Yesterday was a fantastic day! Â This is our fourth visit to the Renaissance Theatre in Mansfield, OH in the last 10-12 years. Â Brandon and the entire team here are great and always make us feel at home. Â This is one of those theatres where you really do feel like family.
Our day started fairly early because the show was scheduled to begin at 7pm. Â But our hotel was right next door to the theatre – no drive time, just walk across the parking lot. Â There’s a lot of construction going on around the Renaissance Theatre. Â They’ve just added a $5 million addition (very nice) and they are preparing to move the loading dock. Â I pulled the truck to the dock while the rest of the guys scoped the stage and prepared for load in.
Load in went smoothly. Â This is a great crew and we set several time records during the day. Â Before noon, we had all the backdrops in the air, the intelligent lighting in place, and everything in the proper location on stage. Â LUNCH!
After lunch, we were back and started hitting it hard to get the conventional lighting focused, the intelligents programmed, and all the illusions spiked on the stage. Â We had this all done by 4:30pm – another record with this crew!
During the afternoon, Mr. Tony Hassini (President of the International Magicians Society) arrived in Mansfield to spend the day with us in the theatre. Â What an honor it was to have him with us for the entire day. Â He was there to watch the show go up, see the details of how a touring show works from theatre to theatre, and gain a better understanding of just how we bring our show to communities around the world. Â We would later find out that he was there for another reason as well.
The show started right on time – 7pm. Â What a great audience! Â We are never disappointed by the crowd in Mansfield and this was no exception.
However, the big moment of our night came at the top of the second half of the show. Â Brandon, GM of the Renaissance, welcomed the audience back from intermission and then introduced Mr. Hassini. Â Mr. Hassini addressed the audience and briefly explained the history of the Merlin Award. Â He then introduced Cindy and I and awarded us with the prestigious MAGICIAN OF THE YEAR award, presented by the International Magicians Society. Â It was very cool!
A big THANK YOU to the community of Mansfield for their continued support of our show…and to everyone at the Renaissance Theatre for always taking care of us, making us feel like family, and for the great work that they all do!