Jules Ross
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| I took the car in to be serviced today, new tires, new battery connectors, and an oil change. But that is not what I wanted to talk about today, nor all the photoshop work I did last night and today. Even thought I came up with a cool digital infrared look. I will save that for later. No, it wasn’t until I was walking back to the service station to pick up my car that I happen to be waiting to cross the street with Jules Ross. Now, if you are a resident of Venice Beach you might know him or his work. He is a street performer that plays out his physical comedy act on unsuspecting pedestrians that walk by. For his act he goes into this playful mimicry mode that is quick thinking and on the spot improv, which to me is hilarious, and I often will go out of my way to watch him perform. Which is saying a lot considering how many street performers there are in Venice Beach. For those of you that have not seen his act I happen to have a clip of him below. |
| Normally I would keep to myself as I stood there waiting for the light to change. But because I admired his work so much I had to at least let him know that, so I spoke out “Jules, Right?” He focus his attend on me, and was very attentive as I told him how much I liked his work. Then he began asking about what I did as we walked along the sidewalk. I could tell right away this guy was really cool, so I began to ask him more questions. It seems he has been a performer for over 20 years now. Though he said even as a child he would perform in front of his family. He said he created his signature style which he refers to as a Chaplin/Marceau reminisce while he attended “the Marceau School of Mime” in Paris back in the mid 80′s. He mention that he got to meet Marcel Marceau and that he was a role model for him. The body suit stocking act, which I do not have footage of, he said came from a theater piece he was in a long time ago and thought it would be great for his street performance. Seems he did quite a bit of theater too. Because he does prey on making fun of unsuspecting people for it’s reaction, I had to ask has anyone seriously gotten offended? He just replied he has been punched, slapped, kicked, arrested and spit on. He said he is not sure why people get so offended over the littlest things, but I guess that is the price you pay for his brilliant work. As we continued talking, It seems he travels quite a bit. Doing his performance for fairs, shows and concert openings. I personally really enjoy watching him perform, and apparently he is a really sincere and overall nice guy. So if you are visiting Venice Beach and some guy comes out of no where and is tapping your head with a feather for a comical laugh. Don’t hit the guy, just lighten up and laugh at yourself. Then give him a buck or two for his performance. |
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