Wow, it’s hard for me to believe my last post was at the end of August! After returning from Morocco, my schedule kicked into high gear. During the month of September, I was home only one day a week – Monday. After Morocco, I was on my way to Denver, Grand Rapids, and (finally) Miami Beach. All of them were great places but the schedule and travel were grueling, especially after so much international travel this summer.
I returned from Miami Beach on Sunday, Sept 23, and stayed home for all of 90 minutes. I swapped suitcases, met the team at the truck, and we were on our way to Burlington, NC to work with the McCrary Theatre on the campus of Elon University.
ELON, NC
We’ve performed at the McCrary Theatre a few times over the years but our last show here was in 2006. The show has changed dramatically since then and, this time, I was also able to work with the Special Education and Physical Therapy Departments. The first stop was a Hocus Focus presentation in the Foundations of Special Education class. Professor Emmons made some changes to the class schedule in order to accommodate this presentation. The students were great, attentive, learned a few tricks, and even performed for each other
After this class presentation, we (Chase, Eli, and I) walked to the Acorn to grab a bite to eat before making our way to the new physical therapy building for the evening presentation. With 64 therapists signed up for the evening Healing of Magic class, this was going to be fun! Therapists were exposed to the research behind this type of therapy, learned a few tricks, and examined them to determine the therapeutic value of each one.
The following day was the performance in the theatre. We arrived early in the day to begin setting up. This would be Eli’s first performance with us so Keith padded the schedule for all of us a bit…after a long summer, we might need that extra time! Turns out, things went just great.
It was a sold out show with an enthusiastic audience. The standing ovation from a mix audience of college students, adults, families, and seniors was a fantastic way to begin the fall tour! You can reach the review by the college newspaper by clicking the image below.
PRINCETON, WV
After Elon, we were on our way to the Chuck Mathena Center for the Arts in Princeton, WV. This is a beautiful theatre nestled in a wonderful community.
The day before the show, the staff at the CMC arranged for a Healing of Magic continuing education workshop for area therapists and teachers. It was a packed event with more than 20 in attendance. It was held in the Gallery of the Performing Arts Center – a beautiful setting for an art-integrated workshop. Everyone was excited to learn new techniques they can effectively use with their clients and students.
The following night, Saturday, was the performance at the Chuck Mathena Center. It was a great day from start to finish, including a wonderful standing ovation from an amazing audience! Here are a few pics of the day…
