We’re coming up on the Portland Rose Festival (actually, as of this posting it’s started up) and I’m looking over my act for this gig. What will be interesting is that this is a performance for which I shall not be passing the hat. A show where you’re trying to get the most money from [...]
I perform what’s known in the trade as a “Patter Act”. Really all this means is that I talk while I do things, as opposed to doing magic silently to music. Although I am by nature a talktative lout, I do develop “patter” – really a “script outline” for my show. The actual things I [...]
One of the strangest things I’ve heard, and frighteningly enough heard with such frequency, is that magicians tend to be, well… socially awkward. This is even more disturbing because, well… it’s often true. We use magic as a lever, a way to have something “over” someone else, sometimes a shield, sometimes just a way to [...]
Continue reading about Books Magicians Should Read: The Golden Rule of Schmoozing
Magicians tend to have a plethora of magic books lying around, so why am I suggesting this one? I’m suggesting Secrets of the Astonishing Executive because it does something that very few magic books do, it gives context to the seemingly random magic stuff we do, and shows how you might actually mix a little [...]
Continue reading about Books Magicians Should Read: Secrets of the Astonishing Executive
One of the lessons I’ve learned in my time performing at Renaissance Faires is “It’s more fun to be scum.” Okay, everyone loves the flash and fancy clothing of the nobles, the pomp and ceremony of the Court, and the brilliance and daring of the knights and soldiers… but let’s face it, when it’s 90 [...]
Continue reading about Books Rennies Should Read: The Elizabethan Underworld
