Juggling three balls, rings or clubs apiece, 11 students in the Feinberg School of Medicine broke out of a circle and started careening into one another, each attempting to be the last one left in the juggling version of “gladiators.”

Every Sunday at 2 p.m., the tranquility of the Method Atrium in the Tarry Research and Education Building on Northwestern’s Chicago Campus suddenly evaporates. That’s when members of Feinberg’s official juggling club, the Jugulars, whip out clubs, balls, stilts and balloon swords to hone their “semi-circus” performance skills.

Andrew Haynes, a first-year medical student and the club’s president, said a major part of juggling involves making things look harder than they really are.

“My favorite part is performing for kids,” Haynes said. “They’re easy to impress.”

The Jugulars put on six shows each year and perform for children through organizations such as Children’s Memorial Hospital and Camp Wildcat, an outreach program for underprivileged Chicago children. Earlier this year, the club performed for Alzheimer’s patients at Warren Barr Pavilion and put on an act for their peers during “In Vivo,” Feinberg’s annual sketch comedy show.

Kyle Basques, one of In Vivo 2010’s producers and a second-year medical student, said the Jugulars stood out with their mixture of juggling and comedy.

“They’re a lot of fun and a good time for the audience,” said Basques, who has also stopped by a couple of practices.Jack Snarr, the Jugulars’ adviser and a former Feinberg associate dean for student programs, said the club’s performances excite young patients.

“It’s lighthearted,” Snarr said. “It’s a good social thing.”

Snarr officially formed the Jugulars in 1998 with medical student Beth Villavicencio. Snarr said he remembers Villavicencio bringing juggling clubs along on a retreat for incoming medical students in 1993. New waves of medical students continue making the club flourish, he said.

Sam Yu, a second-year medical student and former club president, said practicing in the Method Atrium captures people’s attention and sometimes entices them to juggle. At practices, club members frequently ride on a mini bike and walk around on pairs of wooden stilts with gym shoes nailed to the bottom.

Haynes said the Jugulars is a laid-back club and provides a casual environment for first-year medical students to chat with second-year medical students. When older members such as first-year Ph.D. student Eugenie Suter show up, Haynes said everyone asks them questions.

Suter, who studies interdepartmental neuroscience, also specializes in creating balloon animals and juggling rings.

“Whenever you make balloon animals, you dread people asking for something other than a dog,” Suter said as she pumped up a balloon.

While none of the Jugulars are perfect performers, members stress that everyone in the club does something special.

“It definitely is an organization for juggling enthusiasts of all experience levels,” said Senthil Selvaraj, a second-year medical student. “The performances are the point of the club.”

Haynes said members learn from one another and also use sites like Google and YouTube to find new ideas.

Members also notice parallels between juggling and medicine. Yu said for both doctors and jugglers, it’s important to know when they are wrong and when they don’t know how to do something. However, Yu said they both also need to know when they are right.

“There’s so much teamwork and trust,” Yu said.[email protected]