Birthday Bonanza in and Around Milwaukee 

It certainly was a month for birthdays. I should know. It seems like I performed at most of them. But that's a good thing. Birthday parties are so much fun. The kids are excited, the parents are excited (but for a different reason it would seem), and I'm always excited to walk through the door and be greeted with smiles and cheery faces.  This month saw me in living rooms and hotel conference rooms around southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois-- basically my back yard!

While the kids love the show, I'm pretty sure the hit is always Max. He's a monkey. He's  a puppet. But he's OK with that! Actually, Max is a hit with everyone from the toddlers to Grandma and Grandpa. The text phrase "lol" never fit better than on Max. People really do laugh out loud at his antics. Truth be told, he's my favorite as well.

Of course the kids love getting into the act too. And that keeps things fresh for me. I get to work with different children in every show. Each one is unique and brings something new to a routine that I may have performed hundreds of times. In fact, don't tell anyone, but I've gotten some great ideas for my shows from the people that have helped me out. Funny lines; bits of schtick-- its amazing what happens when someone new comes up 'on stage' to help. Sometimes its a great comic moment that will never happen again. But every once in a while...comedy gold happens, and I find a way to make it happen in every show.

But wait! It's not just for kids anymore. I've been getting more and more calls to entertain at adult birthdays. Usually those special numbers like 40th or 50th birthday. Some folks think its funny to invite a 'birthday magician' to the party for someone a bit more mature. But that's what I do then--something more mature. I still have fun with the audience, but I get a chance to break out the sophisticated stuff (like groucho glasses -- just kidding!). My motto is Always Family Friendly, Always Good Clean Fun! So, the show isn't filled with blue material, just a lot of eye-popping, mind-bending magic and laugh-out-loud fun. Like a big kids magic show should be!

Anyways, feel free to call if you want more information about any of these shows. But try to call at least 6 weeks in advance. Weekends book up faster than most, and I hate disappointing people when they had their hearts set on a Great Scott magic show.

Day Care Center Magical Field Trips

I just got back from a day of performing for some of the best audiences I could hope to have. I'm talking about preschoolers. It's great fun to mystify the high school crowd at the the prom, and its refreshing to perform for my peers in a business setting, but these groups don't hold a candle to the enthusiasm of a room filled with 3, 4 and 5 year olds (sometimes even younger!)  This group is so gratifying to entertain. I get to be a big silly kid for 45 minutes and experience the laughter and giggles coming from a crowd of happy children.

Children's shows certainly have their challenges, and not everyone is cut out for entertaining this age group. But I love doing it. I love seeing eyes wide with astonishment when the magic happens and tearing up from laughter when it all "seems" to be going wrong. I'm a playful guy and full of energy, and performing for preschoolers keeps me active for sure.

This summer, along with a host of other shows I do, I'll be performing at a lot of child care centers around the Milwaukee and Madison areas. If you'd like to see me come to your child's center, have the director give me a call. I always have room for a few more preschool shows!

Magic Around Wisconsin and Illinois

I'm getting ready for next week. Though I love just entertaining people, the opportunity to inspire, motivate and teach while doing something fun is highly appealing to me. This coming week allows me to do all of that. Tomorrow morning, I have a birthday party for a student at his school. Top that with a Corporate banquet in the evening where I will be entertaining folks with Close-up magic. Then on Saturday, I have three more birthday parties - in Illinois and the Milwaukee area. Plenty of driving.

Sunday, I drive north to perform two gospel illusion programs for a church in Sheboygan. This allows me to both entertain and present the Gospel at the same time-- a passion for me. And on the heels of that, I drive across the state to present a program for a cub scout pack in Mt Horeb. This program is a fun way to celebrate the scouting experience and highlight the achievements of each scout in the past year.

Monday, finds me back in Illinois presenting my "Clue Into Your World" program to two different school groups. This again is a fun show, but primarily has the dual emphasis of promoting reading and library use as it reinforces key elements in the school's world geography curriculum.

Wow. All of that, and it will only be Monday! But that's my life, and I love it. I also love my family, so I do have some down-time scheduled for them as well.