Juggling witticisms

Deepa Bharath

For juggler Chaz Marquette, gravity isn’t a huge problem.

It’s a temporary setback that he can overcome with some or a lot

of practice.

This is Marquette’s first time at the Orange County Fair, but the

juggler’s witty speech and daring juggling acts with knives, batons

and jumping a rope while balancing on a 6-foot unicycle won rounds of

laughs and applause.

Michelle Shahin of Huntington Beach, who volunteered from the

audience to sit on Marquette’s shoulders as he rode a unicycle, said

she feared throughout the act that he would drop her.

“But I must admit he’s pretty talented,” a relieved Shahin said

after the show.

Allen Gradous of Santa Ana said he has seen many acts but enjoyed

Marquette’s humor.

“I liked the juggling, of course,” he said. “But I enjoyed the

jokes, too. That’s what makes it good for everybody -- for kids and

adults.”

His ability to improvise and have a dialogue with his audience

helps make his show more three-dimensional, Marquette said.

“I have a sharp tongue,” the man originally from Connecticut said.

“I’m from the East Coast.”

Marquette was right. His 25-minute show on Sunday was punctuated

by a lot of laughter.

“I got a master’s degree in sarcasm, all right?” he told his

audience right after he sent a zinger their way.

The 43-year-old Marquette started juggling about 23 years ago in

an attempt to help himself quit smoking, he said. Not only did he

quit, but he found himself a profession.

“Someone told me when I was a kid that I needed to find something

I enjoyed doing and then do that for a living,” he said.

So that’s exactly what Marquette did. It was a lot of work. He

usually practices about 15 minutes to warm up before shows. On a day

when he doesn’t have a show, he practices for about two hours on his

unicycle, an hour and a half juggling and trains with weights for 45

minutes.

Physical fitness and tenacity are musts for someone who aspires to

be a juggler, Marquette said.

“I don’t smoke or drink,” he said. “And I exercise every single

day. You need to be in great shape.”

Injuries? He’s seen most of them, if not all -- from rotator cuffs

to pinched nerves and contusions.

“But it’s all worth it to me,” Marquette says with a smile. “I

just love to make people laugh.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.