Where in the world am I today?: La Romana, The Caribbean
In the category of ‘props that don’t break,’ today’s post is about the cigar boxes that are produced and distributed through dubé juggling equipment in New York City.
http://www.dube.com/cigarbox/poly.php
Years ago when I first started performing I used wooden cigar boxes and although the aesthetic with a wooden box is arguably nicer, although the satisfying thunk as the boxes are snapped together sounds more resonant, the simple truth is that when dropped over a number of weeks/months wooden cigar boxes don’t hold up. The corners of the boxes gradually disintegrate, the ends come off and you either need to re-glue them or replace them.
All of that changed in 1990 when dubé debuted his polyethylene cigar boxes. The boxes are produced in vivid colored plastic or black though for me that’s not really a concern as I decorate my boxes with gold foil tape. I believe the mold that dubé used has changed at lease once over the years and the poly boxes that I bought earlier on were slightly larger and I had a couple of ends crack on me after repeated abuse. The replacement boxes have a slightly smaller profile and have given me no problems what so ever. The just work. About the only care and feeding I need to do with this prop is to occasionally clean and re-decorate the boxes with new tape. That’s it. In my book that’s a great prop!
Hi Dave,
Glad to hear that you like this box because I just got a bunch of them a few months ago to replace my second batch of wooden ones.
Several years ago at the juggling festival in Niagara or Buffalo, I forget which, I bought the last of the Ben Decker Boxes they had – about 12 of them. I LOVED THEM but they no longer make them 🙁
I have been using them for a number of years, and with 3 extra, was able to make the “needed 9” last until a year ago. I bought another set of boxes from somewhere that I can’t even remember, but they were smaller than the Ben Deckers and I didn’t like them.
So onto these new plastic Dube’s – I’m excited because they do seem darn near indestructable, comparatively. But I’m sad that they are lighter than the Ben Deckers
In my first show I couldn’t believe all my drops!
But mostly, I’m chagrined because they are harder to stack – I find them much more wobly than the Deckers. I had a stack topple in the show last weekend using them. I think it’s because the sides are curved, and hence less contact area between the boxes – but I’m not sure. In the end I think I will have to learn to like these, for their durability, not to mention availability.
But, I seem to have survived the switch to mac, so what’s learning to juggle a new prop?
Bob
http://www.comedyinmotion.com
I used to have some Ben Decker Boxes as well… Liked them a lot, but like all wooden boxes the did end up breaking eventually…
Hmmm… PC to Mac transition… That might be good Blog Fodder… I’ve been a Mac Fan Boy for years though, so it’s not like I’d be able to speak from a place of actual relevance…
Thanks for continuing to read…
Cheers,
d.