First, let me say thank you to everyone who supported me and the art of magic in regard to the posting by the person who attended our show at SOPAC. It’s great to know you guys are out there and I appreciate it. Meredith has written some additional comments and they are very nice. She just doesn’t like the art of magic and that’s okay. Everyone has the right to their opinion; and not everyone enjoys the art of illusion the way we do.
The Missouri Theatre – WOW, this is a beautiful space. The theatre itself is incredible. We’ve performed in dozens of these restored venues and no two are ever alike. This one was unique and spectacular. These vaudeville houses almost always give us a bit of a challenge backstage. The stages aren’t generally as large as the newer theatres but thanks to the hard work – bordering on miraculous – of Cindy and David, they made almost everything fit and the show moved along at a great pace.
Frank Polleck and his crew also made our day much easier. They were prepared for us before we arrived, saving us a few hours in the set up of the lights. Mary Ingersoll and her staff did a spectacular job of marketing the event and we were only a few seats from a total sell out.
The day before the show, I had the chance to work with some very special kids in the St. Joseph community with the Healing of Magic program (www.MagicTherapy.com). These kids worked really hard to master some tricks of their own and accomplished some other goals along the way. The local ABC affiliate featured them on the 6pm news and, next Sunday, the local newspaper is going to do a full feature story. Congratulations guys!
After the workshop, I made a brief appearance on “Live at 5†to promote the show one more time. The host was excellent and kept things moving and exciting. Show day – the audience was GREAT! It’s difficult to put into words how much a great audience can energize a performer. These guys were incredible – cheering the illusions, whistling and applauding. The responses were like a rock concert and a theatre production all at the same time! They even laughed at all the bad jokes (yes, there are a few of those). The volunteers who joined me on the stage for several of the effects contributed a lot of personality. This is always my favorite part of the show, when people from the community join me on the stage. It’s spontaneous and unpredictable. We did have a couple of technical difficulties behind the scenes but Keith and Kylie did a great job of keeping the show moving, cue to cue.
We were up early on Sunday morning driving toward Louisiana. It was a very long day but we had to get close enough to Winnsboro because we had an outreach program today (Monday) with another group of great kids. That one also went very well. Afterwards, we all jumped into the rig and made the trip to Walmart to pick up a few things for the show here tomorrow at the Princess Theatre. After the shopping spree, we did dinner at Chic-A-D’s. This is a great local place that features Cajun chicken and fish – and some amazing BBQ! It was a nice change from fast-food. We took our time and enjoyed every single bite. Now it’s time for some rest.