BUCKFIELD – People would guess it was a critical part of the stage act, like a lion tamer’s careful instruction to his beast.
The soft stage chatter among the juggling trio Fusion – tossing the spinning batons in a sudden blur – often drew a hush from audiences.
If they only knew. After years together, the moves had become second-nature.
“Sometimes we were asking each other what we wanted to have for dinner after the show,” said Mike Miclon. “It would be Chinese or Italian?’ or “what’s on TV tonight?'”
“It was the most complicated part of the show, but it was natural,” Miclon said of his performances with brothers Matthew and Jason Tardy. “I swear, it got very symbiotic.”
That’s why after several years apart, the group has reunited.
Their moves and their synchronicity on stage have returned, Miclon said.
The three plan to put on a show Saturday, selling tickets for an evening performance at Miclon’s Oddfellow Theater in Buckfield. And they are planning more.
They have even created a Web site: www.whoisfusion.com.
“I think we have a shot at being a lot bigger than we were before,” Miclon said.
The brothers Tardy deserve a lot of the credit, said Miclon, who mentored them for years.
“They took juggling to a whole different place,” he said.
It was Miclon who discovered the Tardys as teenagers in the mid-1990s, bringing them on as apprentices.
They worked with him for six years. As Fusion, they played festivals and shows across New England and they often performed at the Oddfellow.
“We were just taking off,” he said. “The momentum was starting to build.” Then, it was over.
This week, the three will be back together. They’ll rehearse a few old bits and write some new ones. They’ll use the trust they began building more than a decade ago.
“As you’re writing, you basically never say no’ to each other,” Miclon said.
dhartill@sunjournal.com
Everything grows from that safe place, he said.
Matthew married in 2000 and moved to Vermont. Jason followed his brother. And Miclon went to work for the now-defunct Maine Festival.
Everyone grew.
Miclon continued to work as a solo performer, operating his theater and hosting his trademark Early Evening Shows while juggling and working as a comedian.
Meanwhile, the brothers created their own juggling duo, Two Show.
All have been successful. For instance, Miclon performed last year at the White House’s annual Easter egg roll. This year, Two Show performed.
But they missed performing together as a trio. Soon, events made it possible.
Matthew moved to New Hampshire. And Jason, who had already begun booking shows for Miclon and Two Show, decided the distances could be met.
“We wanted to work with Mike more,” Jason said.
They tested the idea last winter at Sunday River. With little time to rehearse, they decided to adapt Two Show routines to include Miclon and watched videos of themselves five years ago to refresh their memories to the old moves.
They came back smoothly. Each found his role, this time as peers.
Miclon is the comedian. Matthew is the technician. Jason merges the two.
“I’m in the middle, with a little bit of each,” said Jason, who manages all three.
His company name: Atypical Management.
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