Michael Moschen

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.