Chicago Birthday Magician

Bridezillas

admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:03:41 +0000

Sometimes you just have to walk away! (the thought kept racing through my mind) “They’ve decided to bring their rug rats” she said! (She being a prospective client) “I’m getting married on October 22nd and even though the invitations clearly spell out no children, they’re bringing them anyway.”She went on to describe her wedding guests and their children in such unflattering terms that I wondered how she had any friends at all given she was expecting 1000 guests at her wedding. I had actually performed at the wedding’s banquet hall earlier this year for a birthday party. When I mentioned that I was familiar with the facility and that I had performed on the stage there she quickly pointed out that I would not be performing on the stage but out in the hall with the brats! Most Chicago magicians, myself included work very hard to earn your business. After all, we need to book a certain number of shows per week just to make a living. But sometimes you just have to walk away! I have never seen the show Bridezillas but as I talked with her the name immediately popped into my head!

The bottom line for this Chicago magician is that I enjoy performing for children because I like children. As a father I enjoy spending time with my daughter and also watching her interact with her friends. Kids are great! Even in the worst of times as a parent you can look over at your child and it can elevate your mood by just watching the joy with which they tackle some task or activity. So the idea of working for someone that clearly dislikes children was really off-putting to me. I tried to be as pleasant as I could and gave her a price that I felt was so high that she would be forced to look elsewhere. We ended the conversation and I had forgotten about her. And then a week later I received a voice message asking me to call her with my website as she wanted to look at some of my videos! I sat at my desk and thought about it. I had quoted her a fairly high price and I could certainly use the money… but you know… sometimes you just have to walk away!

The Man With The Head In The Cabinet!

admin — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:57:17 +0000

This one is for film and magic buffs only! It is a short silent film from around 1900 by George Melies. Presented here for you by Chicago magician Dan Mindo.

The Magician, the Princesses & the Tooth Fairy!

admin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:02:36 +0000

Some years ago when my daughter was 4 or 5 I took her to a local festival in Chicago, an annual event that we never miss. She loves all the rides, the cotton candy and the games. Now I usually spend a $100 when I take my daughter to this event. I am a soft touch when it comes to my daughter and she knows it. I had no idea that this trip would cost me $500.00!

One of the attractions offered at this particular event was a bungee/trampoline marriage that looked as if it would be great fun. Picture a bungee harness attached to cables and an electric hoist supported by a framework of steel or aluminum that rose about twenty-five feet in the air. Below this was a small air filled trampoline about six feet in diameter and two feet high. My little Princess had to experience this! I paid my five bucks and off went my little angel. So the nice lady strapped her in and my daughter began bouncing on the trampoline the bungee cables keeping her centered over it and allowing her to go higher up in the air with their assistance. So far, so good, and then the nice lady who had strapped my daughter in gave me a big smile, correction, a big toothless smile! And that is when it hit me! I had just entrusted the life of all I hold precious to someone that couldn’t even take care of her own teeth! What was I thinking? As my daughter continued to gleefully bounce up and down I took mental notes of the apparatus trying to determine the weak spots. Where would it break? In what direction will my daughter be sailing through the air? I made my best guess and moved into an area where I felt it would only be a matter of time before I would be rescuing my daughter like Superman. How come fatherhood has turned me into such a neurotic? A few more bounces and then they raised her up to the top of the unit. My daughter was now suspended about twenty feet in the air. If something broke she would shoot straight up in the air like a human bottle rocket! And then the nice lady pushed a button and my daughter slowly descended, the harness was removed and off we went, my daughter fearless and elated and dad needing a Xanax.

Okay here comes the $500.00 part. Annabella wanted to play a game where you throw ping-pong balls into bowls floating in a pool. I would like to meet the cruel genius that invented this game. After an investment of $20 we won a fish, a Betta fish in a plastic bag. When I got home my wife asked me if I would go to Petco and buy a fish bowl. Okay I can do that and I headed to the pet store. While en-route I received a call from my wife asking me to get a fish bowl with a cover (so the cats don’t get at the fish). Once at the pet store I was informed that they did not have covers for their fish bowls. So they showed me an aquarium. A very small, cheap looking aquarium that made the plastic bag seem like the Taj Mahal. So I started looking at the better aquariums. Well I reasoned we were talking about getting her an aquarium a few months back. Why not bite the bullet and do it now. One hour later I left Petco with a twenty-nine gallon aquarium, stand, filter, light, gravel etc. etc. etc. Within a few days I went back to the pet store three times. I spent about $400.00 on the Aquarium and all of the necessary components to make our fish a happy fish. My daughter named the fish “Princess”. I call her “Princess Lucky”. After three days we were able to determine that the water was now suitable for “Princess Lucky” to enter the aquarium. Amid much fanfare “Princess Lucky” was escorted to her new quarters. As she investigated her new “digs” she looked to be very happy. And I could swear at one point she looked back at me and smiled… A big toothless… smile!

Clutch Cargo Lives!

admin — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:37:26 +0000

Question: What do a Chicago Magician and an outdated cartoon character have in common? Answer: We are both outdated… No wait…We will be featured on the same TV Show! I had forgotten him completely. Clutch Cargo I mean! I had not watched him since I was a kid and I had forgotten just how fun and cheesy the Clutch Cargo cartoons were. We are talking beyond low budget here! In fact I’m not sure they had a budget. The funny thing is even given the cheap production values these shows are still entertaining. Maybe not in the way the original producers had in mind yet entertaining none the less. We are going to feature about thirty-five Clutch Cargo episodes in my upcoming TV series “Children’s Party Magician”, so Pierce Kalteau (the show’s Director) and I sat and watched some of these as we brainstormed for how to make them entertaining to today’s children. It was like a trip back in time. I doubt that we will have any problem finding ways to make these cartoons fun. In fact we may create a whole new audience for Clutch and the gang.

I did a little research and found that the technique used to make the characters talk on Clutch Cargo is called: Synchro-Vox . Conan O’Brien used this technique to do something similar in his show several years ago and this has also been parodied and used in TV and Film over the years. Finally, we will be using Synchro-Vox as part of our show for the faux celebrity interviews also. So it’s true, everything old is new! And I cannot wait for the return of Clutch Cargo, Paddlefoot and Spinner.

To be continued…

Writing a TV Show

admin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:42:01 +0000

Working on a magician hosted TV Show for children is both exciting and scary! After all, this is completely new territory for me. When I was first approached about doing the TV Show I thought terrific, this will be easy…boy was I wrong! I never envisioned the amount of work that goes into putting something like this together. The concept seemed simple enough; a 30 minute show that featured old cartoons and magic. I would perform some magic and introduce the cartoons. No biggie. But then I found out that I had to write the script (not something I do everyday) and TV scripts are formatted very differently than say the script for a magic effect you’re working on. So I had to learn proper scripting and once I began, I realized that there would be more original content than I thought! The thing about original content is you just don’t know if it will fall flat or be a hit. It is nothing like the majority of my work; I write the script for an effect. I practice and rehearse it and then I try it out in live performance. I can usually tell from the first performance whether it will be a keeper or not. But writing for TV is very different. You write what you hope will be an entertaining show but you don’t have the luxury of a live audience to gauge your progress. So I spent my evenings writing and sending the scripts to the producer and the director and after four drafts I had something that resembled a script for a TV Show. I will probably complete one or two more revisions before it is all said and done but at least I kind of have an idea of what I am doing now. Then there are just 29 more episodes to go! I know I’m not writing “Doctor Who” but it is still quite challenging.

To be continued…

Magic and the American Girl Doll

admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:52:34 +0000

How much does it cost? This is sometimes the first question that a parent asks me. And I get it, really I do! After all, I’m a parent and I know that almost everything having to do with children can be expensive. American Girl Doll, oh yeah we’ve done that. Lessons for any number of things that our daughter soon tired of…check. Back to school clothes! Most of us as parents have been through this stuff year in and year out. We do it because we love our children and we want them to be happy!

Sorry, went off on a parenting tangent there for a minute. Back to the topic at hand, how much does it cost? I wish there was an easy answer but I can try and give you a framework. I am certainly not the cheapest magician in the Chicago area. I really don’t want to be. My goal is to be the best Children’s Magician that I can be. So here goes, my cheapest show price is $175 and is available within a reasonable distance from my home. That is for a 30 minute magic show packed with laughs, wonder and magic! I wish I could give you a price on other options such as balloons or having the birthday child participate in a levitation illusion but there are too many variables such as where is the party located? How many children are in attendance? What are the performance conditions, room size, stairs, etc.

So basically my 30 minute show costs about as much as a trip to the American Girl Store. But one thing I know, long after that doll has been cast aside the memory of their magical birthday celebration will remain!

To Bunny, or not to Bunny!

admin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:28:23 +0000

As a Chicago Magician I will occasionally get an inquiry from a parent trying to find out about my show asking if I use live animals in my act. The answer is no. I made a conscious choice not to use live animals in my act years ago for several reasons. First of all my concern for the animals welfare. Now I know that many magicians would disagree with me but I feel that it can be cruel to the animal. In many cases the animal has to reside in a small space for an extended length of time while waiting to be magically produced. This seems cruel to me and that is certainly reason enough for me, but I shall continue to list other reasons. Sometimes animals will scratch or bite one of the children and that is certainly not the final memory I want to leave the child with; “oh yeah, I remember that magician, his rabbit bit me!” While rabbit’s are closely associated with magicians there are plenty of magician’s that use doves. Beautifully colored doves that have been dyed! Aside from the reasons listed above I have seen many magic shows where the dove magically appeared only to fly away from the performer instead of clinging to their perch like they were trained to do. The flow of the show is now disrupted as the magician tries to coax or corral the stray defector and once again gain control of the show. Again, this is not an image that I want to leave my audience with.

Believe me, I understand the appeal of a live bunny or dove but I choose to use a bunny puppet instead. Hi name is Puddles and soon you will be able to see him on my upcoming Cable TV series. He is never in any danger and he does not pose a threat to the children. He is a featured part of my act and the kids adore him! You see, children live in a world of make believe, a world where bunny puppets come to life in their imagination and that is truly magical!