The Adequate Blog

Here’s something I get asked a lot

Do you do birthday parties / kid shows / school shows?

This may come as a shock, but no, no I don’t.

“Magician” has been equated with “children’s entertainer” for about 50 years or so, probably coinciding with the last of the touring Big Magic Shows - Blackstone, Willard and the like. Oddly enough, this also coincides with when TV started running Warner Brothers cartoons - written for an adult movie-going audience - as morning entertainment for kids.

Magic, like comedy, can be aimed at a young audience. There are plenty of very talented magicians who perform “family entertainment” (read: kid’s shows*). I’m not one of them.

My act is family-friendly … I don’t work “blue” or use much adult humor. Working Renaissance Faires gets one attuned to the idea of using layered humor if you pay attention** - but my show mixes slapstick and, apparently, startlingly high end references. Not too many kid show magicians reference “The Platonic Ideal” in their shows, yes?

So no, I don’t do kid’s shows. I do shows where kids might come and watch, but my act is geared toward anyone who can think and laugh at the same time.

… that sounds really conceited of me, doesn’t it?

* What’s the difference between a “Kidshow Magician” and a “Family Entertainer”? About $200 - Jeff McBride 

** If you don’t pay attention, you just learn to shout a lot and use archaic language to talk about naughty things.

(First off - yes there was a partial post up here earlier today. Seem I ran afoul of the “Post Date your Blog Entries and they Go Out Automatically” thing. Wups. There’ll be a full post on that later.)

From one of my other pages , this question:

I like that you really know what these books are about and can give a personal recommendation. What are some of your favorite tricks?

Every magician has “pet tricks” - effects and routines that they love, even if they don’t perform them. I have… a few of ‘em myself…

• Whit Haydn’s “Mongolian Pop Knot” - This is a staple of my show, and has been for, wow, about five years now… “Pop” Haydn created a slick bit of entertainment here. I’d like to think I’ve made some small, subtle changes to make the routine more than a carbon copy of Ol’ “Pop” here because, let’s face it, Tobias isn’t as slick as Professor Haydn by any stretch of the imagination. And yes, “Pop” Haydn is one of my heroes.
• Harry Anderson’s Marked Cards - This is a marketed trick now, but the first time I saw him do it was waaaay back in the 80’s… and he only used four cards. A Five, an Ace, a King and an Eight. And when he displayed the markings on the back… F - A - K - E … that’s what convinced me this was brilliant. By the way, if anyone *has* footage of Harry doing this bit, I’d love to see it again. It’s much slicker, in my mind, than the marketed trick.
• The Cups and Balls - This is, quite literally, the “oldest trick in the book” - what was once a way to separate the gullible from their cash has become a staple in “the biz”, and for my money, Gazzo still does one of the best Cups and Balls routines out there - not just for the technical “chops” he displays, but for the way he manages the crowd, and how the act builds and builds until… well… the melon. You’ll see.
  To be fair, though, Penn & Teller’s Cups and Balls (”The bit that got us kicked out of the Magic Castle”) is also pretty darn brilliant… but that leads me to
• Penn & Teller’s “Principles of Magic” routine . - From a purely theatrical perspective, and from a purely “messing with people’s head” perspective, this is my favoritest bit of all. And the reason for that favortesting (not even a word but I’ll use it!) is this: Once Teller does the “routine”, and Penn “explains” the routine, and Teller “does” the routine again… the audience can appreciate it. Not because of the secrets involved, but because of how it’s done… and how it’s presented… Magicians squawk about “exposure” a lot, but “exposure” shouldn’t ruin the enjoyment of good magic. And this bit… this bit is my proof.

What about you folks? Got something you dig the most that I didn’t mention? Tell me about it - and keep asking questions. I’ll keep answering them!