Temple Photojournalism
PEOPLE OF THE STREETS/
JUGGLER / MIKE LEROY
Text and Photos by Holli Stephens
Juggler In The Park
“I hope the adults get that I’m here for the kids first and the adults second.”
Mike Leroy bends down over blanket abundant in circus-like props to exchange the three tennis rackets he was juggling for some brightly colored bowling pins. It is the first warm day of the year, which translates to him as a perfect time to start up his juggling routines in the front of Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia.
He has been juggling since he was 11 and over the years has performed for companies and independently alike. His present goal however, is to catch the lunch crowd so he can tell jokes to the kids as he juggles different objects.
“This has been my thing for quite a while. And oh look, here comes a cop now. I think they like me because I’m not soliciting or asking for money. I don’t want people to feel forced to give me any money.”
A herniated disc, arthritis of various body parts, and several other injuries made Leroy quit for five years. At one point in his career, he had been juggling knives, chainsaws and balancing bicycles on his head, but that is all now a routine of the past.
Now, the children are what keeps him going.
“When I do street performing, I do it for the children. The children are always on their iPads or just sitting around doing nothing. I juggle with them. I have a couple of kids and two or three families come more than to see my show and then I teach them stuff so it’s interactive. I think that’s why they let me stay there.”
Leroy is also a founding member of the Philadelphia Jugglers Club, which came about in 1981. Sadly, he doesn’t affiliate with the organization anymore because of the businessman mentality that the group has gotten.
“It used to be more for fun, now everyone is trying to get more into it as a business and it was created as a nonprofit to bring in people who weren’t professionals. But now it seems to be professional and I just don’t think its proper use as a medium.”
Though juggling has been around for centuries, Leroy is astounded at how the younger generation responds to his tricks.
“The old is the new. They’re digging my stuff and what I’m doing.”
