The show must go on pt 2

This summer has been our busiest yet and this past week was no exception. This week started out like any other this summer; we performed our illusion show at Shenandoah Crossing and we taught magic classes at Massanutten and several other shows, but this week at Massanutten after performing thousands of shows over the years I did something that I have never done before. Let me set up the scenario; Massanutten has a temporary stage they use in the summer for the entertainment they bring in like myself and bands and a comedian but this stage has no back stage or curtains just a raised platform. So during our illusion show if I "need" something off stage I have to go through the audience and upstairs to a loft then come back on stage the same way. We constructed this year's illusion show so that I would need to leave the stage at various times during the show so Natalie could do magic behind my back. We have even gone as far as roping off the area where I need to run so I don't run into anyone in the audience during these trips. The show this Thursday at Massanutten was great with a huge crowd and standing room only. About 30 minutes into the show it is time for me to exit the stage and I go running through the audience and upstairs. When it is time for me to return I come running back, well I did not know that while I was gone a kid knocked over a whole bottled water onto my path and I came barreling down the isle and at the last moment as I went to make the jump onto the stage clearing the stairs I planted my left foot into the puddle and went down hard onto the stairs, only my ribs broke my fall, my legs were under the stage and I laid on the stairs for a few moments trying to figure out what just happened because I have done this hundreds of times before. After a few seconds I got up and continued my lines in the show like nothing happened. My adrenaline was pumping and I hurt but I had to pretend like everything was ok. After the show as my adrenaline wore off pain truly set in. I did not have time to go to the doctor that night because we had another show to do. Natalie & I debated going to the emergency room that night but we decided to wait it out to see how I felt in the morning. The morning was terrible, we still had no time for a doctor because we had several shows to do that day. Natalie stepped up and did all the heavy lifting and helped me by feeding me Advil around the clock and every spare moment we had she would plug in the heating pad and put icy hot on my back. I never went to the doctor, we just guessed I bruised my ribs and pulled some muscles in my back. I am still really sore and I am using a heating pad while I am writing this blog entry but I have 23 shows next week, I have not missed a show yet, and I don't plan on sore muscles or sore bones stopping me anytime soon. The show must go on!

Teaching magic classes

Natalie & I teach private magic lessons all year long to a couple of continual students, but in the summer we teach magic classes to anyone who is willing to sign up. In our private magic lessons we build skills upon what we learn in each class, but in the summer we only have one day to teach the students some magic they will ever forget and will be able to do. We teach 2 magic classes during the summer; an adult magic class and a kids magic class. Both have easy and baffling magic that can be done with minimal practice. This summer we are teaching classes at Shenandoah Crossing Resort and Massanutten Resort weekly and we are also teaching magic classes sporadically at libraries, schools, & community centers. If you are interested in becoming a student of magic you can either sign up for The Trick of the Month Club or call us toll free at 1 877 987 4201 and we will see what we can arrange.

Our Busiest Summer Ever!

This is our busiest summer ever. We have 77 shows in the month of July alone. We had 14 shows this week & we put 200 - 500 miles on our van everyday this week. On most days we leave before the sun comes up and we get back home after dark. Our work van is equipped with a cooler for soda and snacks, a couch we take turns napping on while the other drives, and a Sirius satellite radio for entertainment on those long trips.
This Friday we had a school show in Va beach in the morning and a company picnic in Charlottesville that evening. Here are a couple of pictures of Natalie napping in the passenger seat and awake and smiling as we came out of the tunnel and saw the ocean.
She loves the beach and is so excited about our vacation plans. In September we plan on spending a week at Myrtle Beach and renting a beach house with a friend for a few days in Va beach. We just have to make it through our busiest summer first.

The show must go on!

Being an entertainer is a ton of fun; I get paid to travel all over and perform at resorts, hotels, private parties and theaters all over the East Coast. We love performing. The sound of applause is much sweeter when it is for you than someone else. We love signing autographs and meeting people after the shows. Natalie & I also really enjoy being able to do what we love together, I think it makes us, as a couple, so much stronger. But there is a side to show business that makes you wish you had sick days built up somewhere. In 2003 I lost my father on a Friday evening and I had 4 shows the following Saturday. I had to do the traveling, the loading and unloading of equipment, and worst of all perform with a smile on my face. It was hard. We have had to work 37 hours straight traveling from one gig to the next all without the audience or the people who hired us knowing how tired we were. I have had to perform sick, or what just recently happened, I went in for a dentist appointment and they decided my wisdom teeth needed to come out. They extracted 2 last Friday at lunchtime and I had a show booked for 10:00 am the next morning and more shows scheduled everyday for the rest of the week. My jaw was sore and I lived off of Mac & Cheese. The hardest part is the fact that my show has so much dialog and I have to try to project my voice, all the while cringing in pain; but as they say the show must go on! Even though it sounds crazy, I wouldn't have it any other way. I think it helps to separate the professionals from the wannabes. THE SHOW MUST GO ON!