Siegfried & Roy: Unique in All the World.

•October 13, 2010 • 1 Comment

Diana Zimmerman has done something that really needed to be done in the magic world. She has edited/written the ultimate book on the World’s greatest phenomenon Siegfried & Roy. With tacky ‘tell all’ books appearing on the scene, telling what nobody needed to know, Diana has created a one of a kind tribute to the legendary team.

Siegfried & Roy: Unique in All the World promises to be one of the most collectable books to ever hit the magic scene. You can now pre-order from the publisher from the signed and numbered limited first edition. It will define a new standard for content, quality, and production for collectable editions within the magic field as evidenced by the pre-publication sale at auction in London of Book #1 for $3,000.00.

This isn’t your ordinary book, Siegfried & Roy: Unique in All the World will immerse the reader in their extraordinary spirit and magical world like never before. It is brim full with unique items and facsimile from the private collection of Siegfried & Roy and other items from magic’s greatest collectors. This is a book treasure in its meticulous attention to detail, I suspect the big decision in years to come will be whether you can bare to part with it when the price of copies soar.

Rare historical show posters and tickets, personal Christmas cards, tour marketing materials and merchandise, costume and set designs, photographs, handwritten letters and notes, actual swatches from costumes and stage materials and much more will be faithfully reproduced or included. Many of these items are designed to be removable for the reader’s examination and pleasure.

The book has contributions from some of magic and show business’ most illustrious names in order to examine in prismatic style in order to explore every aspect of magic’s greatest duo. It is filled with incalculable personal insights and perspectives into the life and career of Siegfried & Roy. I contributed a short essay (of which I am inordinately proud) and describe the impact of seeing Siegfried and Roy for the first time.

The special pre-order price of this collector’s limited edition is $595, which is a hundred dollar discount on the publication cost. Part of the proceeds from sales will benefit the SARMOTI Foundation and MagicCares™. In my humble opinion (OK, I’m not really that humble!) this is truly an investment as collectors from many non-magical sources will be anxious to own this hunk of Las Vegas history.

Thank you Diana for producing such a realistically flamboyant and ‘over the top’ tribute to the two men returned magic into a full-scale production masterpiece instead of just a filler between set pieces. Diana worked with Robert Gould and Paul Stone in achieving this landmark publication. It was something that needed doing and you succeeded spectacularly.

For many of us living in Las Vegas it was the end of a very special era in our cities history. In many ways it was the start of the downfall of magic in the neon city. To this day several acts make a good living in Vegas with shows that feature the words TIGERS or WHITE TIGERS in lettering larger than the performers names. Take this opportunity to grab a piece of history and make an investment in this unique labor of love.

The book is published by Noesis Publishing and a visit to their website will tell you all the details in an 18 page, illustrated PDF file. www.noesispublishing.com

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When Teller talks I listen……..

•October 7, 2010 • 1 Comment

During a breakneck visit home from South America before leaving to go back to South America, I enjoyed a magical treat of a lifetime. I’m sure that no one ever thought that Teller (the silent half of Penn & Teller) is silent due to a lack of words and in his lecture this morning he proved every bit as articulate in speech and meticulous in thought as any magician I have ever heard.

The lecture was part of Paul Stone’s ‘Innovention’ in Las Vegas. Although I was only able to attend this one event, it was obvious instantly that Paul had done a superb job of re-inventing the standard magic convention.

Stone’s many years producing top league corporate shows was very evident and everyone attending the event seemed delighted with this one of a kind gathering of magicians. Bravo, Paul you did a first rate job and with lectures by performers such as Criss Angel and Teller you have raised the bar for all such future events.

Teller took the time the share the way he created one particular addition to the ‘Penn & Teller: Live in Vegas’ show at the Rio Hotel.It was a fascinating tour through the brilliant mind of a creative and slightly obsessive perfectionist. He demonstrated not only the evolution of his re-staging of a classic piece of magic but also how he developed it into pure and classic ‘Penn & Teller’ material.

With the aid of witty and minimalistic AV and one or two live demonstrations, Teller was able to accomplish a feat of forensic psychology that was an inspiration to everyone present. His demonstration gave an insight into the attention to detail that made it obvious why he may be one of the most original minds ever to tackle the business of getting something right.

As he related each physical and psychological change he made along his journey with this particular trick, there was a feast of information and knowledge to be gained by those of us lucky enough to be in attendance. The detail of the tweaks and development in the music that accompanied the creative process were fascinating and the fact that it has ultimately ended up being presented silently in the show was one of the insightful elements that I particularly enjoyed. I was reminded of Oscar Wilde who explaining he was just exhausted from working.  When asked what he had done that day, he replied; “ I worked all morning on a poem and added a comer, then this afternoon I toiled for hours on it again and removed the comer. I am quite, quite exhausted.”

The incremental development of Teller’s new masterpiece showed the exact same attention and re-attention to detail that marks the genius of someone who creates in steps and stages before achieving exactly what he wants to achieve—even if he’s not quite sure what it is until he arrives there.

It was also fun to get a glimpse of the working dynamic between Penn and Teller that has created such a successful and slightly unlikely partnership. I learned a lot about both of them and even more about the creation of great magic. There are currently more lectures filled with more tricks than the magic world could ever need, it was great to be given a view of the big picture and the amount of tiny brush strokes needed to create it.

Thank you Teller (and Paul Stone) for allowing us this unexpected and in many ways unprecedented delight. The multiple standing ovations at the conclusion of the lecture were ample evidence that my enthusiasm was shared by all the attendees. If you ever have a chance to spend an hour touring the mind and methods of this modern magical master—do NOT miss the opportunity.

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The Art and Science of Writing Strong Comedy to Improve Your Performance Getting More and Bigger Laughs During Your Show.

•September 28, 2010 • 1 Comment

Cut out as many words as you possibly can ’til just the funny part remains.

Be concise.



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Packs Flat, Plays Big and doesn’t Weigh To Much

•September 21, 2010 • 2 Comments

Over the years I have bought enough magic to fill a garage. I don’t mean that figuratively I mean it absolutely literally. As a matter of fact there are a couple of rooms in my house that are packed with magic props too. That is a lot of props for someone who doesn’t use many props!

A few years ago I discarded my illusion show which gave me a little more room to see what was left. It kind of surprised me because most of it was items that were guaranteed to pack flat and play big. If they really do pack flat they must be pretty darn thick!

I suppose to the traveling magician there is no greater hook than to think you have just bought an item that will fit in your pocket and yet entertain the back row of a theater. The trouble is that they also have to play strong. That is what requires a little work.

I travel the world on a pretty regular basis and I am always aware of the need to keep my show with me at all times. The way airline travel has developed recently the only case I am confident will arrive is the small case that travels in the baggage rack above me in the plane.

I travel a small black ‘catalogue bag’ with wheels, that is almost permanently attached to my right hand. It is a good thing that it has wheels because it weighs a tremendous amount. Inside that case are forty-six tricks or to put it another way: two fifty minute shows and a twenty-minute show.  Oh, and I usually manage to squeeze in my ipod and a couple of small hard drives too.

It is a wonderful lesson in magic to have to think small. It causes you to look at the heart and soul of an effect and forget the extras and trimmings. Big is not always better in magic it sometimes just says something about the person performing it. I used to tease my friend and colleague Piet Paulo by telling him that you either have talent or you have props. He hated that joke. I also used to tell him that you could cut down a hundred pounds of props for every five minutes of strong stand-up you could perform.

The picture to your right shows the current props for my 55 minute theatre show. I’m trying to cut back a little though.

llusionists have a tendency to take the smaller tricks and throw them away while the props are being set and the costumes changed for the next illusion. I have made my living getting the very most out of carefully chosen smaller effects. It is much easier on the back and cuts down on the need for the chiropractors services.

Amongst the very best bits of advice Billy McComb ever gave me was after he taught me his version of the Six Card Repeat. He said, “I always carry this with me onstage, just in case.” I put Billy’s words into application and they have served me well. I can open or close any show with this trick not to mention use it anywhere in between. Need a little extra time in the show or something goes wrong? Hey, there is the 6 Card Repeat. This and Zoloft will give you peace of mind.

My very favorite pack flat and play big tricks in my case include: The Spot Card, Color Change Silks, The Card Stab (Roy Johnson’s brilliant handling), The Nemo Rope Routine, the Tossed Deck and the trick I have made my living with over the years The Himber Linking Rings. In fact if you mix these items up with some blocks of comedy you end of with a pretty cool show. I know I’ve done it.

Do any of you out there have any favorite routines that are always lying in wait at the bottom of your case?

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To Pay Or Not To Pay, That Is The Question……..

•September 18, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Magic is not an inexpensive hobby and props, books and DVDs do not come cheap. I have noticed a tendency for this financial model to fall apart, when magicians try to inveigle (the fancy word for weasel) free admittance into magic shows. Shouldn’t magicians be the first people to support shows dedicated to their particular line of interest?

Let me preface this by saying that I am not talking about friends or direct peers in the magic world. The day Michael Finney or Mac King have to buy a ticket to see my show has no chance of arriving. This blog entry is written along more general than specific lines.

My vision for the future is to see more professional magic nights springing up across the country. I believe this could be a wave of the future, not unlike the way comedy took hold in the 80s. It would be good for magic and great for magicians. The reality of actually presenting a paid show for magic lovers could begin a whole new era of professionalism amongst the magicians who participate in it and think of the private gigs generated by it.

Sadly, there are many magicians who expect free admission to magic shows just because they are magicians. It is not inexpensive to produce an evening’s entertainment for the public and expenses are involved that are usually totally incomprehensible to someone who has never attempted it.

Sometimes it is the kind of magician who will drive 15 miles out of his way to go to ‘Magic Cleaners’ to get his laundry done, just because it has the word magic in its name.

Flashing your IBM membership card and expecting a ‘comp’ just because you are a magician is as logical as walking into an Apple Store and expecting a discount on your new iPad, just because you have a subscription to MacWorld. I can almost hear Steve Jobs’ roar of fury from Cupertino.

If you want to support magic then go all the way. Remember any seat you are filling, could potentially have been filled by a paying customer. In a world where the new $50 thumb tip sold out at the last convention I attended, it isn’t flashy to pay a few bucks to watch a quality magic show. If you want to watch a bunch of tricks performed haphazardly in an unsuitable environment go to your magic club. You will even get masses of respect when you show off your $50 thumb trick.

I recently performed at ‘Monday Night Magic’ in New York and attended their sister venture ‘Magical Nights’ at the legendary ‘Feinstein’s.’ What a model of doing things right, no wonder they have had such a long and successful run. This is a formula that could be adapted in every major US city.

While in New York I was staying with my friend Peter Samelson one of the 4 co-producers of the events. A highlight of the visit was overhearing Peter and Michael Chaut’s continuous phone conversations. They centered primarily on two things, quality control of their show and handling the comp situation. I gained great respect for their production just from hearing how they approached both issues.

It basically came down to a very simple equation; “How can we present the best show possible and make it profitable.” In my 48 hours in New York, I was amazed at their realistic handling of the ‘comp factor,’ and realized the position it holds in the continued success of their show. If the NYPD is ever looking for coaches in the ‘good cop, bad cop’ scenario they have got the perfect training team with Peter and Michael!

Having had a one-man show in Las Vegas for 5 years, I have some first hand experience of this situation. I ‘comped’ many people into my show happily, what they probably never realized was that for every comp I gave, I also gave the ‘Maitre de’ a $5 tip. Why because I’m a great guy: no because it is good business. You would be amazed at how often you comp a guest and they not only behave like ‘big shots,’ and then fail to tip the staff. This is how the staff earns their living; they couldn’t care less if you’re a member of Ring 1081 in Boise.

One glorious exception to this rule was the late, great pickpocket Rikki Dunn who frequently brought guests to my show; he had a particular central booth he loved to sit in. I always made sure it was waiting for him, and Rikki always tipped the ‘Maitre de’ a fifty-dollar bill for the courtesy. I tried to convince him that for $50 he could have paid for the booth and still have included a nice tip! Rikki, however, would have none of it and explained; “It’s the principle.” It was a fine principle and made everyone happy, especially me, to realize how much he really did want to see the show.

I recently attended and performed at two of Jeff McBride’s ‘Wonderground’ events in Las Vegas. In spite of the fact I was part of the show, I gladly handed over the $10 admission for myself, and each of my guests. Admission even included two drinks –what a deal. I know how much work goes into presenting this event: they are wonderful evenings. and when I heard some magicians at the door trying to avoid the door charge, I couldn’t believe that they thought $10 bucks was too much for an evenings live entertainment and to rub shoulders with the likes of Siegfried and Amazing Johnathan.

To see magic grow as a commercial venture across the country, magicians must be ready to support it as a commercial venture. Skip that next $50 thumb tip and attend the next five ‘Wondergrounds,’ It will do more for you and more for magic!

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Vegas, Oh, Vegas whither goes thou……..

•September 9, 2010 • 1 Comment

Living in Las Vegas has become a depressing business recently. The city’s numbers and the spending have gone down like a rock in water. The closing of Lance Burton’s show was a sad event and robbed our town of much of its magical class. It seems like Lance has always been a fixture somewhere in Vegas, from the Tropicana via the Hacienda all the way to his self-named showroom at the Monte Carlo. It was the very first room in town to be named after its star. It was very sad to see this fine show leave the strip. Incidentally, is it just me or don’t you think that Lance’s new photo shows him desperately trying to avoid giving the hotel the finger by restraining his right hand.

I think the demise of magic in Las Vegas began inevitably with the closing of Siegfried & Roy’s show, it just kicked off the downhill trend. There are still one or two bright spots of magic on the strip. Amazing Johnathan and Mac King represent the two most diametrically opposite aspects of magic and both do good business because they both do really good shows. David Copperfield does amazing numbers but has very wisely never become a ‘Vegas magician’ in spite of his frequent visits and the fact that he calls Las Vegas home.

The universal dislike and rejection of Criss Angel’s show was another kick in the gut to the credibility of the magical arts. Even with the aid of a highly popular TV show and the participation of the ubiquitous ‘Cirque de Same’ he has done nothing to improve the stature of magic in the neon city, in fact quite the reverse.

Not so long ago magic was an integral part of the entertainment scene in Vegas, however it’s now impressionists, ‘tribute shows’ and hypnotists who struggle for the the garlic flavored crumbs from the Cirque table. The magic shows are now relegated to ‘four wall deals’ that feature performers who seldom have any valid claim to ‘Star of a Vegas Show’ status. The hotels are in the theater rental business with no great interest in promoting or even caring about the success of the performers (with egos that they enable).

I have always seen the migrationary pattern of magic in America following Timothy Leary’s ‘East to West Evolutionary Pathway.’ New York to Chicago to Los Angeles with a tiny back step to Las Vegas, it sounds like a waltz! Don’t anyone get their knickers in a twist over this sweeping (but pretty damn accurate) generalization. Where does magic (and ultimately magicians go next)? Dr. Tim would probably suggest Japan thus completing a full cycle back to the East. Japan’s sophisticated approach to the performance and careful approach to the cultural status of the magical arts in Japan is very different to the cynical ‘Have rent: open show’ mentality that has hit the neon city.

Everywhere you see magicians gather in Las Vegas now the centerpiece conversation is how can I sell my submarine (they used to be called houses but are now so deeply underwater that submarine is more accurate) and where shall I move to. Los Angeles is way less attractive now that the Castle is making it’s transition from magic clubhouse to whatever it now is. That was a surprisingly tactful statement compared to what I really think! My phone call to the Castle office yesterday to make sure Milt knew that his Facebook account had been hacked and was being scammed; I was treated with such disdain and rudeness I had to pinch myself to make sure I was awake. Maybe I should have identified myself as an unknown cabaret singer to get a little courtesy!

I do believe there is something of a solution to these migratory problems, which I will expand upon in future writing. Sufficient to say, I think Jeff McBride has created something very special with his ‘Wonderground’ events in Vegas. There may be a key here to the regional revival of magic as a performing art as well as a conceptional one.

P.S. if you would like to read a fully coherent version of Leary’s theory of civilization’s migration from East to West buy or download his amazingly insightful book ‘The Intelligence Agents.’ The book is well worth a read, particularly in its original form as shown in this picture.

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Iceland, here I come!

•August 9, 2010 • 1 Comment

I guess not that many people on a worldwide basis get to visit Iceland (and Greenland) but I have that thrill later this week. Actually I have visited both places before and they are rather pleasant. That pesky volcano, in Iceland, made my early part of the year rather miserable by scrambling my air travel to strangely convoluted forms. Now I’m quite excited to get a picture or two of the (still erupting) volcano.

One thing you can’t do on these kind of gigs is forget any key props! Your chances of finding Flash Paper in  Iceland are about as slim as finding Ice Cubes in your garden in a Vegas summer day.Planning ahead is the key to world travel as a performing magician; that and a natural talent for intuition and on the spot creativity. Oh, and learning to dress in layers!

I begin this run from Iceland to Boston, then go from New York to Bermuda and back and finally finish it off with a little hop through the Caribbean. Three different cruises through three different climates on three different cruise lines. Then home for a month to continue working on our house in Los Angeles. I never gets dull, this kind of lifestyle although the travel gets tedious. The alternative is to spend a long block on one ship–which is a very distant last resort to me.

By the end of the year, I plan to radically change my work process, but much as I look forward to that, there is a little part of me that will miss trying to acquire mini rubber bands for my folding-half from orthodontist in Chile! You never quite know if you do that whether you will wake up with a front tooth replaced with a golden replica, a bad headache and a big bill in a currency you don’t understand!

Next year I plan to enter the crowded world of purveyors of magical routines, props and knowledge. Having spent 40 years on the road, it seems only fair to pass on some of the knowledge I have acquired. I see so many items being sold that while ‘neat’ and ‘cute ideas’ that I suspect a market exists for   the more commercial items that can really keep you working and fend of the wolf that stands  howling at the other side of the front door. After many years of consciously keeping an arm’s length from my fellow magicians, I am  booking lectures, setting up seminars and marketing routines that have been the lifeblood of my professional career. It is fun.

I promised myself that I would be retired (more or less) by sixty and that looks like being the case. Of course, a true performer never really retires, but he does cut down to merely performing exactly what he wants to do. I am putting together a short list of performers I want to work with, in fact a very short list of performers I want to represent in this wacky world we call entertainment. Let me know if you are interested in knowing more about my future plans as I really don’t plan on making a big ‘Ta Da’ or becoming a magical fountainhead of knowledge and advice. I am a firm believer that one of the things we learn in magic is that the more you share the secrets, the more diluted the message becomes.

Drop me an email at nicklewin1@me.com if you want more information on my plans. My only stipulation, I hate and refuse to deal with rude people: life is just to short.

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Michael Finney, a magician in a million.

•August 5, 2010 • 1 Comment

I am a huge fan of Michael and his unique style of Comedy Magic. He is easily funny enough to be a top stand-up comedian and performs magic that is so smooth and strong that even if he didn’t say a word his act would take him to the top of the list in the magic world. Fortunately he has chosen to walk the tightrope that is Comedy Magic and combines them as smoothly as any performer I have ever seen.

I have known Michael for over 25 years now and he was the pivotal reason that I had the courage to break away from the magic world and start my 11-year excursion into comedy club territory. His generous advice and encouragement was and still is much appreciated.

Last week I had a chance to see the other side of Michael, it was just as impressive. I attended and performed at the 14th Annual ‘Michael Finney’s Dry Heat Classic,’ the golf tournament is held in Phoenix, Arizona and raised nearly one million dollars for children’s charities. It has great golfing, fantastic food, true camaraderie and a couple of the best comedy and variety shows you will ever see.

Now I could spend the entire blog just reporting on the magicians who graced the stage at the Talking Stick Resort, however I am going to save that for another entry. This one is about Michael and his lovely wife Lori who have very obviously poured their hearts and souls (not to mention endless hours) into creating an event that hits the bull’s-eye in every way.

The Michael Finney Foundation created and runs the event. After all the events that Michael has performed at over the years; he must have been taking notes! With a deceptively casual manner, Michael avoided the mistakes that so often spoil gatherings like this. The stage and sound system were of the very highest quality. There was live music exactly where and when it was needed and a hospitality suite that felt like a private club.

One of the first things you notice at the ‘Dry Heat’ was the respect and pride that the local community feels about Michael. He doesn’t just live in Phoenix, but rather he is a very active and vital element in the city. Everyone is aware of his commitment to the charities he supports, but there is never a sense of ‘Look What I’m Doing’ that so often accompanies charity events. His quiet sincerity speaks volumes without a word needing to be said.

Quietly in the background was Michael’s wife Lori Soohoo. Watching them work the front and back rolesinterchangeably was of particular interest to Susan and I. We have worked like this for years and enjoyed watching their intuitive skills combine as they quietly got things done, with a minimum of fuss or flurry. Magicians often have their wives as onstage partners, believe me, this kind of behind the scenes partnership is just as difficult as ‘box jumping’ and all the more exacting as it goes on in the background and underneath the surface of their relationship.

The strong sense of family and patriotism that Michael feels was passed on to the audience and a very palpable addition to the mood of the event. This was an event that not only benefited a great cause but also made it fun to do so. During the event a one minute video was shown featuring the children who would benefit from the cash raised; and how. It brought a tear to many of the eyes around me, including myself. Just one minute, not a downer or a guilt maker, just a very simple reminder of how the fun that we were having was able to benefit those less fortunate than ourselves.

Bravo, Michael, I always knew that you were in the very top league as an entertainer, but for three days I got to take a peep behind the colorfully dressed performer with the larger than life persona and see the big-hearted gentleman, who would probably laugh it of if I called him the humanitarian that he most certainly is.

It was my pleasure and delight to join you in the Dry Heat of Arizona and be a part of the proceedings.

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Thoughts and Musings on the Magic part of ‘Comedy Magic.’

•July 28, 2010 • 1 Comment

Well, having given some thoughts about the comedy side of comedy magic in my last blog, I thought I had better devote a line or two about the magic side. It is obviously just as important as the comedy issue.  Speaking for myself, which I am uniquely qualified to do, here is what I think.

Performing good Comedy Magic is walking a tightrope. If the show get’s too funny then it tends to throw of the audience reaction to the magic you perform. Therefore what you have to do is to make sure that the magic in your act is really, really strong. Obviously I am not talking about the ‘Cod’ magic acts of giants passed on like Carl Ballentine and Tommy Cooper, they are from a previous era. I’m sure with the cyclic nature of the entertainment business they will return, but now is NOW. Try talking to an agent or TV booker about a ‘Cod’ magic act and they will just look blankly at you.

The two people who taught me about the importance of keeping the magic in your Comedy Magic act strong were Ken Brooke and Billy McComb. Pretty darn good teachers. Towards the end of his life Billy became very fond of what he called his ‘Hokum’ act, which was a series of gag tricks and items. I will be honest and say that I really missed some of the classical McComb pieces from earlier years such as his Whisky Egg Bag, Ring on Stick, Coin in Bottle etc. If you are presenting a funny magic show, then the occasional real GASP from the audience is needed to keep you upright and balanced on your tightrope.

I am not a great believer in the use of too many ‘Gag’ props or tricks. They tend to smell a little too strongly of mothballs! Worse than that (AHHHH!) they may seem like Vaudeville or Burlesque routines. If you think the use of the expression ‘Cod’ magic scares bookers, buyers and agents; just let them get a hint of the word Vaudevillian and watch them head for the hills! It doesn’t matter how you dress it up with expressions like ‘New-Vaudevillian,’ they won’t bite.

Along these lines, there are some tricks that sadly have become a liability to the performer who doesn’t realize that they are quite rightly leading the way on the endangered species list. They might still get a laugh from the audience but that doesn’t matter to ‘The Powers That Be’ and it’s not the audience that can improve your career and increase your prestige and salary. Top of this list is tricks such as the  ‘Linking Rings,’ ’20th Century Bra’ and the ‘Bandana routine.’ Up until a few years ago the Bandana/Banana routine was a gem, sadly some idiot released it as a $30 trick and everybody put it into their act. All the performers now use the same tape, the same devils hank and have just devalued the trick as a viable effect. This was a killer routine way back when ‘Allen & Rossi’ were performing it in Vegas in the 60s but it’s day is done now. The real killing is the guy who started selling them for $30! The ‘Baffling Bra’ still gets laughs but is really quite unacceptable  in today’s climate.  Rather a shame because the props for both tricks weigh nothing and pack flat. I could continue this list but it does more good if you look at your own act with a fresh eye in case it contains one.

Comedy Magicians rightly or wrongly are considered creaky and unoriginal in today’s marketplace– jugglers even more so, thank God! Now I’m not saying there is anything wrong with performing a classic effect if you bring something fresh to the table. Audiences revere classical musicians, they expect them to perform the classics–otherwise they would just be pianists or violinists. What their audience does expect is a different take on the classics in the way they are interpreted and presented. A classical magician must also think this way if they want to remain relevant.

……or to make my point with a Zen or Haiku (or Twitter) style of brevity, strong comedy+strong magic = strong performer with strong bookings.

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Thoughts and Musings on the Comedy part of Comedy Magic.

•July 27, 2010 • 2 Comments

On Sunday I had the good fortune to be able to attend Mitzi Shore’s birthday party. It was held in her gorgeous hillside home and was attended by a group of comedians ranging from the very famous to the newest ‘Young Turks’ from the Comedy Store. I was delighted to be in the company of Jeff ‘Big Daddy’ Wayne whose skill, tact and diplomacy have earned him a very special place in the heart of comedy.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Comedy Store it has been the training ground for most of Los Angeles’ top comedians. Mitzi has ruled her domain with a combination of instinct and judgement that have nurtured comedians in a very special way. They were actually trained! Trained in front of tough audiences who expected the very best from their comedians.

Unlike the Magic Castle, the ‘Store’ gave it’s top ranking performers to work a short set once or maybe twice a week. You never knew whether you might be following Robin Williams, Richard Pryor or a new promising comedian from Idaho. It trained comedians in a very special way because their chief goal was to fine tune a five minute set and polish it like a gem for that Tonight Show set that might (or might not) be round the next corner. However, nothing was allowed to stagnate and everyone was expected to develop new material. I always say that when a comedian gets the timing, reaction and delivery of a joke just right—–then he drops it from his act. A variety performer when he reaches that same point with a ‘bit’ or gag, heaves a sigh of relief and it remains in his act f-o-r-e-v-e-r!

While I did perform at the Comedy Store, it was never a true home for me in the way that the Castle was. The magic Castle allowed you the ‘luxury’ of performing your show 21 times within a 7 day period. You would think that this would lead a performer to experimenting on a night by night, if not show by show basis. I have been visiting the Castle more recently than at any other time in 25 years since I stopped working there. With a handful of exceptions I am amazed by how static the performers material has been. It is as if performers expect to be congratulated because the act is still as good as it was last time!

When I stopped performing at the Castle, I went on the road and headlined in Comedy Clubs across the country. One week was New Jersey, the next Atlanta and then on to Alaska. This meant that you really needed to be able to judge the mood of the crowd or be prepared to die the proverbial death. You try treating a late night night audience in a New York club like a mid-week audience in Greenville N.C. and you are ready for the shock of your life, and not a pleasant one. You suddenly realize why real comedians are always scribbling in notebooks and tape recording their sets, it is how they improve and develop. The path to perfection (impossible of course) is to live up to the real message of Charles Darwin, which was not the often misquoted ‘survival of the fittest,’ but the survival of the most adaptable.

At the very least a Comedy Magician should throw away his dependance on ‘patter,’ joke books, Robert Orben and ‘heckler stoppers.’ Even a newbie comic will hold you in disrespect when you do the same trick with the same patter that the magician they worked with the week before did. That is their definition of a hack, and in the comedy world that is not a place you want to be. Obviously there are similar themes in comedy such as relationships, traveling, childhood, etc. just as in magic there are similarly themed effects; The destroyed and restored whatever or the vanishing/appearing this or that. Just as in comedy jokes riff of other jokes, in magic tricks develop around other tricks. However, you can’t let them remain static. I have featured a burnt and restored banknote in my act for years, but it has been a never ending series of both small and larger changes that has kept it relevant.

If you are going to perform Comedy Magic, and not just be a magician who gets laughs, then you need to combine the tough love competitiveness of the Comedy Store with the cheerful glow of the Castle where people laugh at something because they know it is supposed to be funny instead of because it IS funny. Being a comic magician is kinda’ taking the easy way out, if you want to really stretch a little (and improve your chances of working and making bigger bucks) then work at becoming a Comedian Magician, either that or keep well away from real comedians who understand the difference.

Happy Birthday Mitzi! I really wish I had worked harder to become a true Comedy Store regular. It would have probably taught me in a year what it took 11 on the road to learn.

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