Fair Lawn, NJ and the mystery man, George

Fair Lawn, New Jersey is about a thirty minute drive from my home in Maplewood, NJ on the Garden State Parkway (provided there is no traffic). This show was this past Sunday February 4, Super Bowl Sunday, and thankfully there wasn't too much traffic on the roads. My performance was scheduled for 3pm but as usual I arrived about thirty minutes prior to set-up and familiarize myself with the surroundings. A very nice couple was throwing a birthday bash for their ten year old daughter who loved magic. In all there were about thirty people in attendance and the performance took place in their living room. These I find are some of the best shows. There is something about performing in someone's home that makes everything better. Perhaps it is that people are usually on their best behavior when in their own (or their friend's home) or maybe its just the energy that is prevalent when someone is within their own space. Nevertheless, there were about 15 adults and 15 children--ages ten to about 16. Adults ranged in age from late 30's to mid 70's. An excellent group. I performed a variety of magic (no escapes) choosing various pieces from my repertoire which included playing cards, coins, silk handkerchiefs, fire and money. There was alot of food catered for this event and I was invited to stay (after the performance and partake in the food festivities) but I declined. After the show I met with many of the adults and gave out my entire stack of business cards, hopefully securing some shows for the future.

As of this writing, I continue to hone the script for my stage show, The Escapist. I am adding more of my personal experiences (lockouts, safe cracking, etc.) that I encountered in my years as a locksmith in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I hope to open The Escapist somewhere (preferably Las Vegas) in the near future. My partner George, one of the best idea men and certainly the best graphic/set designer I have ever met will provide the visuals. He will be storyboarding sections of the script and provide illustrations for the lobby display and some of the effects.

More about the mystery-man, George. In every artistic endeavor, I think it is important for the artist to be able to bounce ideas off of someone else, to have a partner in their creativity. George is such a man--many of my ideas were only half ideas until I told George about them and then he breathed new life into them. Several times, he re-designed and rebuilt props I had been using for years, making them better in the process. He has created posters and flyers for events I have performed around the country. George is a great guy and is one of the most talented people I have ever met. George also knows everybody--well, not everybody--but enough people in the industry--that also are able to help. George created the segments that you can see on YouTube as well as The Escapist logo and key art animation. One interesting story about George--on one of our many meetings, I had mentioned that I needed to shoot a brief host segment for a Discovery Channel pitch. I was thinking of just taking a hi-8 camera and shooting myself on my driveway. George heard me say this and like the masterful director that he is--sprang into action. We were not going to do this on my driveway--he informed me. So George started making calls, right there in the diner where we were having lunch. Inside of an hour he had a theatre space, a camera crew and a design for a set that looked better than anything on television. So, can Vegas be far off with George at the helm? I think not.

I have a few shows scheduled out-of-state in the next few months, including one in Fort Lauderdale Florida.

Peace