This section is part of a full New Victory® School Tool® Resource Guide. For the complete guide, including information about the New Victory Education Department, check out: NewVictory.org/SchoolTool INSIDE A behind-the-curtain look at the artists, the company and the art form of this production

COMMON CORE STANDARDS Reading: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7 Summary Writing: 2; 3; 4; 6; 7; 9; 10 Speaking and Listening: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6 There’s juggling, and then there’s this. When the three-man Language: 1; 2; 3 troupe of WATER ON MARS hits the New Vic stage flinging rings, balls and clubs in hypnotic streaks of lite-brite neon, everything is extraterrestrial. Striving—and succeeding—to NEW YORK STATE STANDARDS Arts: 1; 2; 3; 4 one-up themselves with every act, these juggling pros keep English Language Arts: 1; 2; 3; 4 rhythm with an electro-pop soundtrack as they add bottles Social Studies: 1; 2; 5 of water, bags of candy and rolls of toilet paper to the list of Science: 4 airborne objects. Just try and look away from this physical, funny and riotous performance. You can’t! Your gaze, like every BLUEPRINT FOR THE ARTS object tossed into the air, will be suspended in disbelief. Theater: Theater Making, Developing Theater Literacy, Making Connections

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INSIDE JUGGLING + ACROBATICS × DANCE = Where in the world is WATER ON MARS from? STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN W ATE R ON MARS A Closer look:

Based in Stockholm, Sweden, circus company Plastic Boom specializes in juggling and has toured across Europe and North America with its first FUN FACTS production, WATER ON MARS. The company was started in 2013 by three In order for them to juggle the entire artists with a shared passion for inventing new ways to make juggling cool 3,925-mile distance from Stockholm, and fun! Sweden, to New York City, the trio of acrobats would need to keep their Wondering what the title WATER ON MARS means? Well, it represents juggling pins in the air for 8 hours and 20 minutes! discovery! Just like the water that NASA scientists recently found on the planet Mars, the talented cast of WATER ON MARS always works to discover new and exciting ways of developing different tricks while incorporating various art forms like dance and music into their juggling acts. The company has performed for the King and Queen of Sweden on three separate occasions. All three members of the company—America’s Wes Peden and Tony Pezzo and Sweden’s Patrik Elmnert—are award-winning jugglers! Tony took the gold at the International Jugglers Association Championships, Wes brought home the bronze from the Parisian Cirque De Demain and Patrik holds a The primary official language of world record for his quadruple pirouette under three clubs. Sweden is Swedish. The country’s five other official languages are Finnish, Meänkieli, Yiddish, Sami and Romani. In 2009, Patrik and Wes set a Guinness World Record for Most Club Passes Caught by a Duo Whilst Juggling—13 clubs and 26 catches!

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JUGGLING CIRCUS ACROBATS

The art of juggling is the oldest of the WATER ON MARS isn’t a circus in the In WATER ON MARS, the juggling disciplines of circus. Juggling as an art traditional sense, but it’s rooted in circus trio creates spectacle by presenting form has existed for about 4,000 years! nonetheless! The circus has western roots acrobatics as a means of storytelling. The oldest known depiction of juggling in the traditions of the Roman Empire. Acrobatic performance entails feats was found in the Beni-Hassan tombs Acrobats, jugglers and trained exotic of brute strength, agility, coordination from the middle-kingdom of the ancient animals wowed crowds in large tiered and balance. The WATER ON MARS Egyptian civilization. Jugglers were found stadiums before battles and chariot performers climb on top of one another, amongst acrobats and dancers in one of races. The tradition of a traveling circus flip over each other and use each other the crypt’s wall paintings. The drawing has been upheld for centuries in cultures as human counterweights. This type of itself was made about 2000 years B.C.E. around the world. Circus legends like P.T. performance dates all the way back to the Between the fourth and fifth centuries Barnum (who famously reinvented the Minoan civilization around 2000 B.C.E., B.C.E., many jugglers began appearing in circus in America in the late 1800s) paved with citizens performing acrobatics on Greek art, usually as pottery decoration. the way for the modern circus by making top of bulls. You will definitely see the it an awe-inspiring spectacle for all ages. same elements of danger and excitement in this high-flying performance.

WHAT DO YOUR STUDENTS KNOW NOW ?

Prior to exploring WATER ON MARS with your students, find out how much they already know about JUGGLING. In addition, allow them to explore the theme: SPECTACLE.

Can you juggle? If so, how did you learn? If not, have you ever seen a juggler perform in real life?

What laws of physics makes juggling possible?

Have you ever seen a contemporary circus before? What did you enjoy about it and why?

What element(s) of circus do you like best? Why?

Where do you think you might see spectacle at play in WATER ON MARS?

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THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION (SCIENCE)

Without gravity, juggling simply wouldn’t be possible. Use the experience of seeing WATER ON MARS to inspire a research project about gravity and Sir Isaac Newton, famous for his law of gravitation! Over the course of a few days, have your students research Newton’s law of gravitation, what gravity is and what it does, and other discoveries made by Newton, such as his laws of motion! Once they’ve completed their research, have your students share one cool fact they learned with the class. As an added bonus, have each student demonstrate, using only classroom objects, different aspects of the law of gravitation. To support this unit, use the Activity: Having A Ball! in the Before section and the Creativity Page: The Ups and Downs of Juggling.

CIRCUS AROUND THE WORLD (SOCIAL STUDIES, THEATER ARTS)

WATER ON MARS, which features performers from the U.S. and Sweden, employs elements of circus. Explore different circuses around the world with your students! Give them the opportunity to research the different kinds of circuses affiliated with different countries and cultures. Have students review their findings, citing similarities and differences in the circuses from different cultures. Then, have them write about or draw what they’ve learned about different circuses and then present their findings to the class or a partner.

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