Teachers' Resource Pack for

The Loonies 

Skills used in Bouncing Around include:- slap stick comedy, acrobatic and other circus skills such as  uni-cycling, juggling and clowning. 

We like to think that Bouncing Around is a physical cabaret that appeals to both adults, teenagers and children.
We think what makes them so funny is their ability to make all their very difficult and potentially dangerous acrobatics antics all seem so easy.
How would your students describe the show and what do they think makes the show so funny

The Oxford Dictionary definition for  slapstick is 1. 'boisterous knockabout comedy';  2. 'a flexible divided length of timber used by clowns'. This second definition is of the stick or baton dating back to the commedia dell' arte character Harlequin. Harlequin used his baton to create the sound of something or usually someone being hit.

Slapstick or physical comedy is possibly the oldest foam of comedy. In its simplest foam it doesn't need language. There is no reason not to believe that our prehistoric ancestors laughed at the misfortune of others the same way we do today as we watch 'Funniest Home Videos'.  Slapstick comedy has been at the heart of circus clowning, Italian commedia, the English Mr. Punch, many of the early silent movies such as The keystone Cops, Chaplin and Keaton.  Even when sound was add to film slapstick remain very popular with the movies of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, Laurel and Hardy , The Marx Brothers and of course The Road Runner and Willie Coyote cartoons.  The animated movies of today like Ice Age, Aladdin,  The Invincible indeed most of the Pixar animations incorporate large segments of slapstick.

Juggling

Juggling is basically the manipulation of objects. Objects that are commonly used are:- Balls, Scarves, Batons, Clubs and Fire Sticks. What did the Loonies juggle today and what other objects have you seen juggled?
When juggling, more objects are needed than hands i.e. two balls in one hand or three clubs in two hands. If you are going to learn to juggle, you would be best to start with the basic three ball juggle. There are 3 basic steps. 
1. Throwing one ball up in a arch from one hand to the other. Each throws should be the same high and strength as each other. 
2. Two balls thrown one after each other and caught one after each other. Throw from left to the right - throw from right to left -  catch first thrown ball in right hand catch second thrown ball in left hand.  To put it simply you throw, throw, catch, catch. 
3. Now the hard part, introducing the 3rd ball. Firstly do step 2 with a third ball in one hand, but don't release it at first, It is thrown just before you need that hand to catch the incoming ball.

This is the basic three ball juggle.  The balls foam a figure eight pattern in the air.   Another three ball juggle is the circle. In this routine each ball goes from the left hands up in an arch to the right hand then straight across back to the left hand.  Of course this routine can be reversed (if you are really good).

Another simple juggling move to practice is" two balls in one hand ". The easiest way is to try to throw the balls in a circle, from the inside out. Practice with one hand at a time.

Helpful juggling hints.
1. Look at all the objects you are juggling  don't just focus on one object, .
2. Juggling to music can help you get into the rhythm of the routine.
3. Beginner jugglers who have mastered the basic 3 ball juggle probably end up walking forward chasing the balls so juggle standing, facing a wall or over a bed (this also makes picking up the dropped juggling balls easier).
4. Getting hooked on juggling is possible. If you find yourself juggling more than 8 hours a day...................see a psychiatrist.

The Vaulting Act

The last act in Bouncing Around is a vaulting routine using mini trampoline, vaulting box and crash mat. For those schools that have the appropriate equipment and a gym teacher a comedy vaulting routine is a relatively easy acrobatic routine to learn. You may like to video Bouncing Around for reference. Vaulting routines have been very popular for many years. The acrobatic or gymnastic skill needed to perform an effective vaulting routine is minimal. The most difficult and dangerous part is to get the timing right. Qualified adult supervision is needed at all times and no matter how experienced the performers are, safety should be the number one priority.

The Knap

A 'knap' is the art of pretending to be hit when performing live, without the aid of special camera angles of sound effects [as in TV or movies]. The performers must practise simulating the sound of, for instance, being slapped, by clapping their hands as someone swings an open hand near their face. A lot of practise and team work is required. The Loonies demonstrate these during their shows. To do a really effective knap the whole set of movements [the swing, the effect of the impact and the fall at the end] should appear ~ larger than life ~ and greatly exaggerate. Other sorts of knaps involve pretending to walk into walls or doors, trips or falls or being ~hit~ with objects.

Question Time

Towards the end of the Loonies' show there is a 10 to 15 minute question time. The Loonies have found that a lot of high school students tend not want to ask questions [we assume they feel it is not cool to do so]. It would be appreciated if high school teachers can discuss with the future Loonies audience some of the information provided to try and encourage some curiosity. The same can be done with primary school audiences though there is usually no problem getting good questions from 3rd grade up to year 7. If performing only to k to 2nd grade the loonies usually skip questions time and spend some extra time reassuring the children that we are not really hitting each other ''so don't go out in the playground and whack your friends''.

Before the Show

There are 4 important points that are made before the start of each show. 
1.During the show you may see us hitting each other etc. But we are not. We are doing something called "slapstick comedy '' which is when you pretend to hit someone and they fall down and it looks really funny.   We ensure to assure particularly younger children in the audience "don't panic or cry" its all pretend and we are actually quite good friends.
2. The audience must remain seated and no running around or a Loonies might land on someone by accident. 
3. When we were learning acrobatics we were taught by various very experienced adult acrobats and gymnasts. Never train alone. 
4. Warming up and stretching are a vital part of acrobatics and any other intense physical activity. Note the type of warm ups we do for acrobatics may not be particularly suitable for other sports activities.

Discussion Topics.

1. Talk about the two characters in the show . Who played the fool the most? Who seemed like the boss? Who got the last laugh? Try to describe each character with three words i.e. tough, nasty, and rude or was the character playful mischievous and naughty. There are many levels to each crazy character and we each take turns at playing the fool. Children seem to focus on certain qualities of each performer.

2. How to learn acrobatics? Does any body know any other acrobats? [ probably not, there are not many acrobats around nowadays ] ! Learning gymnastics is probably the closest thing to acrobatics. Other similar activities include, Trampolining, Spring board diving, aerobics and possibly weight training and body building [ many of the worlds best hand balances acrobatics involving handstands, singly or in groups have a background in body building or weight training ].

3. Both of the performer have children of their own.   A lot of kids find it fascinating to imagine what it must be like to have either Daniel or Norman as a father.  Would it be fun or scary.

4. Let your imagination go wide.  Think up some crazy and not so crazy ideas where the acrobatic skills you saw the guys do could to used in everyday life.

5. Which trick was your favourite, Which trick was the funniest. Was there any time when you thought the guys had actually hurt themselves.  Which trick looked the most difficult to do.

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