Marty Hahne’s Guest Column – Important PeopleInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Imust admit, I work better under a deadline. I usually have writer?s block up until the last minute, then a column idea will pop into my head.

However, I was having trouble thinking of what I would write for this issue. Thankfully, a letter arrived in the mail just the other day, and provided the inspiration I needed to get this column done.

Here?s what the letter said:

“Your Halloween magic show was outstanding. Both children and adults were thoroughly entertained. The committee can?t wait until we have you back for the Christmas party!

One woman who saw your show came up to me to thank us for having you entertain. She was with her little daughter. She said this was the first time they had both smiled in a long time. She had lost her sister in the World Trade center attack. Tears welled in her eyes as she spoke to me. I think this really says it all. Even if we only make a difference in one persons life for a short while, we have accomplished our goal. I know for a fact you touched many others. You put magic into our lives that day.”

You can imagine I had tears in my eyes too, as I read that letter. It really made me think about why we perform for our audiences.

The particular show that resulted in such a nice letter was just one of several I did during the busy Halloween weekend. I know that sometimes in the hustle and bustle of getting to shows on a tight schedule, we lose sight of the reason we?re in the business of entertaining.

With the new year upon us, I?m going to make a resolution to remind myself how important even a simple magic show can really be. In the grand scheme of things, a little magic show may not seem too important, but this letter has reminded me how important our job really is.

I don?t want to make it sound like I sometimes go out and just go through the motions. I do try to do the best job I can, each and every time I perform. But sometimes due to a busy schedule, we?re tired, or stressed out, and we don?t have to best attitude going into a show.

At times like these, I ?ve found that quite often the audience will bless me. In reality, I should be the one doing my job, and entertaining and blessing the audience. Here?s an example.

A couple of years ago, we finishing up a busy week of shows. We then had to pack a lot of equipment and get on a plane to fly to Singapore, for two week?s worth of shows. I was very tired, and just wanted to get home and start packing for our trip.

Our last show that night was at an elementary school for kids and parents. The turnout was fairly small, and we thought we would just get through this last “unimportant” show, so we could get ready for our “important? trip overseas.

Just before our performance, the principal held a moment of silence, for a young, popular teacher who had passed away a week earlier. After the moment of silence, there were a few other items on the agenda, then our show began.

Usually, when working in a school cafeteria with a stage, we like to leave the house lights on, to better see the audience, and make it easier to call up volunteers. However, this…

Imust admit, I work better under a deadline. I usually have writer?s block up until the last minute, then a column idea will pop into my head.

Here?s what the letter said:

“Your Halloween magic show was outstanding. Both children and adults were thoroughly entertained. The committee can?t wait until we have you back for the Christmas party!

You can imagine I had tears in my eyes too, as I read that letter. It really made me think about why we perform for our audiences.

At times like these, I ?ve found that quite often the audience will bless me. In reality, I should be the one doing my job, and entertaining and blessing the audience. Here?s an example.

Usually, when working in a school cafeteria with a stage, we like to leave the house lights on, to better see the audience, and make it easier to call up volunteers. However, this evening, the custodian turned off the house lights. With the stage lights on, I couldn?t see past the third row.

At one point I needed to call up a girl to assist in a routine. For this routine, I like to have someone about 8 or 9 years old help me. Due to the lights, I could just barely make out a girl sitting in the back row, so I rather blindly called her up. As she arrived on stage, I saw she was only about 5. Of course, rather than send her back, we decided to let her help with the routine.

The little girl did a great job. She laughed and reacted beautifully, and had a few cute comments which really won over the audience.

After the show, the principal came up to me, so happy about how the little girl reacted. Her mother was the teacher who had just passed away. The family told the principal that the little girl hadn?t smiled or even talked all week. Yet on stage at the magic show, the girl was laughing and acting like she didn?t have a care in the world. Once again, the audience had blessed me.

This year, I?m going to do my best to continue to improve as a performer. I?m going to attend conventions, to learn from others. I?m going to learn a few new routines, and do the old routines even better. I?m going to remember how important every show is, and how important it is to be an entertainer.

We can?t possibly know all of the problems our audience members are going through. Children coming from broken homes, adults with health problems, or financial stain. Yet as an entertainer, we have the power to give happiness, even hope to someone, if only for a short while. We provide an escape from the cares and worries of the world. It?s not a power to be taken lightly.

Sometimes there really is real magic.