Self-Portrait
Self-Portrait is a lecture about the lessons juggling has taught me in building a creative life. I share stories of breakthroughs, challenges, and the balance between tradition and innovation. The talk presents art as a lifelong journey shaped by curiosity and experimentation.
Overview:
Self-Portrait is a lecture that shares lessons from my career in juggling that speak directly to the challenges and opportunities of pursuing a life in the arts. What began as a fascination with juggling became a lifelong practice that taught me far more than how to throw and catch objects. I speak about the ways art evolves when you treat it as a process of constant learning.
Over the years I have explored how juggling can be more than entertainment, how it can become a form of research into movement, rhythm, and perception. I share stories of unexpected breakthroughs, the challenges of pushing an art form into new territory, and how to balance respect for tradition with the need for innovation. These experiences offer insights not just about juggling, but about creativity as a whole.
Ultimately, I frame the lecture as a way of looking at artistic practice as a long journey rather than a single performance or achievement. I discuss what it means to build a personal language within the field, and why curiosity should remain at the center of creative work. My hope is that audiences leave with a renewed sense that a career, like a performance, is not a straight line but a series of experiments that teach us how to think and create in new ways.
"Jay Gilligan takes inspiration from Michael Moshen and Derek Delgaudio, toying with gravity and physics in ways I've never seen before...
Check it out! Bravo!"
- Neil Patrick Harris, Actor & Producer
"Jay challenges you to define what juggling is in your mind and changes your preconceived notions about the nature or movement and patterns... You think you're going to see a juggler, then you find out you have no idea what a juggler is!"
- Théater Pizzas Review, NYC
Production Details:
Company:
Shaking the Sky
Show Title:
Self-Portrait
Performers:
Performer:
Jay Gilligan (USA/SWE)
Length:
60 minutes (including Q & A)
Target Audience:
All Ages
Language:
English
Performance Space:
No limitations, the venue only needs to be free from ambient distractions.
Technical Requirements:
The lecture is performed with a slideshow. A projection surface needs to be provided.
Load in Time:
30 minutes prior to showtime.
Load Out Time:
10 minutes after the last audience member has left.
Shoe Size:
Production Details:
Company:
Shaking the Sky
Show Title:
Self-Portrait
Performers:
Performer:
Jay Gilligan (USA/SWE)
Length:
60 minutes (including Q & A)
Target Audience:
All Ages
Language:
English
Performance Space:
No limitations, the venue only needs to be free from ambient distractions.
Technical Requirements:
The lecture is performed with a slideshow. A projection surface needs to be provided.
Load in Time:
30 minutes prior to showtime.
Load Out Time:
10 minutes after the last audience member has left.
Shoe Size:
Self-Portrait is a lecture that shares lessons from my career in juggling that speak directly to the challenges and opportunities of pursuing a life in the arts. What began as a fascination with juggling became a lifelong practice that taught me far more than how to throw and catch objects. I speak about the ways art evolves when you treat it as a process of constant learning.
Over the years I have explored how juggling can be more than entertainment, how it can become a form of research into movement, rhythm, and perception. I share stories of unexpected breakthroughs, the challenges of pushing an art form into new territory, and how to balance respect for tradition with the need for innovation. These experiences offer insights not just about juggling, but about creativity as a whole.
Ultimately, I frame the lecture as a way of looking at artistic practice as a long journey rather than a single performance or achievement. I discuss what it means to build a personal language within the field, and why curiosity should remain at the center of creative work. My hope is that audiences leave with a renewed sense that a career, like a performance, is not a straight line but a series of experiments that teach us how to think and create in new ways.
