Nobody panic I'm a doctor — of juggling (7 photos)

In a couple of years she’s going to be a Doctor of Juggling.

No, for real.

In a few weeks, Toronto-based performer Morgan Anderson, or ‘Mogo’ as she’s known to her fans, is beginning PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies at York University in Toronto.

Her focus in that program is juggling.

She said she's looking forward to being able to say to a group of people 'nobody panic I'm a doctor - of juggling.'

Anderson is performing a street juggling show for Sault audiences this week as part of the Fringe North performing arts festival.

Anderson got into juggling in high school.

Her father, who’s actually an accountant, would pester her and her brother to try new things all the time.

‘You’d have to at least try it’, he’d say.

While ‘techy’ suggestions like video game design and computer programing never stuck, wrestling turned into a five year hobby and juggling is now her career.

At 17, Anderson ended up at Queens University studying Theatre.

During her first year she joined the juggling club and got into it so much that by third year she was president.

Next week she submits her final 50-page paper for her Masters program — A Juggler’s Guide to New Materialism.

The focus of that paper is ‘objects and atmospheres in contemporary juggling performances’ — basically, the actual items jugglers use and how those can tell stories.

In that paper, Anderson said she talks about Gandini Juggling, a company that juggles and smashes apples at the end, and the Institute of Jugglology, an Arkansas based group that will juggle with sand-filled objects.

“Juggling can express things that other art forms can’t,” said Anderson who’s very passionate about it.

Anderson highlighted the Institute of Juggology as an example.

“When they juggle with sand, it falls out as they go and makes a picture in the air and elongates the club (also) the air becomes visible because the sand is flowing through it,” she said. “By extending the amount of time the clubs are (visible) in the air, it plays with time.”

Fringe North is actually the first show that Anderson has put together.

While she wanted to stick a more traditional act this time, she did incorporate using high heels.

“If you juggle an object like shoes, they already have a meaning attached to them. It connects with an audience better and can tell a story,” she said.

During her performance she uses her shoes as a source of comedy.

"These high heel shows are four inch tall... platform pump... high heels. These are platform pumps of peril! Or should I say, apparel."

(One person laughs)

"One person in the back, thank you for that," she said.

Anderson has a knack for incorporating objects in an interesting way

Besides juggling with shoes, she passes out pull-n-peel candy at her shows, she uses ice cream tubs as part-stage markers, part-donation tubs, and part-comedy prop (she likes to go on about how she likes ice cream), and she has five and a half foot long unicycle that she pretends is her pet giraffe ‘Scarlett’ and she lets kids pet it.

Some kids get scared of Scarlett and refuse, it's funny.

Around 10 Fringe North street performers will outside Roberta Bondar Pavillion during the day from Aug. 10-20.

Those performers include Mogo, other jugglers, an illusionist, circus performers, a clown, musicians, and more.

Fringe also has other performances scheduled around the city.

For more information visit their website.