Where do I begin? The last three days are kind of a blur. We left San Angelo for Grapevine. As we moved north, the sunshine came out and temperatures got warmer. Friday was a travel day for us. I consider “travel days” as “days off” though no one else agrees with that logic. I tell the guys all the time, “If we’re not doing a show, it’s a day off.” Ah, Life on the road…We made good time but it felt like it took longer than it actually did. I guess I was anxious to get there and get some rest.
We finally arrived in Grapevine mid afternoon. Once we checked into the hotel, Cindy and I explored the Grapevine Mills Mall while David and Kylie spent some time with David’s family (they live in the Dallas area). Then it was a relaxing evening before the next two days kicked us into high gear.
Saturday morning – we drove into historic downtown Grapevine. This is a wonderful district filled with art galleries, restaurants and specialty shops. We found the Palace Theatre, pulled to the loading dock and met up with the crew. We had word that tickets had sold very well prior to our arrival and before late afternoon, the show was practically sold out.
Tour with a show of any kind can be full of surprises and challenges. The Palace provided us with a couple. It is very intimate in seating AND stage space. Our show is designed to work on a minimum 40 foot stage opening. Today it would be customized to work on a 20 foot opening. Cindy pulled together a variety of magic and illusions that worked extremely well in this restored space. We loaded in and the day began. We came up against several other challenges throughout the day too. Remember that new Controller we bought for our intelligent lights in San Angelo? Every preset that Kylie and I had written was GONE! We had to start from scratch and do it all again for this show. Kylie worked hard and creatively to make it happen. The next challenge came screaming at us when all the cues the Lighting Director for the Palace had written into their lighting console also DISAPPEARED! Deja Vu – here we go again re-writing the cues for the second time.
Cues complete. Tech over. Doors open. Audience flooding in…
…and they came to have a good time. The responses from the crowd were audible and enthusiastic. It was a pleasure performing for this wonderful group of people. It is always satisfying when we receive the support of local magicians while performing in their area. There were three groups of magicians in the audience that night – Society of American Magicians clubs from Dallas and Fort Worth and the International Brotherhood of Magicians club from Fort Worth. There was also someone in the audience that we haven’t seen for years – Brendan Bagnell and his wife, Lori. We met Brendan many years ago when he was a student at Florida Tech University and we were doing shows in the college market. Now he’s a police officer in Fort Worth. We haven’t seen him for years and it was a nice reunion. Before we knew it, two hours of magic had passed and it was time to tear it down and load it up.
We were on the road by 11pm, made our stop at the Taco Cabana in Dallas and continued on our way toward Mt. Pleasant. Morning would come all too quickly with a 7:30am arrival and 8:00am load in scheduled at the Whatley Center for the Performing arts. We arrived in Mt. Pleasant around 1:30am and tried to get some sleep.
We were at the theatre bright and early. While we faced a few snags in the set up here, the crew worked hard. We were up and ready with time to spare to grab a quick bite to eat before doors opened at 2pm for the 2:30pm show. Sunday matinees can be interesting for us because of the participation required in our show. Most audiences come in having attended church, had a long family lunch and ready for a nap (or, in our case, to WATCH a show – not necessarily participate). This audience came ready to have a good time. Great responses and a standing ovation. What more could we ask for?