Happy New Year!

Thursday, January 5th, 2012 at 12:59 pm  

Presto the Magician - Happy 2012!

Well, it’s day five of the new year..already. (Man, time flies when you don’t have enough of it.) I enjoyed a great Christmas vacation here at home, finally getting some free time to work on those projects that I never seem to have time for! (I don’t think I’ll ever have time to clean up this office!) While I wish the vacation could have lasted longer, it’s also nice to be back in the swing of things. I’ve got a busy January ahead, lots of birthday parties, mom’s groups presentations, and school shows. PTA/PTO magic shows are some of my favorites because they bring families together. Interestingly, I have some Christmas parties scheduled too. I guess it’s becoming a common thing for some organizations to hold their annual Christmas parties in January (go figure!).

 

As we look ahead to a new year, it’s refreshing to consider the possibilities. I always say that we adults need to be more like children when it comes to dreaming, using our imaginations, and having an open mind. Setting our new year’s resolutions should be no different. I’m looking forward to an incredible year, and planning on doing some things I’ve never done before.

 

Here are three things we can learn from kids about setting new year’s resolutions:

 

  1. Be frank with yourself. Kids tell it like it is! They’re not worried about saying things that are politically correct or even polite! Set goals for things that you really should change, even if they’re not easy or even if they might take you out of your comfort zone.

  2. Dream big. Kids don’t place as many limits on their thinking as adults do. Don’t be afraid to dream big, think outside the box, and use your imagination to create your goals and accomplish them.

  3. Be Happy. Kids laugh and smile more than adults. Having a positive attitude can make accomplishing goals easier, plus it sure makes living life more fun!

  4. Focus on the basics. Kids don’t worry about the latest celebrity gossip, political scandals, or even the month’s bills. (I’m not saying you shouldn’t worry about those!) All they’re thinking about is what they’re going to do after their homework is done and what’s for dinner! As you go through the new year, focus on the few things that really matter to you in life. (Anthony Robbins calls this your Value Circle!)

 

As you plan your year and think about the things you’d like to accomplish, remember to simplify and think more like a child! We really can learn a lot from those little ones!

 

That’s all for today!

- Kevin

The Magic of Christmas

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 at 4:40 pm  

It’s that time of year when everyone is preparing for the holidays!  People are busy, Christmas music is playing in the stores, everyone is getting ready for their long-awaited vacations/days off. In addition to birthday parties and other private events, I get to perform a lot of Christmas shows each December.  This year has been busy!  The next few weeks I have several bazaars, preschools, libraries, and company parties booked. Here’s a few pictures from a holiday show I did at one of my favorite preschools this last week.  (The kids laughed so hard!)

Presto the Magician - Holiday Magic Show for Kids!

Performing my holiday show is fun for me because I get to break out those Christmas-themed routines that sit in storage the rest of the year!  (Rudolph’s nose disappears, reappear and changes colors, Santa gets stuck in a chimney, and I finally receive that super-cool present Santa promised me!  It’s a fun show.)

While Christmas is traditionally a Christian holiday, it’s a time of year when people focus on coming together in a spirit of giving to help those in need, through donations, prayers, service, kind words, and gifts.

For me, this Christmas season has been filled with feelings of gratitude.  This year, more than some others, I’ve felt grateful for even those little things.  A warm house, a good meal, and even my car!  Of course, I feel grateful, more than ever, for the big blessings in life, like a loving and supportive spouse, a loving family, and great clients who have allowed me to make a career out of doing something I love.

So thank you to everyone for your business, your support, your kind words, your smiles, and your examples.

I invite you to join me in spreading a thankful spirit this holiday season.  In all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I invite you to take a moment and express gratitude to someone (or someones!) for something they’ve done for you.  Make a special effort to write them a note, send them an email, or call them up, just to say “Thank you!”

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

- Kevin

Why Kid’s Magic?

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 at 11:35 am  

Why I’m a Kid’s Magician!

Something I don’t think most people know about magicians is that they specialize.  Just like doctors, lawyers, or even mechanics, magicians specialize in different types of magic.  Some magicians specialize in close-up magic; magic with cards, coins, etc.  Some magicians specialize in stage illusions.  Other magicians choose corporate shows and cocktail parties.  Ask a corporate magician to entertain a room full of kids, and he might clam up faster that you can say “disaster!”

I chose to specialize in kid’s magic.  This means that while I can entertain at adult and corporate functions, my real specialty is entertaining kids.  In fact, of the 300 or so shows I perform at each year, 95% of them are kids birthday parties, library programs, preschools, daycares, toys stores, and other special kids events.

Being a kids magician has it’s challenges!  For one, I had to learn how to relate to kids.  You can’t perform for four year-olds the same way you do for adults.  They don’t “get” card tricks!  You have to change your sarcasm, your sense of humor, and your whole performing style to truly entertain them!  Bright, colorful props help keep them interested, while my funny, high-energy personality keeps them entertained.

Kids these days are super-smart.  They’re way ahead of where we were when we were their age.  They’re faster thinking and live in a faster-moving world.  As such, the pace of my show has to be faster.  Kids can get bored easily if they’re not being entertained….and they have no problem telling you!

With kids, it’s about the journey, not the destination.  Kids don’t care if you’re performing incredible magic (unless they’re 9 and 10 year olds, then they’re watching you like a hawk!)  They just want to be entertained.  They want to laugh and have fun!  I try to make my magic shows a mix of amazing magic (that fools the parents) but most importantly, I entertain the kids (That’s why I’m there, right?).  Parents who watch my shows get a big kick out of watching their kids laugh…that’s the way it should be!

To hone my skills, I attend workshops and conventions each year.  One of my favorite is Kidabra!  Kidabra International is the largest kids show entertainer association in the world.  Each summer, I get to travel to Tennessee to learn and share ideas with other kid’s magicians, balloons artist, and clowns.  I attend workshops on topics like audience management, showmanship, mixing education and entertainment and even technical training!  In addition, I read several books on these same topics each year.

Performing magic shows for kids also has it’s rewards.  There really is nothing like seeing the look on a child’s face when they see magic for the first time!  Kids get so excited!  I can’t tell you how many times kids watching my show will drop their jaws in amazement, with wide eyes, and turn around and yell, “Mom, did you see that!”  It’s the best part of my job!

One of the reasons I chose to specialize in kids magic is because I love kids!  In high school, I had the chance to perform a few times at the Seattle Children’s Hospital.  It was a touching experience for me, because it was there that I first learned the power of magic!  I would visit hospital rooms where kids were crying and in pain.  I visited with terminally ill kids who had spend months, some even years in treatment.  The reactions were almost identical.  It was like life was brought back into them!  They smiled, they laughed, and they got that wide-eyed look of amazement I always see in their faces.  I’ll never forget that.

In college, I did an internship with the Make a Wish Foundation, which inspired me even more to bring joy to kids.  It was such an honor to be part of the team that worked to make wishes come true for terminally-ill children.  Again, there are too many experiences to share, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget one of those special kids!

These experiences made such an impact on me, that, to this day, I have a policy of visiting kids in the hospital free of charge.  Schedule permitting, I always offer my services free of charge to families who have a child in the hospital.  It’s amazing what a simple visit and some magic tricks can do to cheer up and brighten a child’s day.

Being a kids magician isn’t easy!  Holding their attention can be more than challenging!  But it’s also one of the most rewarding careers I can imagine.  As anyone who works with kids can tell you, there’s something special about kids!  In some ways, we should all try to be more like them.

That’s all for today!

- Kevin (aka Presto!)

Welcome to the new PrestoTheMagician.com!

Sunday, November 6th, 2011 at 6:40 am  

Welcome to the all new PrestoTheMagician.com !

I’ve been working hard on this new site, and it’s finally up and running!  I’m excited because my old site really needed a makeover (it was very cool 10 years ago!).  This new site has links to my YouTube and Facebook pages, and has tons of great pictures scattered throughout.

In redesigning this site, I spent some time going back through pictures from the past couple years and it was so fun and brought back so many memories of fun events!  I really feel so lucky and blessed to do what I do for a living!  Making kids laugh is a pretty cool job!  I hope you like the pictures throughout the site, I’ll also be posting some new videos on YouTube as I finish them.

If you’ve never seen my show before, I hope you’ll come to one of my upcoming public shows and see the fun for yourself!  In the meantime, visit the video page (under MEDIA) to watch some of the fun.

In this blog, I hope to share what it’s like to be a children’s magician and share some of the funny experiences I have.  (Because let’s be honest…kids really do say the darndest things!)

Happy Magic,

Kevin (aka Presto!)