Friday, April 25, 2008

Waiting for George in Connecticut

It's 11:00 AM and I'm sitting in Bradley Airport in Hartford, CT awaiting my flight. It's still an hour and a half away before we take off, but I've been here since 9:30 AM and it's all thanks to George W.

You see, for some reason our illustrious leader has decided to come to Hartford -- to this very airport -- and therefore, I had to beat the roadblocks. I woke up at 7:00 with the intent of taking my time to finish up some last minute packing, grab a bite to eat, return my rental car and stroll leisurely to my gate.

Then I switched on the TV.

The local news breaks in between the Today show announced that "rolling roadblocks" would be taking place after 10:30 near the airport. "Rolling roadblocks?" Holy crap! So much for the leisurely trip to the airport. You know that if they're stating 10:30 as the beginning of these roadblocks, they're actually going to be preparing for them at around 9:30, and there will be good ol' Shawn sitting in bumper to bumper traffic swearing at George Bush...more than usual.

I made it here without incident, had some breakfast at Einstein's Bagels, read a little, and now here I am sitting in the corner of my gate's boarding area. The faint sound of Drew Carey giving something away on The Price is Right lilts over from the far corner as members of some athletic team from the University of Connecticut -- mostly female, it seems -- start to fill the seats.

Still no sign of George, though...

I flew here from San Diego after a gig on a private yacht for the Toshiba company. that show went great, but I was kept so busy between the strolling close-up magic I performed during the cocktail hour and then the stage show after dinner, that by the time I finished packing up my show and eating my dinner, the cruise through the beautiful San Diego Harbor was over. Oh well. More time to go back and hit the bar at the resort we were all staying at.

HOLD ON! Was that Laura?!

No, false alarm. It wasn't Laura Bush. Besides, she'd have a mass of Secret Service guys around her, wouldn't she? The lady I saw was only carrying a Shih tzu.

From San Diego, I hopped a flight to Hartford in preparation for my appearance at the University of Hartford.

Gads, what a show that was...

You know, when members of your audience are passing around and drinking from a plastic pitcher of beer, you know it's going to be an interesting evening. I bill my stage act as "the magic & mayhem of Shawn McMaster," but I gotta tell you that they had plenty of mayhem going before I showed up on the scene. The show was wild, and though I had a really good time, it was a much different type of show than I am accustomed to presenting. I found myself constantly adjusting what it was that I was doing so as to keep the audience with me. I was successful, but I definitely earned my check, as it was a lot of work. The finale of my stage act, for those who haven't seen it, involve me taking off my clothes and ending up in a Superman-style outfit. Last night at the university show, as I turned my back to begin disrobing, the audience started chanting -- CHANTING -- "Take it off! Take it off!" They were a wild audience, and we got along splendidly.

Wait a minute, there's a crowd of people coming! I swear that's George!

Nope...my mistake. As the crowd got closer, I realized it was just a couple of special needs kids traveling with their teachers and parents. That was the closest we've come, though, since I've been here.

Well, it's about time to board so I need to finish this post. Besides, an elderly couple have just sat down beside me and the woman is slightly hard of hearing and is yelling at her husband to "speak up or speak more clearly!" It's hard to concentrate and I need to beat the University of Connecticut athletic team onto the plane.

--Shawn

Shawn McMaster
Conjured-Up Creations
P.O. Box 973
Newbury Park, CA 91319
(805) 480-0703
www.conjuredupcreations.com

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Celebracadabra!

Those of you reading this who are not magicians probably aren’t aware of the growing anticipation over an upcoming new magic reality series entitled, I am not kidding you here, Celebracadabra that will be debuting just under two weeks from now on April 27th on VH-1. Since word of this series first broke, speculation within the magic community about the show has been more varied and wide-ranging than Oprah Winfrey’s dress sizes. The biggest question among magicians has been, “Will it be good for magic?” With all the various “magic exposure” shows that have hit the networks over the last decade (IE The Masked Magician), magicians have understandably become a bit gun-shy about a reality show that will be teaching magic to celebrities to be performed in a competition format. I wrote about the show in the March issue of MAGIC Magazine and at the time I wasn’t allowed to reveal who the celebrities were that would be participating. Since then VH-1 has released the names, so I think I’m pretty safe here in telling you who they are. The seven stars – a mixture of both actors and singers – include Hal Sparks, Ant, Kimberly Wyatt, C. Thomas Howell, Carnie Wilson, Chris Kid Reid, and Lisa Ann Walter. They each get paired up with a “magic coach,” a professional magician whose job it is to teach his celeb a trick or routine that fits each week’s challenge. I know most of the magician coaches in the show, but two of them are good friends of mine. Actually, to be clear, one coach and the host of the show are friends of mine.

David Regal is a very funny close-up and parlor magician with a razor sharp wit. Not only is he a well-respected performer, he is also a fantastic writer of both magic texts and television shows. He has written for shows such as Everybody Loves Raymond and The Wild Thornberrys. Watch for him.

The host of the show is one of my close friends Jonathan Levit. I have known Jonathan for a good number of years and have had the pleasure of performing with him on a number of occasions. Jonathan not only hosts the nine week series, but he is also one of the judges that decides who stays and who goes each week.

So, the anticipation over this show was relieved a couple of weeks ago when I received an advance copy of the first episode of Celebracadabra in the mail. First, let me start by saying I HATE reality TV. HATE it! Not fond of it at all. Not a big fan. Dislike it greatly. And episode one of Celebracadabra did nothing to change that, but I will say this. I was very happy to see how the teaching and overall performance of the magic was approached. It was not just taught in a haphazard, off-the-cuff manner like in past episodes of the horrible Circus of the Stars shows. Instead, the magic was treated like the art form that it is. The celebrities were shown failing some of the tricks, and practicing harder to get them right the next time. I have heard from people close to the production, that the stars really got a sense of what it takes to be a professional magician and, in some cases, gained a new respect for the art.

As I’ve said, Celebracadabra did nothing to change my opinion of reality shows – even when said reality show’s subject matter is something near and dear to me – but it certainly wasn’t the worst one I’ve seen. Plus, I’ve only seen one show to date, and I always give a new TV show a bit of leniency for the first episode or two before I pass a final judgment on it and decide whether I will continue to tune in. The first show kept my attention and I had only a few minor problems with it. More advance episodes are on their way, so we’ll see how things progress. In the meantime, I think you might find this show interesting. Check your local listings for times in your area. Celebracadabra premiering April 27th on VH-1. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the show.


Shawn


Shawn McMaster
Conjured-Up Creations
P.O. Box 973
Newbury Park, CA 91319
(805) 480-0703
www.conjuredupcreations.com