and the total vibe of the space and show were just magical. Every year, the producer does such an amazing job all around and we feel lucky to be a part.

If you missed the fun, I've included a video of me and Della's act. It was conceived of on a long bus ride in Costa Rica and hashed out in many long hard hours of rehearsal. During the process of creation, Della and I swear we'll never do it again, being that it puts too much strain on our relationship. But in the end, after we share it with the audience and feel their positive reaction, we forget about the struggle and are happy with what we've created. Anyway, we hope you enjoy it too!

Every year, there is also a photo booth at the show. Della and I find time between shows to sneak in and get a few shots. So, in the interest of posterity, I include them here. Try not to throw up on yourself due to our cuteness.

Thursday February 23 2017

File under: juggling, holidays

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Summer Performing 2016

This past summer has been a whirlwind of performing for Della and me. This weekend is the first in months we haven't had a gig*. And looking forward, there's at least one per weekend for the next month. So much for me "not being a performer." :-)

Although it's been busy, it's been super fun. Going to festivals and parties ain't a bad way to make a buck or two. And Della and I have been honing in our acts and are getting ready to debut our first show this weekend at the Sh'Bang at the Lookout Arts Quarry. It should be a blast.

The photos below hardly do justice to all the running around we've been doing. We're usually just so busy we forget about taking photos. Luckily, folks are kind enough to share theirs with us (which are way better than ours would be anyway).

So here are a few photos from Summer 2016. I hope you enjoy having a look as much as I enjoyed putting them together! (Photo captions give some context.)

Give'er
by the
River

Anacortes
Busker
Fest

Weddings

New Old
Time
Chautauqua

Skagit
County
Fair

Birthday
Parties

Lots of
Other
Fun Stuff

Sunday September 4 2016

File under: pics, juggling

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Something Wonderful

Arrrrrggg! I'm a pirate— or at least I play one in the Bellingham Circus Guild's new production, Something Wonderful. The show tells of a boy taken through a magical world of sea creatures, ship wrecks, dreams, and more. The show is more highly produced than any I've been a part of so far which makes it really exciting. The costumes are top notch and the professionalism regarding timelines, rehearsals, and contracts has been very refreshing.

Last week, we had our first showing, on the big stage at Western Washington University. The huge stage with all the necessary contraptions, lights, staff, and more made it feel all the more big deal. The show went great, except for a couple drops by the pirates (opening night jitters, I guess). This upcoming weekend, we have a 3 show run at the Cirque Lab in Bellingham. There are tickets still available. The shows are going to be so fun!

The do a juggling bit that involves 2-highs, complicated moving patterns, and a neat little passing the bottle routine. I also got roped into doing a little black suit puppetry as well, a new one for my resume.

While the amount of time spent on this, between rehearsals, teching, etc. has been more than I've been used to in the past (and makes the hourly wage far lower than minimum wage), the experience has been helpful and even fun. I'm proud of the show and I'm excited that it might get staged again in the future, maybe even at bigger venues! In the meantime, I look forward to the run this weekend. I hope to see you there!

Tuesday May 17 2016

File under: circus, juggling

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Minor Media Mentions - Bellingham Herald and Bellingham Alive

One of the great purposes of this blog has been to serve as a digital scrapbook for my future self. I know that 90-year old me will love sitting in my hover bean bag chair looking through the fun exploits of his former self. It is with that thought that I started my Minor Media Mentions series, snippets of when I've made newspapers, etc. Two such snippets recently showed up. The first is from the Sunday Bellingham Herald dated 1/31/16 about the Talent Show at Mount Baker Theater we were in (blurb and video here). The other is from the super fancy Bellingham Alive magazine from December 2015. The article has nothing to do with us, but it's a pretty fun picture of the street show we did at the Bellingham Night Market.

Tuesday February 2 2016

File under: juggling, circus

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