Vacation week for most of Long Island this week, and that means library shows. One of the interesting things about performing in libraries is that the library market tends to be counter-cyclical. When the economy is doing well, people don't go to the library as much. They go to the movies, the mall, and other places to spend money. However, when times are tight, as they appear to be now, suddenly free programs at your local library become much more appealing. I haven't noticed a major uptick this week, but that's probably because most libraries book several months in advance. I expect this to be a library-heavy summer.

The summer reading club theme for most states this year is "Be Creative At Your Library". The program I am going to be promoting is my balloon sculpting workshop. In 1994, I came up with a very simple but effective system for teaching kids how to make balloon animals, and since then, my balloon workshop has been very popular. I sent out 500 postcards yesterday to promote the program, so we'll see how many end up on the calendar. If you're reading this, take a peek at my library site- http://www.librarymagic.com- and see what you think.

In the news...

One of the perks of doing this for a living is the occasional surprise of finding yourself in a newspaper when you don't expect to. I recently performed at a nearby elementary school, and upon leaving my local Blockbuster store yesterday, I happened to glance at their freebie newspaper rack. My picture was on the cover of one of the town shoppers for the school show I did. Full color, nice write-up. I know it's just a local shopper, but it put a spring in my step. I'm not bragging, but I can honestly say I've lost track of how many times I've been in newspapers and magazines, and fortunately, it's always been positive. It's a nice feeling.

This past week I rolled 2 routines into my act for the first time. It's always a little nerve-wracking the first time you perform a trick in front of a live audience. No matter how much you rehearse, it's a bit scary performing it in front of real people. Fortunately, both tricks were well-received, and I expect to use one or both more in the future.

I am always surprised at how quick some magicians are to want to add a new piece to their acts; they buy them, and in the next week, they're performing them. Of the 2 tricks I added this week, one I bought/learned 2 years ago, and the other about a year ago. For me, it takes a long time to figure out all the particulars of where a trick should be in the act, and more importantly, why it needs to be in there. The fact that this past Friday was Friday the Thirteenth made the inclusion of one trick a natural fit, so I decided that would be debut day. Having the justification in my mind made its performance much more natural for me, and I think added to its successful presentation. Now I have my own hook to hang it on in future performances.

Short post to get back on track. 30 months of writer's block is hard to overcome...

Hopefully the next post will be a little more timely. Out for a few shows today and this evening. The evening show is a "Magic of Reading" show for students and parents on Long Island. Details tomorrow.

Catching My Breath


It's been nearly 6 weeks since I've written anything here. Normally the summer is a pretty busy time for me, but this season was off the charts. This past February I performed at a Library Showcase, and consequently was booked by quite a few libraries a little outside of my usual performing area. So this summer was spent driving a few hundred miles extra per week. I do love performing, but I love it a little more when gas is a bit cheaper. Still, it was a fun summer. Among the highlights:

The "bat attack"- while performing outside in a gazebo for a group of special needs adults, a bat decided he wanted to see the show. This resulted in a great deal of excitement and some unscripted choreography on my part, ducking the bat as he circled our heads. Apparently he didn't care for my show, and left after a few minutes. I've had birds fly into my shows before- open gymnasium windows in June are apparently irresistible to some birds. I'm not exactly a city boy, but bats are a bit outside my experience. I did manage to finish the show, though, so I do feel good about that.


The Amazing Growing Audience Trick- One of my program offerings for libraries is a balloon sculpting workshop. I offer 3 variants of this program, one for elementary age kids, one for "tweens", and one for 3-5 year olds and their parents. One library booked the "Tween" program for mid-July. The librarian had to leave town unexpectedly for a few days prior to the show, and as a result, the program was not as well-promoted as it should have been. Consequently, the sign-up for the program was dismal- 2 kids out of a maximum of 30. To her credit, the librarian improvised and opened up the program to all ages, but didn't have time for a sign-up sheet. So when I arrived, neither she nor I had ANY idea of how many people would show up. It could be the original 2, could be more, but we had no idea. 5 minutes before start time, we were around 7. By the time we started, we were around 20. And they kept coming in. When all was said and done, we had well over the 30 maximum, and many of the parents who brought their kids stayed and learned as well. It was one of the best balloon workshops I've done in quite a while, and I tip my hat to Monica, the librarian, for improvising and saving the day.

The Little World's Fair- one of my summer libraries had a large family event at the "Little World's Fair" in Grahamsville, NY. This is a beautiful little town in lower upstate NY (when you're from Long Island, everything is "upstate" NY)- hidden away in the Catskills. So hidden, in fact, that there's no cellphone signal ANYWHERE in about a 10 mile radius. I was booked to perform my "Comedy Magic Show" immediately following a picnic dinner and immediately preceding a reading awards ceremony. Normally I don't like performing outdoors- far too many variables to deal with, and as far as I'm concerned, I never do my best work outside. This evening, however, could not have gone better. The Grahamsville audience was one of the most receptive and appreciative audiences I have worked for in a long time. Their response to my show made me try even harder, and I really felt like it was a memorable show. Thanks to everyone in Grahamsville for making me feel like a star, if just for one night!

Ohio Valley University- I was contacted online to perform at a college in West Virginia for their freshman orientation- they originally wanted a 2 hour show, but after speaking with them, we realized an hour of strolling magic at their Ice Cream Social, followed by a 45 minute formal show would suit their needs better. I was a little concerned about how my New York personality would play in West Virginia- I tend to be a bit over-caffeinated most of the time, and I speak VERY quickly. I think it took a few minutes for the audience and I to get on the same wavelength, but once we did, it was a wonderful group. Taking a cue from Dennis Miller, I throw quite a few jokes and lines in my show that usually hit with a resounding thud- they're just a little too obscure for most people to make the effort to bother figuring out if they're funny or not- but the crew at Ohio Valley University laughed at stuff that NEVER gets appreciated. Getting laughs from a college crowd is very gratifiying, and they made me feel extremely gratified. The frightened look from the gentleman I sawed in half made me realize that I do in fact like that trick, and it will most definitely stay in the act. Kudos to Spencer for putting me in the straitjacket as tightly as anyone has- it's been over 20 years since I didn't get out of the jacket, but that night was close. Bravo!

Once again, it seems like summer just got started, and it's almost over. I hate that. It really must be a function of getting older, but the summers seem to be getting shorter and winters longer. Still, the end of summer means the beginning of a new school show season, and that is ALWAYS good!

How I Got Here


By here, I mean to this point in my magic career. Prior to embarking on a career as a full-time magician, I actually did have another job. Here's the Cliff's Notes version.

I started performing magic as a kid. I got my first magic set when I was 6. Little did my parents realize what they were setting in motion. All throughout my childhood I was fascinated with magic. I performed shows for birthday parties, and the occasional show at my school. When I was 14, I spent a week at a sleep-away camp for budding magicians. This pretty much sealed the deal for me. It was my first exposure to real professional magic performances, and I was hooked.

While I did continue performing for the next few years, around age 19 or so, my interest waned. The rigors of attending college full-time and working 40 hours a week to pay for my tuition left little time for hobbies (apart from the usual teenage pursuits...), and so magic got relegated to the back burner.

Finally, around age 23 , I saw an old acquaintance on the cover of a magic magazine. That spurred my competitive juices, and I sort of felt that I should have been there instead of him. I got interested and began performing again, mostly birthday parties and smaller events. I discovered that the time away rekindled my love for performing, and I was off and running.

Along the way, I graduated college, started on a career in market research, and earned my MBA. All the time, I still kept performing part-time. At 28, I got married, and continued working at my market research job. Shortly after the wedding, though, I began feeling like my career was not heading in the direction I wanted to be going. I started having trouble envisioning myself working in this field for the next 40 years. I grew more and more unhappy. Finally, about a year after we got married, I told my wife that I was extremely unhappy in my job, and wanted to try to become a professional magician. Apparently, she was so relieved that my moodiness was job-related and not marriage-related, she was more than happy to give her blessing to my newly chosen path.

It took about 14 months from the time I made my decision until I actually quit my job. During that time, I read as much as I could about being self-employed, small-business marketing (far different from the grad-school MBA stuff!), and of course, developing an act. I realized that it would be difficult to make a living working only birthday parties, so I set about the come up with shows that schools would be interested in. I finally settled on a reading motivation show for several reasons. One, I wanted a show that schools would have a need for. Two, I wanted a topic that I really believed in. Also, I wanted a show that would have longevity and not something that was hot at the time but wouldn't be for long. Reading is a passion of mine, and I figured I'd have the most fun and success talking about something I really loved. That was one of the best decisions I've made.

When it finally came time to take the plunge, I was nervous. While I was unhappy at my job, depending on performing to pay the bills was a complete unknown- I really didn't know how good or bad things were going to be. When I told my boss that I was quitting and what I was going to be doing, he actually thought I was kidding. When he realized I was serious, he did wish me well, and assured me the door would be open if things didn't work out. I knew that I would never consider that option. My only regret about quitting my job was that I didn't savor the experience more. Very few people ever get to quit their job to do something they really want to do, and I don't think I really appreciated at the time how much I should have enjoyed it.

It's been 15 years since I made my decision, and I have never regretted it once. There have been ups and downs, but things have gone very well. I have performed thousands of shows in that time, and I'm pretty happy with my act. Things can always be improved, but all in all, I like what see. I've raised my profile in the field via writing for several magazines, including "Laugh-Makers" and "The Funny Paper", and in fact was featured on my first magazine cover on the July/August 2003 issue of "The Funny Paper".


I've spoken at magic conventions around the country, and have accomplished far more than I expected I would 15 years ago. And the best part is, I've still got a list a mile long of things I want to do next.

The World's Most Practical Magic Trick

When you are a self-employed entertainer, you need to have an arsenal of skills at the ready to keep yourself working. If someone calls to book a show and wants to give you money, it pays to be able to do what they want. During the course of my performing career, I became interested in memory work- mnemonics. The idea of being able to memorize and recall large amounts of information was very interesting to me on a personal level, although I was never entirely sure of how to make such an act theatrically viable.

Since I've learned how to use mnemonic systems, I've come up with several ways to integrate it into my performing work, and I'm still honing it. At this point, one of the best things I've found to use it for is pre-show warm-up work. To wit- this morning, I had a show at a day camp for kids ages 3-6. While we were waiting for the groups to enter the room, I took the time to memorize the names of all the kids present- about 20 or so kids. I've done this many times, and it never fails to impress the heck out of the adults present. Basically, I go through the room and ask each child his or her name. I repeat it once, and move on to the next kid, only this time I repeat both names. I do this for the entire group, as time allows. The effect on the adults, as I said, is amazing, but it also has another purpose.

When kids are in an audience and decide to start making trouble, one of the things that emboldens them is their anonymity. There is a grown-up in front of the room who doesn't know their name, which allows them more latitude in acting up. However, when that grown-up can address said attention-seeker by name when asking him to please stop talking and take his seat, it carries a lot more weight. Not only that, but hearing his or her name also give the attention-seeker the validation they need to feel like they have won. In one fell swoop, everyone is happy.

The ability to quickly memorize names and facts isn't limited to entertainers. Anyone who meets lots of new people in the course of their business life would do well to learn this skill. It has been said that the sweetest sound each of us knows is the sound of our own name. Use this knowledge to your advantage, and start learning how to remember names (and faces.) Here are a couple of resources to get you started.

Quantum Memory Power: Learn to Improve Your Memory with the World Memory Champion! (Audio CD) by Dominic O'Brien

Remember Every Name Every Time: Corporate America's Memory Master Reveals His Secrets (Paperback) by Benjamin Levy