Switching Gears

Now that school assembly season is over, I am right in the thick of library season. This past winter, I showcased for about 40 librarians in a New York library system, and apparently they liked me, as well over three-quarters of them booked me for at least one performance this summer. Many of my summer library shows involve kicking off the "Summer Reading Club", and doing a brief pitch encouraging kids to sign up for the reading program. For me, this is terrific, as it ties in with my school year assembly, "The Magic of Reading". Surprisingly, most of the libraries don't actually book the reading motivation show, they book my "Comedy Magic Show", which is a non-education, "just-for-fun" magic show. For me, I enjoy this show, as it lets me cut loose a bit more than in schools. My humor can be a little closer to my actual personality, and the uninhibitedness (?) of the kids in this environment provides me more material for ad-libbing. This spontaneity makes these shows more unpredictable, and consequently, more fun in some ways than my school-year shows.

The flip side of this is that in school assembly work, you know in advance nearly every detail of your upcoming performance. You know the size of the group, the age range of the audience, and as such, you can tailor your material very specifically to your crowd prior to arriving. Indeed, I have several versions of my school assembly program, each one aimed at a specific audience demographic.

With libraries, though, you never know what you're going to get until the audience is in front of you. While many libraries have some system for signing up for programs in advance, many people who sign up don't show, and many people who find themselves at the library on show day will want to come in when they find out there's a free magic show in the next room. What this means for me is that I must bring an overabundance of material in my show case, and make a few subtle changes as the audience drifts in. Today, for example, my audience initially looked like it was going to be predominantly young, with most kids 7 and under. Just before I stepped onstage, though, there was a surge of 8-12 year old kids who came in. This necessitated some quick revising of my act to account for the older kids. A lot of the tricks and routines that just kill for younger audience leave you looking like a complete fool in front of older kids. To work well for a mixed group, you need enough silly stuff to keep the little kids laughing and quiet, and enough material for the older kids to keep them from turning on you like a pack of wolverines. Today, I believe I accomplished that goal. Everyone looked happy, my librarian seemed thrilled, and it sounds like I'll be invited back. That's a good show in my book.

Support Your Local Library

I performed at the Pearl River Public Library in Pearl River, NY last night. I presented my "Comedy Magic Show" for an audience of about 175, mostly kids, but a lot of adults as well. All in all, it was a good show. My "Cards Across" routine went south when my 2 volunteers suddenly lost the ability to count to 10 and kept switching names on me, but other than that, I was pleased with the show and the group.

One of the reasons libraries invite me to perform is to generate a walk-in crowd on Budget Vote day. Each year, libraries, just like school districts, have the taxpayers come in and vote on the upcoming year's budget. Sometimes they are voting for a large increase, for example, when a library is planning a major renovation. In the 15 or so years I've been working at libraries, I've seen some of my regular clients undergo some amazing overhauls. The South Country Library in Bellport, NY; The Bethpage Library in Bethpage, NY; the Sachem Public Library in Sachem, NY; East Islip Public Libary in East Islip, NY; the Princeton Public Library in Princeton, NJ; all of these have made some amazing upgrades in the past few years. Libraries in general have morphed into a community center. Most libraries now offer programs for kids (that's where I come in!), adults and families; internet access; DVD, CD, and VHS rentals; tax preparation assistance and tax forms; many now even have coffee shops. Many of them even have books you can borrow for free!

In view of the amazing array of services available for little or no cost at the local library, two things amaze me. First, I can't believe how few people avail themselves of all these amenities. For most people, their library is only a few minutes away, and in many instances, it's within walking distance. Seeing how expensive things are getting in general, you would think people would flock to a place offering free entertainment and other services.

The second thing that surprises me harkens back to the budget vote thing. I understand that no one likes to pay taxes, and voting against budgets is a way to express that feeling. Each year, our local daily newspaper publishes the results of the school district budget votes, and year after year, the number of schools having their budgets defeated remains high. While I disagree with the sentiments of those who feel teachers are overpaid and have a cushy schedule, I can at least understand those feelings being the basis of a "No" vote on a school budget. The average person who gets 2 or 3 weeks paid vacation a year looks at those 2-3 months off every summer and thinks teachers have it easy. Having worked in many schools through the years, I can tell you the truth is dramatically different, but I'm not the voice of authority on this; I'm just the magician.

But even if you are willing to vote against your kids' school budget and eliminate the music program, after-school activities, and sports programs, it still makes no sense to me to vote against your library budget. There is no way anyone can think that librarians are overpaid- according to a survey conducted by Denise M. Davis and Jenifer Grady for the American Library Association, mean salaries for librarians are as follows:


Position Types by Mean of Salaries Paid, 2005
Title Regional Salary Data

Director $78,054

Deputy/Associate/Assistant Directors $60,729

Department Heads/Coordinators/Senior Managers $55,833

Managers/Supervisors of Support Staff $44,324

Librarians who do not supervise $47,246

Beginning Librarians $36,486

The mean salary for a library director is only $78,000. This means that the top person at the library is earning less than $100,000 per year. Granted, this is not poverty level, but for someone running the entire operation, that is not exactly living high on the hog. Note too, that many positions in the library require a Master's Degree in Library Science. There are very few private sector jobs that require an advanced degree and pay so little.

Having a good library in your neighborhood is good for property values; it adds to the ambience of your town; it gives kids and families a place to learn and laugh; and it encourages us to grow as individuals. The next time your local library is asking you to vote on the budget, before you go into the booth, think about what you are getting for your money.

4-Pack

If there's one thing a performer like myself likes, it's multiple shows in one area. These days, with the price of gas at 3.19 for 87 regular here on Long Island, it's great when I can work more than one or two shows in an area that's far away. Yesterday I had 4 shows spread over 3 schools in the same school district about 150 miles away. Since my first show started at 9:00 AM, that necessitated getting on the road by 5:00 AM. For those unfamiliar with Long Island traffic, if you don't get on the road before 6:00 AM, you aren't getting there. The Long Island Expressway is unpredictable, which in some ways is worse than knowing you're going to be sitting in traffic. While I despise sitting and not moving, some days I arrive at a show 2 hours earlier than I need to be there. There's never much to do at 7 in the morning, unless you're in Vegas.

Fortunately, yesterday's show wasn't like that. I got there about an hour before showtime, which was perfect. I had plenty of time to find my contact person, bring in my equipment, and set up the show. The first show was for a K-2 audience of about 120 students. This is a bit smaller than most school shows, but they were an enthusiastic audience. The Media Specialist who booked my also requested a slightly shorted show than usual, so I needed to keep one eye on the clock as I performed. My show normally runs 45 minutes, and I've been doing it nearly 15 years, so at this point, I don't need to watch the clock to know if I'm running short or long- the show is pretty set. To cut it by 10 minutes, though, meant I needed to trim some pieces and rearrange the rest. Thus the need for the clock.

Show number 2 was pretty much the same- K-2, only this time about 180 kids. The students were a little more active; they had just been outside to visit with the local firefighters who brought their trucks down, so they were a little tougher to control than usual. Not a problem- I'll take an active crowd over a quiet passive one any day of the week. I'm having a little trouble with my voice this week, though, so that made it slightly more challenging than normal. Once again, a fun group, and some very satisfied teachers.

The last 2 shows were at a 3-6 grade school. Unlike many magicians, I enjoy working with older kids- "tweens". 3rd and 4th grade are easy enough for most performers, but 5th and 6th grade students really seem to rattle a lot of magicians. I've written extensively about working for this age group for THE FUNNY PAPER, a magazine for entertainers. The key for older kids, at least in my opinion, is to have good solid material, obviously, and not to try to hard to make them like you. If you go out and try to be too hip or too cool for the room, they'll eat you alive. The fun part about a "tween" audience is that I can pretty much be myself. I'm a fairly sarcastic person by nature, and kids in this age group seem to like that type of humor. What's nice is that the teachers seem to really enjoy the show, too. The magic is strong, and there's a lot of laughs. It was a nice way to finish the day.

Of course, after 4 shows, I still had the 150 mile drive home. There's no good way to get home any time after 2:30 to Long Island, and my 2.5 hour drive up became a 3.5 hour drive home. Got back just in time to feed the cats, pick up Jen, have dinner, and take a quick walk after dinner. I barely stayed awake for the second inning of the Mets game- late start in LA. All in a day's work.

Field Day


I got a call a few days ago for a school show. They were having a "field day" event, and wanted a magic show to cap off the day. To make it more fun, it was for my niece Katie's class, as well as for the other second grade classes. Katie has seen my show more times than anyone should have to, but she's a good sport, and if she doesn't really enjoy the show, she fakes it pretty well.

Upon arriving, I found my contact person and let them know I was there. There were several hundred kids and parents milling around the school fields, and I was lucky to find her so quickly. I found my performing area and started to set up. One woman approached me and introduced herself. She told me that I had performed at her son's communion party a few weeks ago, and told me how much fun he had. I've got a pretty bad memory, but I instantly recalled the party and her son. A moment later he came running over and said hello. I smiled- now there would be at least 2 kids in the audience on my side!

By showtime, it was about 80 degrees. In the best of conditions, I tend to sweat when I perform- it's a combination of adrenaline and caffeine. 80 degrees outside and I don't sweat, I pour. Fortunately I had a towel and a bottle of water handy, so it didn't get too ugly.

For the most part, I performed my standard kidshow act- Pom Pom Pole, a rope trick, Mike Bent's "Royal Magic Trick", a few others, and for my finale, the ubiquitous Peanut Butter and Jelly Trick. 30 minutes later, the show was over, and it went great. Second graders are a fun audience- they're old enough so that I can make jokes and engage in by-play with them, but young enough that they're not jaded. The longer I do this, the sooner that seems to happen, but second graders are still kids, thankfully. This group was an ideal audience- they yelled and pointed when they were supposed to, they laughed at all the jokes, and I didn't have a stroke in the heat. All in all, a successful outdoor show. As a sidenote, I got a call about an hour after I got back to the office from the same school, wanting me to perform for the Kindergartners in a week. Cool!