Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Magic Words
Magic has quite a rich history which includes different words that have been said to “invoke” magic happening. There has been much study in magic’s history by its scholars as to where magic words originated, who originated them, etc. It’s interesting from a historical perspective. As a professional magician, I find such historical reports fascinating. Some magic words have a rich history, other magic words are completely made up and non-sensical.
On another hand, the words “Please” and “Thank You” in the English language are often taught to children as the magic words. By saying these words, we teach our children to be polite and respectful. They, in turn, learn that with the right attitude and politeness they can often get exactly what they are requesting. Magic words, indeed!
Currently, I’m entertaining nightly on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. I have found that the magic words that work best for me are, “I’m the magician!” I find it funny how these specific words allow me to do many things. For instance, when I first got on the ship, before the crew knew me and recognized me, I would be walking through a “crew” area and would have crew members direct me back toward to the main areas of the ship. By saying the magic words, “I’m the magician”, they immediately knew it was okay for me to be there and let me go about my business. Every time I have to go through customs, my magic words, gain me nods and looks of acknowledgement as they look over my passport. When I’m just walking around the ship, after I have performed, I often get people looking at me as if they aren’t sure how they know me, but they are sure that they know me from somewhere. My magic words set them at ease and give us something to talk about.
Off the ship, I have been part of numerous touring productions. For some strange reason, our battle cry has always been, “We’re the magicians!” For some strange reason, when I/we say that with authority, people just tend to let me do whatever it is that I want to. Go figure.
Maybe these magic words will work for you, too. Give them a shot. Just be sure that if you decide to use them, you can actually back up your claim of being a magician:) Until next time…
On another hand, the words “Please” and “Thank You” in the English language are often taught to children as the magic words. By saying these words, we teach our children to be polite and respectful. They, in turn, learn that with the right attitude and politeness they can often get exactly what they are requesting. Magic words, indeed!
Currently, I’m entertaining nightly on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. I have found that the magic words that work best for me are, “I’m the magician!” I find it funny how these specific words allow me to do many things. For instance, when I first got on the ship, before the crew knew me and recognized me, I would be walking through a “crew” area and would have crew members direct me back toward to the main areas of the ship. By saying the magic words, “I’m the magician”, they immediately knew it was okay for me to be there and let me go about my business. Every time I have to go through customs, my magic words, gain me nods and looks of acknowledgement as they look over my passport. When I’m just walking around the ship, after I have performed, I often get people looking at me as if they aren’t sure how they know me, but they are sure that they know me from somewhere. My magic words set them at ease and give us something to talk about.
Off the ship, I have been part of numerous touring productions. For some strange reason, our battle cry has always been, “We’re the magicians!” For some strange reason, when I/we say that with authority, people just tend to let me do whatever it is that I want to. Go figure.
Maybe these magic words will work for you, too. Give them a shot. Just be sure that if you decide to use them, you can actually back up your claim of being a magician:) Until next time…
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Don’t Forget Your Passport When Traveling Abroad
So, I did a last minute cruise ship gig back in December for a week. It came up rather suddenly and I viewed it as both a fun getaway and an audition for this cruise line to hopefully work more for them in the future. Well, my plan worked! My “audition” paid off and I received an email a few weeks ago to come back onboard the ship and entertain for two weeks.
Today, I find myself writing this blog entry from The View Showroom on the ship during a day at port in the Bahamas. I just got onboard yesterday and am still recuperating from a slightly stressful trip down to FL. Why stressful, you ask? Well, let me tell you.
When I am on this ship, I perform two unique 20 minute acts. Each day is a different act. So, on Monday I perform my first 20 minute set, then on Tuesday I perform my second, different 20 minute set. We do two shows an evening and it’s really a great time! The challenge is that I am performing on a stage that is completely surrounded 360 degrees. As a magician, it’s somewhat difficult to find material that is easy to see and still do-able in an environment where the audience is completely surrounding you. It can be a real challenge.
The last time I was onboard, I brought an assistant with me and she and I were able to do some really great magic that absolutely floored everyone. Unfortunately, this time circumstances dictated that I had to come on the cruise alone. So, I spent the last couple of weeks making sure that I had enough magic that would play on a 360 degree surrounded stage.
I spent all day Friday packing the show and making sure I had everything. Because I had been on this ship before, I was prepared with the knowledge of knowing what to expect and was focusing mainly on the new magic that I had added to my repertoire. I wasn’t thinking too much about the cruise itself. I finished packing my car in the evening and was able to relax before I drove down to FL.
Saturday morning I woke up, got in the car, and took off. I got just south of Atlanta, about five hours into the drive, when I realized I had royally screwed up. All of a sudden, I realized that while I had everything for my show, I didn’t have my passport. DUH! I couldn’t believe it!
So, I started thinking about it and I remembered that in some circumstances you don’t have to have your passport. All you need is two forms of identification. I started feeling better, but something kept nagging at me. After about an hour of trying not to think about my screw up, I realized that I was wrong. It’s not two forms of id, it’s a birth certificate and a state issued driver’s license. Well, even if they would let me on the ship with a birth certificate, I didn’t have mine with me. My heart sunk.
So, here’s my situation. I absolutely have to have my passport in order to get on the ship on Monday, and it’s currently Sunday. It’s the one day of the week that FedEx and UPS don’t do any shipping. I feel like a total idiot. And I realize that the entertainment director who booked me to come back is going to think I’m a total idiot as well.
Now, one of the things that I have learned after all these years of working in the entertainment business is that there is always a solution for every problem. So, I go about trying to figure out what this solution is.
After several phone calls and a lot of frustration, I learn that you can ship on Sunday via air freight. In other words, if there is a flight going where you need your package to go, the package can hitch a ride and fly down with all the other passengers. At this point in the story, I would like to thank both my Mom and my friend Nelson. They worked hard on this and helped me figure it out.
So, my Mom is able to get my passport and both she and my dad take a trip down to Nashville Intl. to the Southwest Freight office. They are able to get it on a flight that evening to Orlando, where I have stopped to visit my friend Aarron for the evening. I think a big shout out is in order at this point of the adventure to both Mom and Dad for taking my passport to the airport and saving my butt!
After I have dinner with my buddy Aarron and his fiancée Tammy in Orlando, they insist on taking me to the Orlando airport so I can pick up my passport. How lucky am I?! I mean really. Aarron and Tammy basically tell me to relax and let them take me to the airport since they know exactly where they are going. Many thanks to the two of them as well!
We make it to the cargo office and after a brief wait, all my fears are wiped away when they hand me my package, I open it and inside is my passport!
Now check this out. My Mom puts my passport on a plane in Nashville at 5:30 on a Sunday afternoon and I am able to pick it up at 8:45 that evening in Orlando! Absolutely awesome! So, what is the moral of this story…don’t forget your dang passport in the first place, moron!
I guess that is one moral of the story, but the one I prefer to remember is this…every problem has a solution. It’s up to you to figure out what that solution is.
Oh yeah, one other thing…It’s good to have people who will go the extra mile for you when your back is up against the wall. Many thank you’s go out to everyone who helped me get out of a major jam!
So, here I am sitting on the cruise ship on Tuesday. I was able to board yesterday and had two great shows last night. I’m so thankful to be this blessed. Until next time…
Today, I find myself writing this blog entry from The View Showroom on the ship during a day at port in the Bahamas. I just got onboard yesterday and am still recuperating from a slightly stressful trip down to FL. Why stressful, you ask? Well, let me tell you.
When I am on this ship, I perform two unique 20 minute acts. Each day is a different act. So, on Monday I perform my first 20 minute set, then on Tuesday I perform my second, different 20 minute set. We do two shows an evening and it’s really a great time! The challenge is that I am performing on a stage that is completely surrounded 360 degrees. As a magician, it’s somewhat difficult to find material that is easy to see and still do-able in an environment where the audience is completely surrounding you. It can be a real challenge.
The last time I was onboard, I brought an assistant with me and she and I were able to do some really great magic that absolutely floored everyone. Unfortunately, this time circumstances dictated that I had to come on the cruise alone. So, I spent the last couple of weeks making sure that I had enough magic that would play on a 360 degree surrounded stage.
I spent all day Friday packing the show and making sure I had everything. Because I had been on this ship before, I was prepared with the knowledge of knowing what to expect and was focusing mainly on the new magic that I had added to my repertoire. I wasn’t thinking too much about the cruise itself. I finished packing my car in the evening and was able to relax before I drove down to FL.
Saturday morning I woke up, got in the car, and took off. I got just south of Atlanta, about five hours into the drive, when I realized I had royally screwed up. All of a sudden, I realized that while I had everything for my show, I didn’t have my passport. DUH! I couldn’t believe it!
So, I started thinking about it and I remembered that in some circumstances you don’t have to have your passport. All you need is two forms of identification. I started feeling better, but something kept nagging at me. After about an hour of trying not to think about my screw up, I realized that I was wrong. It’s not two forms of id, it’s a birth certificate and a state issued driver’s license. Well, even if they would let me on the ship with a birth certificate, I didn’t have mine with me. My heart sunk.
So, here’s my situation. I absolutely have to have my passport in order to get on the ship on Monday, and it’s currently Sunday. It’s the one day of the week that FedEx and UPS don’t do any shipping. I feel like a total idiot. And I realize that the entertainment director who booked me to come back is going to think I’m a total idiot as well.
Now, one of the things that I have learned after all these years of working in the entertainment business is that there is always a solution for every problem. So, I go about trying to figure out what this solution is.
After several phone calls and a lot of frustration, I learn that you can ship on Sunday via air freight. In other words, if there is a flight going where you need your package to go, the package can hitch a ride and fly down with all the other passengers. At this point in the story, I would like to thank both my Mom and my friend Nelson. They worked hard on this and helped me figure it out.
So, my Mom is able to get my passport and both she and my dad take a trip down to Nashville Intl. to the Southwest Freight office. They are able to get it on a flight that evening to Orlando, where I have stopped to visit my friend Aarron for the evening. I think a big shout out is in order at this point of the adventure to both Mom and Dad for taking my passport to the airport and saving my butt!
After I have dinner with my buddy Aarron and his fiancée Tammy in Orlando, they insist on taking me to the Orlando airport so I can pick up my passport. How lucky am I?! I mean really. Aarron and Tammy basically tell me to relax and let them take me to the airport since they know exactly where they are going. Many thanks to the two of them as well!
We make it to the cargo office and after a brief wait, all my fears are wiped away when they hand me my package, I open it and inside is my passport!
Now check this out. My Mom puts my passport on a plane in Nashville at 5:30 on a Sunday afternoon and I am able to pick it up at 8:45 that evening in Orlando! Absolutely awesome! So, what is the moral of this story…don’t forget your dang passport in the first place, moron!
I guess that is one moral of the story, but the one I prefer to remember is this…every problem has a solution. It’s up to you to figure out what that solution is.
Oh yeah, one other thing…It’s good to have people who will go the extra mile for you when your back is up against the wall. Many thank you’s go out to everyone who helped me get out of a major jam!
So, here I am sitting on the cruise ship on Tuesday. I was able to board yesterday and had two great shows last night. I’m so thankful to be this blessed. Until next time…
The view from the Our Lucaya Resort in Freeport, Bahamas.
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