TJ & DOTTY

All good things must come to an end.  School starts back and the summer is almost over.  We hope everyone has had a safe and fun summer.

If you see us performing at a venue please stop and say hello. 

Until later,

God Bless

TJ & Dotty

I have been in this business for over 35 years.  We are not rich but we have made a living with our magic.  If you want just wealth then this is not the profession for you.

This has been the worst we have seen.  People just don't have extra money to pay for entertainment.  Even compaines have cut way back on their trade shows.  I do think that things will start to improve, but it will be at a slow pace.

The main thing to do is for all of us to be ready when the shows start picking up.  Practice everyday and work on makeing your show better.

God Bless

TJ

Last week I saw a magician on TV  totally blowing a trick they did.  Now this was suppose to be a top professional magician.  Maybe they didn't understand camera angles or they didn't bother to check and see if this trick was one that was good for TV.  Maybe they just didn't practice enough.  I know we all make mistakes but this was done so poorly it just looked bad.

So please practice practice and then practice some more. 

I thank god for everyday he gives me but I really enjoy summer.  We take our grandson to white water and he always loves it.   I spend a lot of the time at the pool working on some new ideas for our shows.

Please everyone have a happy and fun summer but remember to be safe around water.  God Bless.

Some of this information was reported on by  Mike Weatherford a reporter in Las Vegas.

It seems that once again magic is takeing a new direction.  Are people growing tired of the large illusion shows.  Many Vegas illusion shows are coming to an end.  Maybe it's just time for magic to go in a different direction.   Every illusion show lately all seem to be the same thing.  Danceing girls music playing as the magician moves along the large stage to a empty box where he produces a tiger, lion, or another girl.  Lets face how many ways can you cut a person in half. 

Andrew Mayne, publisher of the Web site iTricks (which broke the story of Burton's departure before the local press), notes Blaine's street theater shifted magic "to things that feel real. When a guy pushes a box onstage, it's obviously a magic box."

Mayne says "every one of my friends working cruise ships" -- the bulk of working pros -- have been asked to "get rid of the illusions" and scale down their acts as a cost-cutting measure. That levels the playing field for the more comedic acts, such as Mac King and Penn & Teller, who seem on stronger footing locally.

Blame the recession, sure. But it's also fair to ask if the likes of Hans Klok and the Fercos Brothers weren't already threatened by changing tastes, that the public is tired of dancers circling a box to "Carmina Burana" before the box flies open to reveal a tiger.

"Look at the evolution of Copperfield's show," Mayne says of the Strip's most successful magician. "The dance sequences are gone."

Magic isn't going to vanish from Vegas it is just going through one of it's many changes.

Even cruise lines are asking magicians to dump their illusion shows.  This could open up some doors for orther type magical acts aboard ships.

The Society Of American Magicians is holding it's convention this year here in Atlanta. 

I may or may not attend, it depends if we get booklings for that time.  I want turn down work to attend because shows are hard enough to book in these tough times.

More about the convention later on.

Spring is here, summer is not far behind.   We hope everyone has a very safe and fun summer.  If you see us perform please stop buy and say hello.

My wife and I had the great honor of meeting one of  the all time greats in magic last night, Mr. John Calvert.  Mr. Calvert is 97 years old and he and his wife Tammy still perorm their wonderful show together.  This man has lived a life most of us can only dream about.   If you ever get the chance to see him prform in person, don't miss it.

Spring is just around the corner.  Dotty and I have been very busy with shows and some new projects we are working on.

If you see us at a performance please stop by and say hi.