Art in motion

By Carol Egan
Special to The Advertiser

Michael Moschen 8 p.m. Saturday Leeward Community College Theatre $22, $15 455-0385; lcctheatre.hawaii.edu

He defines his work by saying that he "manipulates fanciful geometric shapes." In fact, he combines entertainment, circus arts, dance, juggling, math, physics and just plain fun, as those who catch Moschen's Saturday performance at Leeward Community College Theatre will see.

Rather than just toss balls into the air, Moschen creates magical illusions by his use of objects in space. Many of his props, all designed by him, are small art works in themselves. There is a crystal ball he rolls over his hands and body to make it seem to float around him; shining, boomerang-shaped rods he whips around his body, creating visible patterns in thin air; and a 10-foot triangle in which he stands to bounce balls all around his body. Some routines include fire; others incorporate acoustic effects created by the rebounding of balls off resonating disks.

Speaking by phone from his home in Connecticut, Moschen said he started juggling "out of sheer and utter boredom" as a youngster living in a small Massachusetts town.

He wasn't alone in his pursuit, which included his brother, as well as a neighborhood playmate who would later be known as the Penn of Penn and Teller, the smart, snide and popular magic act.

The three boys started learning routines from a book. Before they hit their teens, Moschen and Penn had formed an act.

Moschen soon moved to New York. His timing was excellent, because the Big Apple Circus was beginning to make its reputation. He entered the circus world, where he met and worked with many artists, one of whom was Francis Brunn, a German performer. "He's the greatest juggler ever, like an Einstein and Picasso mix," Moschen said.

Brunn soon moved from New York to Las Vegas, but the mentor-student relationship they established was meaningful to Moschen. Moschen also entered a similar invaluable apprenticeship with German clown and mime Lotte Goslar, spending a year and a half as emcee for her company.

Goslar, trained originally as a dancer, eventually formed her own Pantomime Circus company after emigrating to America. "She really trusted me, and she would bring me into her work. I don't take that kind of trust lightly."

Moschen has also worked with Bill Irwin and Cirque du Soleil, among others, but his solo work has made the greatest impact on audiences worldwide. He has been invited to perform at national and international festivals, and has appeared in films and on television, including a public-television special featuring his work.

Few, if any, jugglers can claim the distinction of having been awarded several National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, not to mention receiving the MacArthur Foundation's "genius award" in 1991. The hoopla surrounding the latter award strengthened Moschen's resolve to take more risks in his shows. He continues to push the limits of his art. "I don't do things that aren't hazardous. That's the way of life," he said.

His past work has explored the juggler as architect, jester, alchemist and dancer. His fascination of late has led him down a somewhat different path. "For the last year and a half I've been concentrating on addressing big shortcomings in how math and science are taught. I can show how crazy the creative process can be."

Moschen's ideas on teaching are being taken seriously by the science community, and he's addressed the National Conference of Teachers of Mathematics and several leading universities on the issue.

And by the way, as Moschen's bio announces, he is also a New York City fireguard — so he's trained to suppress fires. "When I work with fire on-stage, I want to let people know that I know what I'm doing," he said.