Passengers On The Bus, by Dave Gillies
All of my fifth grade students learned to juggle. Many were so inspired and talented that they quickly exceeded their teacher in technical virtuosity. I was very proud of them. Some discovered a love for performing. A few, such as David Cousin, went on to successful careers as entertainers after a period of apprenticeship with Give & Take.
Being a teacher is not like being a gardener: you don't always know how those seeds are going to grow, or if they do, if it's because of what you did. Nevertheless, my young prodigies and I were soon joined by other talented and aspiring performers.
John O'Brien
John joined Give & Take as an apprentice in 1990 while being home-schooled. Several years later he said to Dave, "We should get a website," to which Dave countered, "What's a website? We just got a fax machine!" Thinking he was merely indulging this up-and-coming computer geek, Dave acquiesced, "jugglers.com? Oh, sure. Why not?"
In the fall of 2002, John went on extended hiatus to attend the University of Coloado at Boulder. Six years later he finally returned from the foothills of the Rockies having earned a Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2006), and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering (2008). Among his accomplishments: being selected for a 2005 NIST SURF internship where he worked on the atomic clock; and receiving a graduate research fellowship from Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials—now Nuvotronics—for electromagnetic design and development of microfabricated radio frequency systems (Si Pak and PolyStrata).
John recently took a position with an aerospace company as a Communications Systems Engineer to design computer networks for satellites.
When he isn't tinkering with computers and electronics, John loves to take pictures and fly airplanes.
Devin Bird, A Different Drummer
Devin is an artist with a broad yet peculiar vision. He is both fun loving and a bit enigmatic. Smiling, whistling, driving a 1966 Volkswagen Beetle, he pursues the extraordinary and impractical.
As a young boy he saw Give & Take performing at the Mercer Museum Fair in Doylestown and soon became an apprentice with the company as part of his home schooling. In addition to juggling and riding the unicycle, he sings, writes songs, and plays drums and hammered dulcimer. He is skilled as a blacksmith, and does specialized metal and woodworking for the Smithsonian Institute. His atelier/salon in Bucks County is a favorite haunt of musicians and artists.
Devin is a dual citizen of both the United States and Great Britain and he has lived in five different countries. His secondary education was obtained in Europe studying at Le Petit College d'Art in Lyon, France, Design Academy Eindhoven in Holland, and University of the Arts in London. He loves boats, puns and being impulsive. He admires Buster Keaton and Bill Irwin.
David Cousin
Juggler David Cousin is a holder of 5 world records in juggling. He has performed professionally for both children and adults since 1980. The formerly Philadelphia based juggler relocated to California, performing both locally and internationally. His comedy juggling show consists of audience involvement, interaction, and music.
As a member of the Give & Take Jugglers David opened for John "Cougar" Mellencamp on concert tour, performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra in their children's concerts and for the Philadelphia Flyers' holiday parties.
He was featured in a national television special with Dick Clark and on Evening Magazine. He has appeared in a commercial for Showboat Hotel and Casino and made several television news channel appearances.
Keith Eveslage
Since being inspired by a magic set at age nine, Keith, of The Keith Show!, has had an interest in learning cool tricks and funny stunts. A few years later, after learning to juggle, he added useless skills to his repertoire. In 1982, at the age of 15, he was first paid to perform for a birthday party. People were delighted. Keith was amazed, thinking, "My skills now have a purpose!" Keith began street performing at Philadelphia's Newmarket while still in high school. He performed with a partner as a member of the Give & Take Jugglers at a wide array of malls, colleges, and high schools, while continuing to perform solo at parties. He continued to squeeze a few street performances in at Harvard Square while studying theater at Emerson College in Boston. After honing his chops with two to three performances every night for four months at the famous Key West sunset celebration, Keith moved west. Based in San Francisco since 1990, he has continued to sharpen his skills by performing from street to stage. Keith has had the opportunity to study with some of the world's top performers by attending workshops and seminars in juggling, circus related skills, movement, comedy writing, and overall performance. Even with twenty years experience in engaging audiences, The Keith Show is an ongoing work and is constantly improving.
Thien Phuc
Thien and I met on the street in Philadelphia on July 4, 1976. We worked together busking at NewMarket for three years, learning a great deal from the experience and from each other. Phuc (pronounced "Foo") is currently doing the cruise ship circuit and raising a family in Daytona Beach FL.
Page Wolper
Between studying for tests at Girls High, honor students Page Wolper, Ghia Rosenthal, and Sarah DeLeon added their considerable talents and charms to the troupe before going off to the far corners of the earth.
Alexa Cox
Alexa worked with us while she completed her studies at Project Learn and Girls High.
Peter Gerber
Peter, who can do five clubs with back crosses, came from his native Bavaria as an exchange student to study and perform with us for one year.
Stephen McMenniman
Fifth grade student Stephan McMenamin excelled at club passing and after fifteen years discovered what it was that I liked about Bob Dylan.
Tom VanVoorhees
Tommy apprenticed with us while getting through Abington Jr and Sr HS. Now managing a cheese shop in Grand Central Station NYC and bringing up son Oliver.
Joel Shepard
Another one of the fifth grade prodigies. Joel performed with the company for several years, then left to find more excitement jumping out of airplanes in defense of our country.
Matt Baum
Matt of Doylestown, expertly coached by Elsa, did many shows with us while at Central Bucks West.