Being on summer vacation from teaching,  I've started to do more shows lately, and two of those have been in assisted living homes.  The Casco Inn has a large, beautiful back yard in which I did one of these shows.  The other was in the rec room of the Sarah Frye Home, a renovated motel in the outskirts of Auburn, Maine.  Both days were especially hot, at least for summer time in Maine, The inside show was nice because of the air conditioning, but the outside show allowed me to do more juggling since there was no ceiling, glass or otherwise, above me.  I always love a show where I can juggle fire!

Both facilities are always very welcoming, and this summer was no exception.  While Casco's audience included a large dog, which always concerns me when I do the rabbit production, there were no interspecies incidents, so all was well.  The Frye home didn't have any other animals in the audience, but the nine year old great grand daughter of one of the resident added some fun enthusiasm to the afternoon.  There was also a married couple in visiting a resident.  They laughed so much throughout the show, but also encouraged the message with several "Amen's" at just the right times.

Both shows were successful (although Casco had me facing into the sun, which made some juggling difficult) and I trust the Gospel was clearly presented in both, the biggest victory might have been that I think I have finally figured out how to use my sound system.  By playing "Fanfare for the Common Man" prior to a specific juggling piece, cues me as to when I need to anticipate a change from generic background music to specific music to which I have a choreographed routine.