Here on the North American Continent, SARS has had a mercifully short run. We’ve had the essential quarantine for the metropolian Toronto area and some increased searching and evaluation at the borders but this is nothing compared to our Asian brothers and sisters. The Straits Times of the Pacific area, including Singapore, reports that “m assive cancellations of performances at birthday parties, corporate events and shopping malls have brought business to almost a standstill in the past 1 1/2 months.”The paper estimates that current magic business is about ten percent of its former level. In fact, Edwin Goh, a Kid-Show entertainer, reported that party bookings dropped to “literally zero.” That’s low. If unknown infective agents weren’t enough, competition is picking up in the arena. According to the Times, some magicians are making close to $30,000.00 a month. (I know some readers are saying tothemselves, “heck, that’s more than I make in one show”). The SARSoutbreak also required that magicians not only care for their props but also disinfect them. Some magicians wore face masks to at least give their audience some confidence in what. One magician noted the obvious, ‘We’ve not pulling streamers out of children’s mouths anymore.” | ![]() | ||
![]() |
Here on the North American Continent, SARS has had a mercifully short run. We’ve had the essential quarantine for the metropolian Toronto area and some increased searching and evaluation at the borders but this is nothing compared to our Asian brothers and sisters. The Straits Times of the Pacific area, including Singapore, reports that “m assive cancellations of performances at birthday parties, corporate events and shopping malls have brought business to almost a standstill in the past 1 1/2 months.”The paper estimates that current magic business is about ten percent of its former level. In fact, Edwin Goh, a Kid-Show entertainer, reported that party bookings dropped to “literally zero.” That’s low. If unknown infective agents weren’t enough, competition is picking up in the arena. According to the Times, some magicians are making close to $30,000.00 a month. (I know some readers are saying tothemselves, “heck, that’s more than I make in one show”). The SARSoutbreak also required that magicians not only care for their props but also disinfect them. Some magicians wore face masks to at least give their audience some confidence in what. One magician noted the obvious, ‘We’ve not pulling streamers out of children’s mouths anymore.” | ![]() | ||
![]() |
Related Posts
Zoom Magic Sought by Inside Magic

We have seen some wonderful Zoom magic shows recently. We realized we only knew about them because friends (we’re not…
Inside Magic Review: David Copperfield’s History of Magic

We have been a fan of David Copperfield since his early days. We anticipated his television specials with the same…