Phew – finally having a sit down after what must have been one of the most hectic Saturdays ever! Apart from doing our shows, Tamar and I were busy packing for our upcoming trip, preparing our presentations, assembling our presents and items for the show and tell sessions and generally trying to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything. We were both up until 3am – Tamar proofing and tweaking her lecture notes and me adding new material to a powerpoint presentation I’ll be giving on Edwin’s Supreme years. We finally think we are ready, so just todays shows (1 each) to do and then we’re off to Heathrow to meet up with Gary Dunn.
I’ve known Gary for a while now, but only really got the opportunity to see him perform while filming and editing his ‘Keep Them Laughing’ DVD. Needless to say, I was blown away and have petitioned heavily for him to be invited to this year’s KGB meeting. My gift to the members last year was a copy of the DVD, so needless to say – not too much persuasion was necessary.
So what is KGB?
We are a group of children’s entertainers from all over the world who meet once a year to lecture, exchange ideas, try out new effects, perform together and generally hang out and have fun.
The group was started 10 years ago by DAVID KAYE and BRUCE BRAY – two giants in the field, who felt that children’s entertainers got a poor deal at most magic conventions and wanted to meet with like-minded individuals for an intensive 3 day workshop session. The name was a bit of a joke – the initials standing for Kidshow Guru Braintrust. Bruce thought it was hilarious to have such a fun group with a sinister sounding title. The KGB started with just 6 members, but now there are 22 worldwide, with new members being added each year. The aim is to keep the number of attendees at the annual meeting to around 12, so that the intimate nature of the gathering isn’t lost. Sadly, Bruce is no longer with us – he passed away in 2011, but his group carries on.
This year we will have 11 attending and will be spending 4 days at the Magic Castle hotel in L.A., then on Saturday we will all perform a theatre show in aid of a children’s charity.
Along the way I’ll try to make lots of little video clips, I’ll blog about what goes on each day – so if anyone is interested, you can follow me either on here or Facebook.
KGB7 – My first visit to the Magic Castle
Ok – gotta go and work. One more show and we’re done!
I’m quite horrified that it has been so long since my last post, even though I’m pretty sure hardly anyone reads them! I ended my last blog with a promise that the second part of my Kidabra review would follow SOON!
I can no longer keep the promise on the second part, but I will at least finish off the review. Unfortunately Kidabra was back in August and is now fading to a distant memory, but I’ll try to run through the highlights that have stayed with me. Apologies for any ommisions.
I left my last review just after the auction, which finally ended at about midnight. The only item I was considering bidding on was a David Ginn miniature coffin with spring snakes and two horror masks. It eventually went to Mike Bent, who to be fair will probably put it to far better use than I would have.
Shortly after everything went dark! The power for the whole of Pigeon Forge went out! Mike found himself walking through the pitch black hotel corridoors with a miniature coffin under his arm. He bumped into two kids and promptly gave them the two scary masks and told them to enjoy themselves. I can imagine his satisfied chuckling as he listened to them terrorising the poor hotel guests.
The next morning brought with it two lectures, from Jim Austin and Dal Sanders. Jim demonstrated effects and techniques for working at nursing homes and Dal showed a selection of holiday themed magic.
After Lunch came my old Supreme Pal BRUCE AMATO with Jim Kleefeld, presenting their ideas for Reading show routines.
The highlight of the day for me was a chance to see my old friend DAVE ANDREWS perform for a group of Kindergarten-age children. His opening vent routine with the chord and bottle was so good that it has taken a lot of willpower not to simply steal the whole thing and put it in my act. No chance of that with his ball and silk routine. Anyone who has seen Dave at the British Ring Convention will know that he is a skilled manipulator and to see him apply this to a kids routine was just pure magic! It was also great to see Percy Platypus and the lovely Jessica the Duck too.
After Dinner Max Howard and Mark Daniel had an ‘open conversation’ about the art of kid’s magic, which was followed by the dealer dem.
The day ended with everyone in the lobby for Ken Scott’s Midnight Jam. The beer flowed, balloons got twisted and to Tamar’s delight, we were visited by a raccoon!
Friday brought with it a morning of breakout sessions, then came the lecture I’d been waiting for: Steve Petra – Let’s Get Visual.
Steve is full of enthusiasm and energy. He talks fast, fiddles with his props in an annoying fashion and wanders up and down the stage so fast it makes you dizzy. He’s also BRILLIANT. I was reduced to tears watching a routine with a totally featureless glove puppet called Eugene. The whole lecture was filled with incredible ideas and loads of ‘Why the Hell didn’t I think of that?’ moments. I feel privileged to have been able to attend this lecture and it was worth the cost of the convention on it’s own, no kidding.
The fun continued with Mike Bent’s library show. Mike is one of my favourite performers. No, scratch that – favourite people in the whole world. He is an incredible natural comedian with a deliciously dark sense of humour and a passion for horror movies and the macabre. It’s no wonder we get along!
His library show didn’t disappoint – Mike took classic kids props and re-imagined them. His Jim Henson style Fraidy Cat Rabbit and Hugo Cabret themed card duck were just two of many highlights. I also had to smile when Mike (an outspoken supporter of the Democratic Party) managed to get an entire audience of children in the (mostly) Republican State of Tennessee shouting out ‘Yes we can!’ as the magic word. Pure class!
After Dinner we reassembled for ‘An Evening With Steve Axtell’. Steve took us through the history of his firm and many people (myself included) took to the stage to pay tribute to him. I was delighted that I became the first person to perform on stage with Steve’s new ‘Twist -A – Tronix balloon puppet system.
But the day wasn’t over yet. The amazing Tod Neufeld and Buster Balloon took to the stage to spend nearly 2 hours running through a collection of balloon stunts, tricks and gags. These guys are amazing and still left us screaming for more.
All in all, this is probably the best day I have ever spent at a magic convention anywhere in the world. I hugged Mark Daniel after Tod and Buster’s lecture and thanked him for persuading me to come to Pigeon Forge again this year.
Saturday was the last day of Kidabra and it’s always sad as things draw to a close.
Tim Sonefelt kicked off the proceedings with his Warren Stephens lecture. I unfortunately missed Tim’s lecture, which I’m sure was my loss, not his.
Matt Fore came next. I love this guy – he is hilarious and his routines are real workers. I spent some money on his stand after the lecture, which is a rare endorsement from me!
The Afternoon saw Barry Mitchell and Terry Evanswood join forces to demonstrate how to add emotional resonance to an effect. The highlight for many came at the end when Barry received a Marilyn Monroe-a-gram to celebrate his birthday.
My Buddy Ken Scott was the last lecturer of Kidabra 2012. His lecture took the form of a motivational speech and left the whole crowd on a high.
Then it was my turn.
I was this years host for the Kidabra Gala show and it has to be said, it would be hard to fail with the line up that we had. I had the pleasure of introducing Mike Bent, who was refreshingly dark for a Kidabra show. His act included breastfeeding spiders, rabbid raccoons and a very scary doll. Great! Jason Hudy provided some sophisticated illusions and a funny water monte routine, Buster and Tod were hilarious – seeing Buster inside a giant pink balloon was a rare treat! I performed with Charlie and my mask routine, before introducing Ken Scott, who closed the show with Princess Silks, Picto Transpo and his Fantasy Magician.Hilarious as always.
A great show and a great ending to a wonderful convention. We all shed a tear as the botania was closed for another year.
I know, I know – in my last post I promised a full review of Kidabra 2012, then fell silent again. Well here it is! I hope it was worth waiting for! The 21st Kidabra conference – ‘The Year of Inspiration’ proved to be the best I’ve ever attended. Tamar and I began our long journey to Pigeon Forge, Tennesse on August the 12th, when we drove up to the Manchester Airport Hilton. We spent the evening watching the olympics closing ceremony and discussing the trip ahead, which was also going to serve as the second part of our honeymoon. To cut a long story short, we arrived in Knoxville at 5.30 the next evening, picked up the hire car and drove to the Music Road Hotel. Unfortunately, our luggage had failed to arrive on the same plane as us, deciding instead to stay in Philadelphia, so the first excursion was to the huge local Walmart to buy a few essentials. All this fuss almost made us decide not to attend Dave and Sally Andrews’ Brits party, but I was really glad we did. When we opened the door we were greeted by a Krispy Kreme donut wedding cake, complete with decorative trim and bride and groom! All this was courtesy of Gus and Monica Harvett – a great couple and two great friends. We were over the moon!
Gus and Monica’s delicious creation
It was great to see Gus and Monica again, along with GG and Charlie Siebert, Kevin Doig, Scott Thatcher and Sally and Dave, but jetlag soon got the better of us and it was time for bed. Tuesday started well, with the discovery that our luggage had been delivered to the hotel, and just got better and better. Gus and Monica had arranged for us Brits to spend the morning horseback riding, which was a first for me! I always love the first day of Biz Builders at Kidabra, because it’s fun to just sit in the hotel lobby and watch old friends and acquaintances arrive. By lunchtime we’d met up with my KGB brothers Ken Scott, Joe Romano and Mark Daniel and we were really starting to have fun. There was definitely a buzz in the air this year! The first lectures were from Kevin Heller and Brad Ross. Kevin dealt with the Pitch- selling your show. I’m no marketing expert and this proved really interesting.
Kevin Heller throwing out free stuff – I seem quite determined to catch that vanishing silk hanky!
Brad’s Facebook and social media lecture really struck a chord with me. Both Tamar and I are addicted to Facebook and there were so many good ideas in Brad’s talk that could be implemented right away. I got LOADS out of this lecture – thanks Brad!
Brad looks more like a Disney character every time I see him!
After the lectures it was time to head to Terry Evanswood’s theatre to watch a special one-off performance of ‘The War Wizard’ by Max Howard. Max is incredible! He is such a fine actor and consummate professional. Everything this man does oozes class. To see him transform into Gus Rich was pure magic. I am so thrilled to have had the chance to see this amazing one man play. What a great end to day one! Wednesday opened with the second round of Biz Builders sessions. Dal Sanders gave some great advice on turning a restaurant gig into a ‘dinner theatre’ show, along with lots of practical marketing ideas. I didn’t get a chance to attend the lecture by Tom Dowling AKA Tom Phoolery, but Tamar raved about the ideas and brought back a complete set of everything that was on sale at the lecture, so I guess that’s a vote of confidence!
Tamar was particularly impressed with Tom’s low-cost, mini backdrop!
During Tom’s lecture I had been discussing the opening ceremony video with Ken Scott, and on Tamar’s return we set about recording and editing it. This unfortunately meant that we both missed David Farr , Dave Risley, and Jason Hudy’s lectures, but Scott raved about them, and he’s a hard man to please! Here’s a clip of the opening ceremony – along with the video we made:
After the opening comes the auction, with Kidabra’s beloved auctioneer Gary Shelton. I’ll leave you with some photos of the first two days. Part 2 coming soon!
Gus and Monica’s delicious creation
Kevin Heller throwing out free stuff – I seem quite determined to catch that vanishing silk hanky!
Brad looks more like a Disney character every time I see him!
Tamar was particularly impressed with Tom’s low-cost, mini backdrop!
Wow! It’s been almost two months since I last wrote a blog post. Between then and now I have made another trip to Devon to record my second appearance with Dick and Dom, I’ve got married, had a short holiday in the Lake District, recorded a new DVD for children’s magicians, spent a week entertaining our niece Lola and showing her the sights of Derbyshire, flown to Tennessee to attend the Kidabra convention and MC the Gala show, then had a few days in a secluded log cabin in the smoky mountains!
I’ll try to give a full review of Kidabra 2012 in my next post, but I feel it would be a little remiss of me not to talk a little bit about my wedding to the lovely Tamar Chappell, AKA Barmy Bella, children’s entertainer.
Tamar and I met (quite fittingly) at the Kidology Magic Convention in Wolverhampton last September (2011). We’d chatted online before in a professional capacity, but this was the first time I ever saw her face to face. Things happened very quickly from that moment on. By October, we had confessed our feelings for one another. By November, we had moved in together and by February this year we were engaged. I’m not one to rush into these things, but when you finally meet the right person, you just know.
Our wedding was not a big extravagant affair – it is second time round for both of us and we felt we’d rather spend money on travelling and enjoying our lives together than blow it all on one day. Several good friends from the magic world were in attendance. along with loved ones from both our families.
Our wedding – photo by Clive ‘Emazdad’ Helmsley
The ceremony itself was at Chrsterfield Registry office – it got a nice laugh when the registrar pronounced us husband and wife with the words ‘You may now update your facebook statuses’ and we both promptly got out our iPhones.
Our reception was in the Olde House hotel – after the speeches we played a little video compiled of clips from people who couldn’t make it to the wedding. Here’s the video – there are a few in-jokes, but even those who weren’t in the know found most of it funny:
After a great day of celebration, it was off to the lakes for a short honeymoon at the Old Vicarage at Ambleside. It was incredibly relaxing and we managed to pick the only 4 days of sunshine that July had to offer. Couldn’t have been better!
Our wedding – photo by Clive ‘Emazdad’ Helmsley
That just about wraps it up for this post. In short, I am now married to the woman of my dreams and life is very exciting at the moment.
My next post will be a review of Kidabra 2012 – it was definitely one of the best magic conventions I’ve ever attended!
I’m finally back home after yet another 5 hour drive and feeling very happy to be part of what looks like a great new kid’s TV show. Shortly after my last blog post I was called to record my spot. It was nice to find out that I had already met the director and much of the crew when I was on ‘The Slammer’. I was the last of the three acts to be filmed and I performed on a small, high stage with the the audience of kids and adults standing.
The Waltzer
Hmm – these guys look familiar!
Signing autographs
More adoring fans!
The lovely Terri – Casting Researcher
Timo Marc – brilliant magician
My alternative dressing room
I’d asked if I could have a few minutes with the audience to warm them up prior to performing and this was great for helping to get rid of any last minute nerves. The two guys they’d picked as helpers for me were great and the whole thing went very quickly. My voice didn’t feel 100% – the results of doing 3 shows yesterday and recording early in the morning, but it was agreed that the one take was enough.
It was a lot of fun watching this show come together – Dick and Dom performed several truly surreal and hilarious pieces to camera and it was nice to chat to Dominic Wood afterwards about Supreme Magic and meeting him at the Reading Junior Day when he was a young lad. The boy has certainly done very well for himself!
I had one more piece to perform to camera – my introduction, from a rapidly spinning waltzer! I was in a car alongside Timo Marc and our brief was that he was supposed to appear super-relaxed, while I was to act terrified! I’m not a big fan of spinning rides, so my acting skills weren’t pushed too hard!
All that was left to do then was sign some autographs and say my goodbyes.
After filming wrapped I thought it would be fun to move the door sign from my trailer to a porta-loo and have a picture taken. Timo and Terri were up for this and we took some shots, only to realise that there was someone actually using the loo and afraid to come out while we were messing about outside. We all ran off like giggling school children.
So all in all, a very fun weekend – the cast and crew of this show is great and I can’t wait to see how it looks in September.
Back to blogging! I know it’s been a while since I wrote anything and it’s certainly not been because I had nothing to write about. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been pretty busy and had some fun gigs. I particularly enjoyed returning as guest act for Britain Does Variety for the second year running. The standard of the acts this year was incredible – I’m really glad I wasn’t competing. The crowd were very nice to me though and gave me a really good reception.
Yesterday was probably the most tiring day I’ve had in years. I said goodbye to Tamar in the morning and drove to my first show, a birthday party in the north of Sheffield. That was followed closely after by another full 2 hour party in Chesterfield, then an evening show in a particularly soggy marquee in Winster. I finished my gigs at 9pm, exhausted – then had to drive nearly 300 miles to Devon, where I am filming for Dick and Dom’s new TV show, Hoopla.
It was a 7am call this morning. I got about 3 hours sleep and I staggered into Dingle’s Heritage Fairground bleary eyed and feeling pretty lousy. . I’m writing this in my trailer and people keep running back and forth Bringing me coffee and food, so I’m starting to pick up already! It’s a far cry from doing birthday parties, but it’s best not to get used to this kind of treatment. It doesn’t last long.
I’ll blog later when I’ve recorded my performance.
As I write this, Practical’s Fireside Chat number 13 is rendering on my iMac. I finally managed to grab a couple of spare hours to piece it together and it should be online tonight.
Tamar and I headed off in different directions this morning for our Jubilee Shows – this celebration has certainly been good for business! We actually got to see some of the TV footage of the flotilla yesterday and think I can say with some confidence that the Queen and Prince Phillip would probably rather have watched our magic shows than that never ending procession of rather dreary canal boats in the pouring rain.
Here are a couple of pics from where I performed my first show today in Dore. I was on an outdoor stage with no steps up to it, just a rickety old plastic chair. It was difficult to get kids up on stage, but not impossible. Halfway through performing ‘Knitty Knitty Bang Bang’, my young helper announced that he needed the toilet and I could sense by the look of panic in his eyes that it was a matter of some urgency. Luckily we managed to get him down from the stage without any further embarrassment for the poor lad.
Ok, the Fireside chat has rendered – gonna get it uploaded to YouTube.
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