EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: World-renowned comedic juggling duo performs at Luther Saturday

(by decorahnews.com's Ben Gardner):

The Passing Zone "Saves the World" is the premier event of Luther College's 2019-2020 Center Stage Series. It will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14 in the Main Hall of the Center for Faith and Life.

From the Tonight Show to America's Got Talent, Luther alumnus Jon Wee '88 and Owen Morse are the hilarious duo who take juggling to a surprisingly dangerous level in an effort to "save the world." Watch as these five-time Guinness World Record holders and 18-time International Jugglers' Association gold medalists attempt to save the world through awe-inspiring stunts and side-splitting laughter.

The following is an edited interview exchange between decorahnews.com and Jon Wee and Owen Morse.

Ben Gardner: Describe the comedy-juggling community.

Jon Wee and Owen Morse: When people hear the word "juggling" or "juggler," they often think of entertainment for children, or clowns, or street performers, or maybe the circus. I think most people don't realize how funny and entertaining a comedic juggler can be! People often tell us after our performances that the show should have been advertised as a comedy show, not a juggling show. And even though we are careful to be sure that we don't use humor in our show that is offensive to anyone, it is definitely geared toward an adult audience, not children. Definitely bring the kids, because they will love it. Bring the grandparents too. But our version of comedy and juggling is not a kids show!

Ben Gardner: How many times have you performed at Luther?

Jon Wee and Owen Morse: I am going to guess that we have performed at Luther about 15 times since I graduated from there 31 years ago (Class of '88).

Ben Gardner: What's the longest you've gone without juggling?

Jon Wee and Owen Morse: Good and interesting question! Probably with normal life happening, we have only gone about 2 or 3 weeks without juggling, while on family vacations and when work is unusually show. Owen maybe went one month after an injury where he broke his heel and had to not do much at all for a long time!

Ben Gardner: Describe the similarities of preparing a juggling routine and preparing comedic material. Describe the differences.

Jon Wee and Owen Morse: Juggling is very physical. Practicing and learning new juggling stunts involves a lot of sweat and effort, and is a lot like going to the gym. Developing comedy material is more cerebral. We sit down and brainstorm ideas. We list key words, or current events, or humorous props, and we like to get together sometimes with other comedic jugglers or magicians, and bounce ideas around. We write, and re-write, until we feel like we have a routine on paper that flows pretty well. After that, we begin to rehearse it, and a lot of changes take place during that process. Finally, far before it is perfect, we decide it is close enough to try it in front of an audience. Even if the piece is not finished, it is helpful to know what parts the audience likes, which jokes are getting laughs, and which ones it'd be better to finally cut from the piece. The audience is one of the most helpful parts of the creative process, because they will tell us much more accurately than we could ever tell ourselves, what is funny, and what is not funny!

Ben Gardner: In your time together, which has improved the most: comedy or juggling?

Jon Wee and Owen Morse: Definitely the comedy! We still do work on learning new juggling skills, but comedy is our biggest focus. In the beginning, we worked hardest on making the juggling better and better. But we finally realized that audiences are less interested in whether we can add one more object, and a lot more interested in how much we are entertaining them and making them laugh!

Ben Gardner: What sort of venues did you two work in at the beginning of your partnership? In comedy, they talk about paying your dues. Does the same hold for the comedy-juggling community?

Jon Wee and Owen Morse: We started at Renaissance Festivals, passing our hats for tips. I (Jon) basically paid for my college education that way! We also did a lot of parties, and picnics, and schools. Also walk-around gigs, where we were hired just to juggle and walk around at a party, to create a festive atmosphere.

Ben Gardner: What sort of stretching and preparation is involved prior to performances?

Ben Gardner: What's in the future for you two?

Jon Wee and Owen Morse: Our future plans are to keep doing what we're doing, traveling the world, having fun and making people laugh. We may try to sell our performance to Netflix for a comedy special. And we'd like to keep doing TV whenever possible. Expand our audience. We feel lucky to be doing what we love, and whatever form that takes in the future, we're excited to be doing it. And we are thrilled to be coming back to Luther College!

Tickets are on sale through Luther's Ticket Office and may be purchased online at http://www.tickets.luther.edu, or tickets@luther.edu or by calling (563) 387-1357.