It's Saturday afternoon and I'm sitting in my hotel room in Martinez, California. For those of you who have never been to Martinez, it really is a lovely place. Downtown Martinez is quaint and very in tune with their past history. The environmentalist John Muir is almost revered here as there is everything from hotels to auto repair shops named after him. His actual home, now a historical landmark, sits right across the street from where I'm staying. The reason I'm here, of course, is to perform. And the place I'm currently performing in is California Magic.
California Magic is a theatre that has just celebrated its third anniversary and seems to be growing stronger as the months go by. You can visit their website and get an idea of what the place looks like and is all about by going to www.calmagic.com. But let me just tell you, the place is great! It's a wonderful venue for live entertainment and has gained the reputation among magicians as the best place to perform next to the Magic Castle in Hollywood. And Gerry and Laura Griffin -- the owners of the place -- are always gracious hosts and are always making sure you have everything you need. I have a good friend who owned and operated a comedy club for 8 1/2 years. He is also a performing comedian. All of the comics that worked his club went out of their way to tell him how much they enjoyed performing there because he knew the performers' mentality. It was great, they consistently told him, that a performing comic was running the club rather than a business man disconnected from the stand-up comedy scene who was only in it to make a buck. My friend treated them differently because he was one of them and kept their needs in mind. Gerry and Laura are exactly the same. They know the needs of the performers who work their theatre (Gerry is a performing magician himself) and they go out of their way to make them feel comfortable.
Last night's show was great. It was a smaller crowd (the first slow night they've had in many months, Laura told me), but their responses to my show made up for the size. They were really receptive and I had a great time performing for them. And the thing is, I wasn't even supposed to BE HERE this week. I had just finished working the theatre in February and was booked for a return visit in September. However, last week Gerry called me and asked if I might be able to fill in for Woody Pittman, also a comedy magician, who had to cancel suddenly to go to Europe. Well, I was home preparing for a trip to New York the week following the week that Gerry needed me, so why not? I only had to bump a couple of minor meetings, and I was on my way.
The drive to Martinez, actually any drive north in California, is a beautiful one. First the beaches and the ocean which then give way to wine country. Nice and relaxing. It gives me time to listen to music and think through my show, possibly working on new ideas that can be included. And then once you arrive here and take in the scenery, well it just makes for a wonderful visit. And if the audiences are good -- which they usually are here -- so much the better. The difference between the audiences at places like California Magic and the Magic Castle and audiences in, say, a comedy club -- which I perform in from time to time -- is that the audience in a comedy club isn't necessarily interested in magic. It takes a skilled performer to grab their interest quick and make them enjoy what you have to offer. At the Magic Castle, and especially at California Magic, the audiences are here for one thing...Magic. Okay, maybe two things -- dinner and magic. The pressure is off in these situations. Granted, you still have to be a skilled performer and offer an enjoyable show, but you don't have to convince them to watch the magic. That's what they've come here for. They are always instantly accepting. And the dinner at California Magic -- which is included in the ticket price -- is superb. It' such a refreshing change to eat good food when you're on the road, and I look forward to hanging out after the show, dining with the Griffins and their staff. It's a good time.
Well, have to go and prepare for tonight's performance, which I'm told is close to sold-out capacity.
Until next time,
Shawn
Shawn McMaster
Conjured-Up Creations
P.O. Box 973
Newbury Park, CA 91319
(805) 480-0703
www.conjuredupcreations.com
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