The Juggle Is Real

With a big red nose, a pair of large clunky shoes, and a bright smile, junior Chaz Amit-Guite enters the stage juggling three clubs while balancing on their unicycle. For Amit-Guite, being a clown isn’t a joke; it’s a major part of who they are.
Since a young age, Amit-Guite has loved to entertain. They said that Clowning, which they have been doing for almost three years, is a great way to put their love of entertaining into something else they enjoy: being goofy.
“Clowning is a very big umbrella of things, for me personally it’s a blend of drag and being a clown,” Amit-Guite said. “ For me, clowning isn’t even about being a clown but performing, it’s the vehicle to perform.”
Amit-Guite said that they are fully self-taught with juggling, clubs, and their makeup. It took a bit of practice to figure out what they wanted to do with it and they don’t have a teacher or use online classes.
“I love tricks that involve juggling and balancing,” Amit-Guite said. “I’ve been procrastinating on learning to unicycle and juggle at the same time”
For Amit-Guite, clowning goes beyond leisure. They said that they have an almost ritual— if they ever need to process anything they go on a balance board or they’ll juggle to brainstorm or think through things.
“The earliest Halloween I can remember was the first time I ever dressed up as a clown,” Amit-Guite said. “ I started actually being interested in clowning when my Acting teacher, Kim Taylor, approached me to do a juggling act in the first Phantasmagoria Talent Show.”
Amit-Guite said that while they knew how to juggle before the talent show, they worked hard to learn new clowning skills to perform.
“Chaz is fully committed to their clowning,“ said acting teacher Kimberly Taylor. “They have amazing stage makeup, really great physicality, and is an incredible juggler.”
Taylor said that they not only are talented but one thing that she really admires is Chaz’s dedication to clowning. She said they are always working hard on perfecting their skills and tricks.
“It was so fun to do a performance with a student and particularly a student as talented as Chaz is in this field,” Taylor said. “ I felt honored to be on stage with them.”
Phantasmagoria production team member senior Mary Schickedanz said that Phantasmagoria is a talent show put on every year in the spring the advanced acting class directs and produces the talent show. They have set skits the class puts on but also hold auditions for acts,
“When Chaz auditioned we immediately knew they had to be in the show,” Schickedanz said. “They have such a unique talent, and are so good at what they do.”
Schickedanz also said that Chaz’s dedication to their skill was incredibly admirable and showed through in their performance. She said that Chaz’s stage presence was what made their act so incredible.
“For me, it’s all about expressing myself, showing the world what I can and enjoy [doing],” Amit-Guite said. “To be honest it is a lot about attention, and it’s a very eye-catching talent, but most importantly is fun to do and gives me a way to connect with people through humor.”