Kids and comedy; Ah~ Relief

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Victor Verrill of Canton is seen here in the middle of the Tardy Brothers’ juggling act at Ludden Memorial Library recently. The Tardy Brothers had children and parents alike roaring (following Victor’s lead) with their ageless humor and juggling of various items. (Times photo by Cherri Crockett)

DIXFIELD- The basement of Ludden Memorial Library may have a low ceiling and not the ideal place for jugglers to perform their act, but it didn’t stop the Tardy Brothers from raising the roof in front of a packed crowd recently. With onlookers standing in the stairwell, it was apparent that a larger space is in need for their next visit.
“By far, you get the award for the smallest space we’ve ever performed in,” stated Jason Tardy. “Anybody have a saw?”
With the exception of one outburst of laughter from a child in the front row, you could hear the crickets hiding in the corners.
“We need a high energy audience! Can you help us with that,” asked Jason.
“Woohoo!” That one child in the front row, Victor Verrill, was all over it. He applauded and laughed.
Dealing with a tough audience, The Tardy Brothers began their work of getting the rest of the room on board with Victor, and made short time of it, too.
“Between the two of us,” noted Matthew Tardy. “We have the training of one real professional.”
With the various knives, balls, medieval tools and a plunger to toss back and forth to one another, they had the audience by the laugh strings in no time.
Matthew brought on some grimaces and lots of laughs when he began contorting himself to fit through various objects; a tennis racket, a chair and a metal loop. One little girl in the front row peered through her fingers with her hands up to her face, while Victor sat and drummed his hands to the music and yipped and yelled in praise of the show.
By the time the grand finale rolled around, the crowd didn’t want the show to end. The brothers pulled Chris Overdorf, a parent from Peru, out of the audience to help them with their last juggling stunt.
Overdorf was handed an orange glove and told to hold the “business end” of a toilet plunger and to “hold very still.”
With knives flying through the air, accompanied by a medieval spike ball, the brothers wowed the audience as they incorporated the plunger into the mass of objects whizzing toward their faces.
The Tardy Brothers have performed across the country, on national television and have appeared twice at the White House. They will perform for FREE at your school.
For more information, visit www.thetardybrothers.com.