FAQs
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I started magic as a hobby when I was eleven or twelve, and like most boys of that age I was attracted to its secrecy aspects, the ability to fool people, and being able to do something no one else could do. Fortunately those reasons were soon eclipsed by the joy of being able to entertain people. Although I graduated university with an education degree, I paid my way through college traveling as the magician with a circus. I felt in love with touring and became a full-time professional entertainer straight out of school. (That love of travel paid off. Magic has taken me to more than a hundred countries and all seven continents!)
- What types of customers have you worked with?
My work seems to be equally divided between performing strolling, close-up sleight-of-hand at cocktail hours, receptions, and large parties and performing my stand-up comedy magic show at in-home private parties or as an after-dinner show at corporate events and banquets.
- Describe a recent project you are fond of. How long did it take?
I recently performed at a retirement community where the show took place on a raised platform at one end of a long, narrow room. The age of the audience was fine: Ive been performing on cruise ships for years, and tit was the same demographic. I was more worried about being far away from the back tables, but I used broader gestures to be seen from that distance. The challenge, it turned out, was the audience spoke almost no English. The client hadnt told me they were all Japanese retirees. But by the selective use of volunteers, the help of a translator for a handful of key words, and using very basic English in my patter, the show (to my surprise and relief) was very well received. In my early performing years, I had an agent who only came to see me when he knew the show he booked me for would be a disaster. At one, there were a thousand people but no microphone; at another, the room was L-shaped and half the audience wasnt able to see me. I asked him why he only came to those shows and he said, I know youll be fine at the easy shows. I want to see what you do when the conditions are impossible. Through years of baptism-by-fire and having performed in just about every conceivable situation, Im now proudest when I get one of those show and still am able to give the audience a great performance.