Randy Lyons

Randy is, of course, our founding member, and has coordinated getting us space to play in, and also is the webmaster of this site. He teaches juggling at the local adult evening school, and is actually one of the real Traveling Wilburys.

email: gotajugl@msn.com

Randy also juggles professionally. Click here more information about Randy's performances.

Jack McMichael

Jack is in his 50's (as are several of us), but enjoys his juggling like a kid. Jack also enjoys fishing, boating, collecting toy trains and other neat-o stuff. In his other life, Jack's a high-level insurance and risk management consultant for important companies. (Complete this sentence: "Juggling is like risk management because... ")

Jack participates in the Turks Head program for the recreation, the camaraderie, and the stimulating conversation. That's what he tells us he gets out of it. BUT what he puts into it is, like, really important. When Randy can't be there to open the gym, it's most likely Jack (or Frank Goedeke -- see below) who will be there to unlock the door and be the mature presence to keep things safely under control. (And who's better qualified to do that than a risk management consultant?)

Jack is also the architect and builder of our "playpen" -- a 4-sided frame with netting on the walls to keep a bounce juggler's silicone balls from bouncing or rolling away. Very cleverly made, words don't do it adequate description -- you gotta stop in to see this!!

While Jack works with a bunch of different pieces of juggling apparatus, he's quite fond of passing clubs with almost anyone who'll comply. And he's polishing up his 4-ball fountain and moving on to a 4-ball shower. (Lots of luck, Jack!!)

Frank Goedeke

Frank is another of our Very Most Important Members. Like Jack, he often opens the gym and watches over things when Randy is away. And like Jack, Frank often works with newcomers to the Turks Head program -- getting them started with particular props, helping them with technique, making sure they feel like a part of the program. (This work is not just how you grow a program like the Turks Heads, it's critical to making the program survive!)

Frank is also a primary source for our music selections. (We keep a boom box going while we juggle.) We all owe Frank a debt of gratitude for widening and deepening our musical tastes.

In short, it's folks like Frank that make the Turks Head program work for all of us.

Frank focuses his juggling on ball and club work. And he keeps coming up with these reMARKable bounce juggling patterns. (Where does he GET these things??)

Frank is also closing in on a continuous 5-ball cascade. It's been a mighty struggle that's inspiried us all, but we all knew who would win in the end!! Way to go Frank!!

Ellen Thomas

Ellen began juggling because the Basket Weaving Class at the Adult Night School was cancelled.

She kept juggling because she could.

Through continued juggling, she hopes to discover the meaning of life... and gain control of five bouncing balls.

In addition to juggling, Ellen enjoys watching large machinery, playing and listening.

Bill Peirce

Bill tells us he's been juggling for as long as he can remember -- which (he says) is roughly two weeks. He calls himself a "juggler/comedian/musician/inventor." (Not many other people call him that, it doesn't roll that easily off the tongue, but that's okay.)

Bill says he's working on a trick which involves standing on a chair on one foot, spinning a ring with the other foot, juggling three balls, and balancing a club on his nose. At the critical dramatic moment, he grabs the club and ring and topples over the chair -- ending up on the ground juggling all three balls, AND the ring AND the club. He says: "I'm making pretty good progress on this trick: the three balls part is pretty darn solid!!" Hmmmmm...

We're always pleased to see Bill when he can make it to the gym. He seems pleased to be there: "I really enjoy the Turks Head program. People actually talk to me there."

email: william.peirce@genexservices.com

Russell Davis

Russell came to the Chester County area some time ago under a National Endowment for the Arts grant -- working with People's Light & Theatre on several new plays. (No great surprise here: some of them involved juggling...) Many of us went to see them, and they were big hits -- and we loved them. Author! Author!

Russell has been an instructor for the Big Apple Circus and worked as the consulting writer with Michael Moschen in his shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Lincoln Center. He directed Tony Duncan, who won the IJA championship in 1994.

We're pleased that he has finally worked his way up to the Turks Head Jugglers (ahem).

During practice sessions, we try not to gawk at Russell. He's an astonishingly good juggler, but it's not polite to gawk. Russell is also polite, so he pretends not to notice that we're trying not to gawk. We, in turn, try to ignore the fact that he's pretending not to notice that we're trying not to gawk.

For an extended bio, click here.

email: russell_davis@juno.com

email option: playwright@juggler.net

Dick Rainer

Dick's been juggling since he was 15, but got seriously hooked on juggling by Dave Gillies from the Give and Take Jugglers in 1982. He's been juggling professionally since 1985, and now performs full time as a Juggler and/or Stiltwalker and/or Unicyclist and/or Balloon Sculptor and/or Yo-Yo Artiste. WOW!

Several years ago, Dick moved from nearby Malvern to Doylestown, so he hasn't been able to attend our sessions as regularly as before. But when the Turks Head Jugglers were just getting started, Dick encouraged a number of fine jugglers to stop in to our sessions. Some of them are, in fact, still part of our group. So the THJ program owes a considerable debt of gratitude to Dick. Without him, we might have folded early in the going. Thanks, Dick!!

(Dick's working on getting a juggling group going up in Doylestown, and we wish him and his new friends all the success in the world.)

email: drainer@netzero.com

Click here to visit Dick's website.

Ryan Shiflet

Ryan is one of those "naturals." Juggling is just something that seems to have come along with the package. Like his freckles. He sets a pace for accelerated learning that sets a standard for the rest of us.

Recently, Ryan's participation in our program has been interrupted by some external trivialities. Like getting a job and making money. And cars. And girls.

We're sure that, in time, these distractions will disappear, and Ryan will come back to the real world. Juggling, that is.

email: shiffylube@hotmail.com

Mark Agostini

Mark was arguably the very first member of the Turks Head Jugglers, since he came up to Randy at a Night of the Jugglers performance at the very beginning and expressed an interest in joining.

Right now Mark's off to college in the Midwest somewhere -- despite the fact that Frank and Randy promised to teach him everything he really needed to know, if he'd only stay home. (He just plain turned the offer down!! Can you imagine?? Some folks are just like that...) Anyway, we miss him.

Paul Agostini

Paul is Mark's younger (better looking) brother, who started juggling just a couple of years ago, but now juggles like he's been doing it for 20 years. Which is a trick, since he's in his mid-teens.

Paul seems to have an inherent sense of the RIGHT way to stand, hold the club, move, catch -- all that stuff. Now if he'd only teach the rest of us...

email: jugglendude@yahoo.com

Steve Nagoski

Steve's a serious computer programmer -- when he gets bored with juggling. He's been juggling for about 11 years now, but brings enthusiasm of someone who's brand new at it. That's a good thing. Ask Steve about club passing...

email: fritzdkatt@fast.net

Stefan Lembo

Stefan is one of our youngest members, but he's been a Turks Head longer than almost anybody.

Stefan just graduated from West Chester Friends School, who owns the gym where we practice, and his mom is one of the teachers at the school. Plus, he lives just across the street from the gym. So he's about as legit as they come.

Stefan is now a student at Westtown School and stops in to see us when he can. Stefan brings energy and enthusiasm to our practice sessions, and we're always glad to see him. Somewhere inside of Stefan is a fine performer, waiting the chance to come out and entertain the world.

Tyler Bishton

Tyler is an extremely accomplished juggler.

In fact there are only two sets of juggling apparatus at which Tyler does not excel: prieble sticks and the Zhin-Zhin.

Good prieble sticks are practically impossible to get any more, since they stopped importing fazhouk wood from Ghorvin. International pressure about environmental concerns. Something like that.

On the other hand, the Zhin-Zhin hasn't been invented yet.

But everything else seems to be part of Tyler's repertoire, and he's happy to share what he knows. A great addition to our happy little band.

email: tbishton@hotmail.com

Others?

Yeah, sure, there's many others, but some of them are a bit shy about being posted on the net. You'll have to stop in and meet them yourself!!

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