Michael Moschen
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Michael Moschen grew up in Greenfield, Massachusetts, with
Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller, as a
next-door-neighbor. Thus is comes as no surprise that he learned to
juggle at age 12. Michael got his first professional jobs with Penn,
and the duo worked for a summer at an amusement park. Soon after, his
self-discipline manifested itself, and he dropped out of high school.
His reasoning was that he was not learning how to teach himself, so he
essentially home-schooled himself. He became a street performer, and a
founding member of the Big Apple Circus from 1977-1980. Michael has
gone on to develop entirely new forms of juggling, taking the art to
completely new heights. While most jugglers use three balls, he created
a ten-foot triangle in which he stands to bounce the balls all around
his body. He studied the fragility of crystal balls and through hours
of exploration and practice, developed a method of rolling them over
his hands so that they seem to float before him. He minimizes his own
presence through blank expressions and dark clothing so as to highlight
the unique motions of his props. He constantly finds new means of
manipulations of his props, which has lead him into the study of
architecture, to serve as a carpenter's assistant, and challenged him
to learn dance, martial arts, and acrobatics. He has traveled all over
the world in his 24-year career, but prefers to spend time at home with
his wife, Danielle Mailer, and their daughter, Isabella.
