Inception

Performing for over 3000 people every week generates a considerable about of e-mail from fans with a host of questions, comments, and even an occasional rant (Like the lady who informed us we would surely burn in Hell for using the powers of levitation for entertainment purposes.)

I am humbled that people take time out of their busy schedule to let us know they enjoyed our performance, and demonstrate an interest in our path.

Here is a great question from Jane:

I saw your show on the Carnival Triumph cruise and loved it!
Who inspired you to become a magician?
When I was younger, I loved trying to do magic tricks. (but I wasn't very good at it)
Thanx
Jane


Until I was 19 years old, I had only seen magic on television; namely some David Copperfield and Doug Henning annual 'specials.' Although always entertained, I don't regard television magicians as a particularly strong influence early on. It's fortunate that a few years later I was able to re-watch those 'gems' through the eyes of a curious amateur; gaining the many layers of secrets, validation, and hope that they surreptitiously contain. Indeed those TV magicians should have been the seeds, but instead became branches of my already growing interest in the art. I seem to always do things backwards!

It was at the Nevada State Fairgrounds in 1989 that I first saw a magician perform live. It was inside a noisy arena buzzing with hawkers, animals, food and families. I'll never forget the old man in the corner with his robe, chest of apparatus, white beard, and razor sharp eyes. This wizardly man looked like a magician, and I maintain it wasn't freewill that lured me closer. When he told me to pick a card, I knew that instant my life had changed.

Although nothing short of a miracle at the time, the card trick turned out to be standard Hocus Pocus available for $10 at any magic shop. It didn't matter. There's nothing mistakable about feeling a sense of magic. Like Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, or a card trick - long after you know the secret you can still identify with that wonderful moment of escape it contains as it's root. An increasingly rare feeling indeed, especially as time creeps up on us. It was clear to me that I should spend my life creating that magic for others.

Jane, it's never too late. Dig up those old tricks and give them a new life. You'll be glad you did.

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"Everything old can be made new" are the words I can still clearly hear in my memories of Richard Tutacko, my mentor and friend. Before he passed away in 1991 , he even wrote those words in an old magic book that I would later inherit along with some of his props, costumes, and dreams.

Ahh, 1991..... Even at 21 years old, I was still an "awkward teenager" in that sense. No direction. No ambition. No clue. Performing my silly magic tricks was at the root of my hopes, but "Get a real job" were the echoes of society and family. To my credit, I learned early on that conformity just simply isn't in my nature.

I'll save the journey of setbacks and lucky breaks for later entries, but in summary the last 15 years of been amazing on all levels. We (Caruso, myself, and a growing number of dancers & technicians) currently having four shows running. Three of them on Carnival Cruise Lines, and one at the Deauville Resort in Miami Beach. To accomplish this, Caruso and I travel every week to St. Thomas where we join the Carnival Triumph, perform 2 different full-length shows (a family show, and an "adults only" show), then fly back to Miami the next day. The rest of the week we use to develop new material, market and promote our local show, and handle the never ending 'biz-ness' side of showbiz. With no agent, manager, publicist, or psychiatrist - this adds up to about 3 full time jobs that weave themselves seamlessly and simultaneously.

I sincerely wouldn't have it any other way. When I say I love my career, it really does come from the heart. This 'blog' will be my personal and professional scrapbook; a no holds barred reality show of the life I lead. I won't deliberately offend anyone, and I'll do my best to balance my opinions with facts and reasons. I've kept online journals long before 'blog' was even a word , so sharing my thoughts in the vast cyber-sea is nothing novel for me. However in the past, my web of viewers was for the most part friends & family. This one is a little different - strangers who are just interested in seeing the show will as a bonus get to see "me".

And so it goes, everything old can be made new.

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Now then ; bookmark this page - it's your VIP seat - the house lights are dimming, and the Austrian curtain is about to rise.