This past week has been a truly magical one for me. It started a week ago with me attending a mind-reading lecture in Cincinnati; it continued Wednesday when I attended a Banachek lecture in Columbus; and, it ended Friday with me being the very first guest of honor magician at Mega Magic Nite at Two Fat Guys BBQ in Massillon, Ohio.
The Saturday lecture in Cincinnati was with none other than Richard Freakin’ Osterlind. You can read about my experience here. Wednesday, was a great opportunity to watch Banachek perform and then to see him share his craft with fellow performers. I had planned to see Banachek lecture two other times before, however, those lectures were canceled. The wait was definitely worth it.
Like Richard Osterlind, the best parts of Banachek’s lecture were not those times when he was teaching how a particular effect was done, rather it was on the offbeats, when he was describing subtleties, nuances and the finer details of performing and presenting.
And Friday, it was an absolute treat to perform close-up magic and a little bit of stage magic. My good friend, Kevin King, invited me to be the guest of honor magician. My performance was scheduled at 8 p.m., and it gave me the opportunity to perform for some parties at their tables.
The funny thing about Friday was that I am not really what you would call a table-hopping magician. I much prefer to perform on a stage in front of a large group of people, as I have done at the Wayne County Fair, the Wooster Rib & Music Fest, and the Orrville Rib & Music Fest, to name a few. However, it was good to get back to my roots of close-up magic (something I learned from working with Harry Allen at Daytona Magic when I was much younger and still in high school).
My love of magic started when my friend’s dad showed me a couple of tricks when I was about eight or nine years old. Today, I realize they were just simple tricks, but when he showed me those two effects, I was blown away. The few minutes he took to show me a couple things set my life on a trajectory I would have never imagined. And, that trajectory led to a life long passion for performing magic and to Mega Magic Nite at Two Fat Guys BBQ in Massillon.
It was nice to see so many magicians working the tables and entertaining the guests at the restaurant. It was fun to perform in a more intimate setting than what I am used to. I had to the chance to perform for some old friends and new ones I just met. When Wendi and I walked in, we were surprised to see not only Ron Maxwell was there, but also Art Holden and his wife, Jean. Art and I are co-workers. Not having worked close-up magic for a while, I started performing for the three of them. It was a nice way for me to break the ice, and it set the tone for the rest of the evening.
I have performed in restaurants before, but it was usually from a small, platform stage. At restaurants, it is very difficult to gather everyone’s attention. They are not there to see a magician, rather they are there to spend some time with family or friends and enjoy a meal, magicians just seem to get in the way.
But, I must say the way Kevin organized the night, the focus was on the magic and the Magicians. It was really a nice venue in which to perform. Yes, people were there to eat, but the magic was promoted far and wide, and the expectation was the people were going to be entertained by performers of the mystery arts.
I am so grateful Kevin invited me. I thoroughly enjoyed performing there. It was so nice to be among a group of magicians sharing our love for the art. It also provided me the opportunity to see so many styles of magic and to see an array of performers at various stages of their careers, including an up-and-coming performer, Jason.
I had the chance to perform a rope routine, which is quickly becoming my favorite piece of magic to perform. While I was performing, I asked the crowd how many had never seen live magic before, and about one-third of the group raised their hands. Having been around magic since I was a kid, sometimes it is easy to take this for granted. It was wonderful to see so many smiles on so many faces.
So, to my friend, Kevin King, thank you so much for providing me with a Mega Magic Nite at Two Fat Guys BBQ in Massillon, Ohio. It is a night I will truly treasure. And a great way to end my magical mystery tour that spanned from Cincinnati, to Columbus to Massillon.
