peter gray performer

I spend most of my time as a circus - theatre performer balancing on a wobbly wire. In performance I express myself visually through character and music without saying a word.

I'm the eldest of two boys. My brother with his feet firmly planted on the earth, went in a business direction, becoming very successful as the years rolled on. I however wandered along life's path with my head in the clouds, dreaming and creating characters that would one day take audiences on an imaginative journey.

Even though my parents weren't from a circus or theatre background, they supported me as I went about shaping my career. Dad made me my first slackwire apparatus. He was good at welding and mum gave me some berets for juggling and other great costume materials. For many years, mum managed a Salvation Army Op shop which came in handy.

It all started in my backyard at the age of nine. I lived in the country town of Stawell in Western Victoria - Australia.

One day, Wirth's circus came to town by train. After the wagons were unloaded, the colourful procession passed our school yard on the way to the local oval and before I knew it, I was there amongst the festoon lights staring high into the bigtop excitedly waiting for the show to begin. I was completely lost in a world of my own.

The next morning on my way to school, I was sad when I walked past the empty oval to see just smouldering heaps of rubbish and a bed of scattered sawdust where the circus ring had been. I walked past an old tattered circus poster flapping against the rusty tin fence and wished I could be at the next town so I could see the spectacle all over again. How lucky those people were I thought.

But it wasn't long before I began to smile. As I sat at my desk, a wonderful idea popped into my head. Suddenly the teachers voice became distant and the sums on the board became a blur as I thought - "Why not have my own circus!"

When the bell rang, I rushed home from school. Found some of mum's old Hills Hoist clothesline wire under the house and tied it between a fence post and the framework of a swing. Then I set up my little portable record player making sure it was in the shade or else the records would buckle! On went the music and my imaginative world began. I played until the sun went down pretending I was a circus performer.

The wire was very low to the ground, so if I fell I wouldn't hurt myself. I'd step up in the middle of the wire, clutching one end of a crowbar with the other end firmly on the ground. When I was steady enough I'd hold the crowbar horizontal like a tightrope walker with a long balancing bar. After changing many records and having many falls, I eventually took my first balanced step. I couldn't believe it! My pretend world was becoming real! It wasn't long before I threw away the crowbar and took steps forward, then backwards. I found myself standing sideways on the wire and dancing to the music on the wire. It was fantastic fun and something that I did as soon as I'd get home from school and on the weekends.

Another thing I liked was dressing up in dad or mums old clothes and transforming my face with stage makeup. Every now and again we would go on a long trip down to the city to visit my aunty and one of the things that had to happen on the way was a visit to the magic shop to buy some clown makeup. I'd step into the shop with wide eyes, mesmerized by this colourful and intriguing world. I couldn't wait to get home and try it all out. Creating a character and dancing on the wire to stirring music helped me imagine I was in a real circus performing to a real circus band!

The next door neighbour would poke her head up on the other side of the fence to see what I was up to. My dad as he worked in the garage on his brick carting truck would hear circus music repeatedly all day. My brother was forced to endure endless impromptu shows featuring the latest tricks I'd learned, and my mum would look down from the kitchen window upon hearing me yell "Mum look what I can do now!" She would answer, "Not now son, I'm cooking!" She never over encouraged me, but I knew she was quietly proud.

Mum was a good cook and one of my favourites were crepe pancakes with sugar and lemon juice sprinkled all over. We had a lemon tree which seemed always loaded with lemons. Apart from providing shade for the dog in hot summers and juice for mum's pancakes, it was ideal for giving me objects to juggle with. Lemons were far better than balls, because when I dropped them they wouldn't be chased by the dog, bounce or roll away. I loved the rhythm action of juggling to the music and several squishy lemons further on I was amazed I managed to keep the three lemons in the air at once.

As my juggling improved I started to try it while balanced on the wire. It wasn't long before an act was beginning to take shape. What was a game was becoming a performance and little did I know I was becoming a slackwire artiste. I say slackwire, because my body was wobbling around all over the place. The wire wasn't tight at all! In my imagination I was a tightwire walker, but physically as a young kid I could never tighten it properly, so it simply became a wobbly wire. I was later glad about this, because in the entertainment world skills on a slackwire were not as commonly seen like on a tightwire. In fact what was happening in my backyard was the natural development of something unique. All starting from a child's imagination and the playing of games.

As time went by, many practising hours later and numerous shows at friend's barbeques, my performing career started to take off. Even though I have no official training, I have many people to thank, who helped me along this exciting and imaginative road.

Above all I need to thank my creator for giving me the talents and this wobbly idea in the first place.

For more about my characters and showbiz career please view my performance website:

www.wobblywire.com