Acts in a renegade show, perhaps as a reaction to the commonly "g-rated" content of most juggling performances, frequently include drinking, heckling, and nudity, and are usually not open to the public (as opposed to the "gala show" at a juggling convention, an invitational and ticketed performance open to the public).
A renegade show usually occurs late in the evening and can continue for several hours (depending on the number of acts).
Since many acts at a renegade show are of low quality, sometimes the audience is encouraged to allow or deny a drink to a performer (determined by applause or heckling).
The idea was motivated and created by the Renegade Juggling Company (based in Santa Cruz, California) hence the name 'Renegade Show'.
To begin with it really was just a few jugglers (10 or 20) having a laugh, over the years the Renegade Show has become, more or less, an essential element of the EJC and also of many national and local juggling conventions.