Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Ellis.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Josh. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in a small village named Athens, LA. It was a small village of an astounding 500 people. Everybody hunted, everybody wore camo or a cowboy hat. When I was 11 years old, my parents had quadruplets. Yup, you heard it, quads. Needless to say, I had a lot of time on my hands. Luckily, I’m great at finding something entertaining with little around me. I had a mini Juggling for Klutz key chain I picked up from the local Discovery shop in the mall equipped with about a 2″ x 2″ book with three tiny juggling beanbags. I was armed with three play pinballs. (Remember, I had quad brothers and sisters.) I began the process of learning to juggle. After several failed attempts and a couple of broken glasses, I finally learned how to juggle… barely. In order to really develop my skill, I needed something heavier. Luckily, my grandparents kept a pear tree in their backyard. So, for the time, I was at my grandmother’s, I was juggling pears.
Fast forward a couple of years, there was a TV show that came on back then (before there wasn’t internet) named “Totally Circus.” It was a TV show that was about a circus camp for kids called “Circus Smirkus.” It was about kids who would audition different types of circus skills such as clowning, aerials, hula hooping, stilt walking, and of course… juggling. I was hooked. I learned so many different tricks during that time. Hell, I even got my buddy to juggle. Ordered some awesome new juggling clubs from a store online and went at it.
I juggled almost everyday until I got to college. While I was getting my Bachelor’s in Marketing, I would juggle here and there, but nothing really exciting. After college, I was married and moved to Shreveport, LA where I wanted to meet other jugglers. I found two fun jugglers that were pretty good (better than me) but they soon dropped off. All there was left was me. So, I dove into it and learned a whole bunch of new tricks. Word got around and someone asked to hire me for a debutante ball. This was my first gig opportunity! So, I accepted. A couple of hours of juggling and $200 in my pocket, I was sold! I knew I wanted to do this the rest of my life.
But I didn’t want to be any ordinary juggler. No, I would watch little videos of jugglers from the 20s to 50s perform feats with ordinary objects, I didn’t know could be done. So, I wanted to learn too. This led me down an adventure that would one day lead me to where I’m at now.
While I was in Shreveport, LA, I would book myself for gigs to make a little extra money. I met a bunch of different other performers and started a little troupe. I would then help them get booked. Before long, I had a little business going. Five years later, it is still the largest entertainment agency in North Louisiana.
But, I started getting bored and wanted to perform on stage. I developed a little action and I was accepted as the permanent emcee for a local cabaret troop, Bon Temps Burlesque. I would do a little act with juggling and fire manipulation and emcee for a year or two, until I saw a friend of a friend starting a variety show in Little Rock, AR. I met my longtime friend, Paul Prater, a professional mind reader and writer. We created the Marvelous Misfits variety show and I would travel back and forth from Shreveport, LA to Little Rock, AR every other weekend. After that played out, we decided to travel. We would do little three-hour gig tours from one city to the next performing our show, and that’s where I developed my gentleman juggling persona, Arty Dodger.
About three years later, I went through a divorce and decided to move to Dallas. I’d perform in Dallas burlesque shows a couple of times before, so I wasn’t a complete stranger on the scene. I’ve since then traveled to other states, performed all over Dallas, and recently finished producing a show at the Nines in Deep Ellum named Rat-a-Tat Revue.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Of course, it hasn’t! It wouldn’t have been any fun if there wasn’t. But I would say over the years, it was pretty smooth, but my thirst to perform kept getting stronger and stronger. Some people who hire you don’t understand that although we may perform for only 10 minutes, we’ve been developing acts and buying materials/props for years. Not to mention, the hours and hours of work we put into our skill and performing. Getting paid for what your act is worth is difficult at times.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Although I run a successful booking agency in Louisiana, I’m best known for my juggling career. My specialty is vaudeville gentleman juggling. I juggle ordinary inanimate objects usually in the dangerous or classy realm. I juggle hat, cane, cigar tricks as well as dangerous balancing on champagne bottles. There isn’t many of us in the world so I’m proud to be one of the few performing gentleman jugglers in the US.
Along with juggling, I also perform sideshow. My main act that involves sideshow is where I rip a phone book in half and roll a frying pan.
What were you like growing up?
I was a weird kid who liked to juggle when everyone else liked to hunt. I was always an outsider. In high school, I got along with everyone in the school and I would float from one group to another. I was interested in extreme sports, drumming, and juggling.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artydodger.com
- Phone: 3182430677
- Email: artydodgerjuggler@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artydodger/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtyDodgerJuggler/
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