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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
Sam - Thanks for posting and sharing your wisdom and experience. It sounds like you will have a very exciting tour. One question I have regards your discounted option that includes a Family FUn Night. Did/Do you perform the same show you did at the Assembly Show? If not, how much is the same?
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Mike Maturen Inner circle Michigan's Beautiful Sunrise Side 2726 Posts |
Sam is always so full of great information, as is MindPro and many others on this wonderful place we call the Magic Café! It makes digging through all the other crap worthwhile.
I have wanted to go full time for many years now, but have never had the cajones to do so. I am getting the bug again, and these discussions are helping me to fuel the passion. While my wife may very likely be ticked at you guys ( ) I am very grateful!
Mike Maturen
World of Wonder Entertainment The Magic and Mayhem of Mike Maturen 989-335-1661 mikematuren@gmail.com AUTHOR OF "A NEW DAWN--Weekly Wisdom From Everyday Life" member: International Magician's Society |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10586 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-05-20 23:04, Mike Maturen wrote: Times have changed, if you're going to do this invest in yourself and your business with a Coach, Consultant or Mentor. It reduces the learning curve, you are getting one on one direct attention based in you exact interests and market, and it will pay for itself multi-fold is the shortest period of time. Plus it is much easier on your (and your wife's) cajones. Posted: May 20, 2013 11:25pm Also I would bet Sam does a "presentation" during the day for an assembly, and a "show" for the Family Night if I were to guess. |
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Sam Sandler Inner circle 2487 Posts |
Yes Mindpro is mostly correct in how I present the shows.
basically the day time show is my educational show filled with magic comedy and several routines that deal with the subject I am promoting. in this case it is my new Deafinitly Magic show. I also spend some time talking and using visual aid items such as large posters etc. as for the evening show I present A SHOW. it does include several routines from the assembly (heres why) the kids go home and tell mom and dad and their brothers and sisters about the cool box or the live animals or the funny dance and they cant wait to see it again and say to mom and dad "that's the onei was telling you about!" I also know that the kids love "being in the Know" meaning whats about to happen. and that is good for me as I have 2 routines with different outcomes so they are double fooled,. as they all remember the assembly but now the trick ended different. however I would say only 25% of the evening show is the same as the assembly. I have several other routines that are not in the assembly. the family fun night show is also 20 minutes longer then the 50 minute assembly. one of the benefits to family fun nights is the back of room sales. I at times make as much or more then the cost of my show. sam
sam sandler- America's only full-time DEAF Illusionist
http://www.samsandler.com http://www.deafinitelymagic.com |
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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
Sam - thanks for sharing your successful approach. Thanks for providing such detailed info.
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arthur stead Inner circle When I played soccer, I hit 1773 Posts |
Sam, I'm with you 100%. Unfortunately, there are people out there doing school shows who shouldn't be doing school shows ... and that makes it so much harder for real professionals -- whose programs have valid educational and motivational content -- to make a living.
Arthur Stead http://www.arthurstead.com |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10586 Posts |
I agree Arthur, but the sad part is the majority of these that are doing school shows that shouldn't be are magicians. I can't think of a single other type of presenter or performer that does this more than magicians. And in many cases I believe it's magicians helping magicians for profit that is behind this problem.
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arthur stead Inner circle When I played soccer, I hit 1773 Posts |
Absolutely right, Mindpro. I've actually seen themed school show materials offered for sale to magicians by magicians, which are just pathetic. No substance, and no real knowledge of the subject matter.
But this kind of mediocrity does extend to other professions as well. Years ago, when I was a teacher at Berklee College of Music in Boston (a prestigious school which is meant to prepare students for life as professional musicians), there were actually people on the faculty who had never ever performed a live show! |
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Sam Sandler Inner circle 2487 Posts |
Arthur and Minpro you are very right about this.
that is why I say that you need to become an expert in the field of choice you plan to educate students on. when I began my dental health show back in 2000 I spent not only tons of hours reading up on dental hygiene but I had meetings with Dentist and with the president of the society of children dentistry. I studied the info and worked with them to find the proper balance of info that the kids need to know. I also leaned that this show would only work for early learning centers thru 4 grade. 5th grade was fine to be part of it. most elementary schools are k-5. but the point here is that I became an expert on the subject and that I consulted experts on the subject. with my new show DEAFinitely magic I too became and expert. now yes I am deaf BUT that does not make me an expert on the history of deafness. again I worked with some deaf organizations and spoke to some famous deaf people and became good friends with the president of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communications center. he was a wealth of info for me and helped me fine tune some ideas. and one of my new close friends and fellow magician who has been deaf his entire life was also a great source of info. I also worked with some motivational educators to get some ideas about how to combine the info of deafness with inspiring the kids. I then took all this info and worked it. I worked it for almost 6 months before I presented my first show. then I worked it some more. after about a year of doing 20 or so deaf shows I started to really get it together. created some original magic tricks and routines to help drive points home. any who the point I was making and what mindpro and arthur are trying to say is that performing a school assembly is not just adding some feel good speech or throwing in one semi educational trick. there is so much more to this line of work. sam ps thanks for all the kind words from every one. I am happy to share. and I know I will learn so much more while on this incredible tour. I plan to write about it and create new lecture notes in hopes of helping those that really want to present these very rewarding types of shows.
sam sandler- America's only full-time DEAF Illusionist
http://www.samsandler.com http://www.deafinitelymagic.com |
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MichaelCGM Inner circle Oklahoma City 2286 Posts |
Good stuff here, Mindpro and Sam. It raises a question for me. The school shows I do are usually "rewards" for either fund raising or reading goals - so it's supposed to just be magical entertainment. If I elect to tap into the school assembly market, is there a DVD available by anyone that presents an actual "school assembly" show, so that I can see how magic is incorporated into the central message and, perhaps the ratio of magic to message?
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Sam Sandler Inner circle 2487 Posts |
Michael- I have never actually looked for that kind of info from magicians, but I am aware that some sell "boxed" school assemblies however I would say buyer beware.
I have never seen them or read their info but honestly the best way to get started is to pick a subject that you want to share , such as anti bullying, say no to drugs, etc etc. and learn all you can about them. watch school sanctioned DVDs on the subject then work on how you can tie magic into it. for my dental Health show I did it differently then my Deaf show. the dental show was designed for my assistant to basically teach the kids the importance of brushing their teeth. I was a special guest there to learn with the kids. it is my favorite show to perform cause I get to be the goofball I am and my assistant plays the straight man. picture abbot and costello performing a school assembly with a touch of magic. we went back and forth from learning to magic. basically after each point was learned as a reward I got to perform a trick. at the end when I and all the kids became cavity crusaders my assistant and I would perform a special grand illusion. my deaf show is a bit different. its more personal as I am actually deaf. I designed the show like a real show. it is a demonstration of how I have over come my deafness to still be able to perform my shows. I make fun of my deafness thru some really funny moments as well as I have created several original tricks that I use to teach about famous deaf people and one that teaches about never giving up. the idea of this show is to inspire the kids to believe in themselves and discover the magic to succeed is within each of them already! the best school assembly you can have is the one you create. feel free to PM me if you have some specific questions or just ask here so every one can benefit. sam
sam sandler- America's only full-time DEAF Illusionist
http://www.samsandler.com http://www.deafinitelymagic.com |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10586 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-05-21 23:51, MichaelCGM wrote: Hey Michael, hope you and your family are okay and safe down there in Oklahoma. You raise a good question and bring up something I'd like to clarify. It has become a generic term when entertainers speak of "the school market". Even the term assembly is used very generically. While there are some assemblies that are entertainment-only such as rewards events or end of year assemblies, more and more in these current times, due to budget justification have become education-based. Which gets to the exact point Sam, Arthur and myself have made. Your question is actually related to the current problem Sam has explained so well. Over the last ten years there were an influx of products releases that were marketed to magicians boasting "you can break into the school market" or "kids entertainers..want to make some weekday income? Work the school market". These all basically stated to simply perform you regular kids show but just a few motivational lines and give it a education-sounding name and market it to schools". This literally created this huge problem of magicians offering student motivational shows or character development shows that were "edcational" that in reality were just kids party shows and nothing more. It was an insult to Principals, and put PTA committees in a bad place for being "taken" by such a facade. In many cases the schools got angry, it put a bad taste in their mouth and has given magicians a bad reputation in the eyes of educators across the country. As I've said this is a hot topic at conferences and conventions nationwide as well. Even great reputable magicians like Sam that have a true educational show have felt the wrath of this perspective and reputation. The school market is a professional market and should be treated as much. It's not a "just add a simple motivational theme to your kiddies magic show" for extra "weekday income". This is some of the poorest, worst advice I seen in decades. There are many reasons that I won't get into for this, but it's affects still remain. It did damage and has made it more difficult to be accepted in and to break into the school market. It has also created a poor image for most other types of local assembly performers. The perspective is they'd rather spend good money to bring in a professional that to get burned by a wanna-be local guy. So the answer to your question is for the most part no there is nothing I would recommend that is out there. There have been one or two things that broached the topic briefly but not really getting into it. Most still push the misperception I described above. This issued angered me (and still does) so much that I am involved with and currently working on a program specifically for the School & Education Market for entertainers, presenters and speakers. It is a vast undertaking that will not be completed for a while as it is being produced in conjunction with the national education system, advisory boards, and the top school associations many of which have had me speak and have encouraged this project. It will be the real work on the school market with information and insight from both sides of the coin - the entertainer and from inside the education system. It will also feature the results of a huge national educational and school survey of assembly professionals (administrators, Superintendents, Principals, teachers, PTA Presidents, and many others). It should be the most current, up to date information on the school market. It will blow most people away and uncover things most entertainers may think they know that really do not have a clue. It will address some of the many questions I receive about how do you regularly make four-figure assemblies in every state nationwide. It will also address the many misconception and misinformation on school fundraising programs. Again entertainers have many misconceptions and perspectives here that often work against them. Like the misinformation about assemblies, there is some terrible information out there about school fundraising as well. It will also include Leadership programs and Teacher In-Service info as well. Truth be told I work in the school market every day with my businesses. Trust me when I say, the majority of assemblies out there are very poor and do not meet the needs of the schools. Even one of the major agencies that served the school market for years went out of business as a result of these substandard shows. There are only two decent school agencies operating anymore. Each week we receive the same type of phone calls. They all begin with "I need to book an assembly, but we (any of these may be offered) "got burned with our last assembly", "had a terrible guy at our last assembly", "can't find a qualified professional assembly that meets our requirements", or "for our last assembly we had a magician...never again. We need something professional and educational". It is for this reason that as Sam said, if someone takes the time to truly learn the needs and interests of today's schools (not based on ten, fifteen or years ago, they times and market has changed), is willing to invest the time, effort and money needed to educate themselves and provide a legitimate professional service, and treat this as a professional market just like corporate or other professional markets, the school market can be very rewarding and lucrative - everywhere. Any time I hear entertainers say "well that would never work in my area" they are usually wrong. Because of all of this I have yet to see the "school assembly show" on DVD that you are seeking. I regularly get demos and promo packages at our agency for school market entertainers and motivational hosts, and they are terrible. So I would not recommend anything recently on this topic that I've come across. What is really the true shame is that many of these magicians that think they are doing well in the school market, are the ones being talked about poorly and haven't got a clue. It's an eye opener for sure. |
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Mystical Matthew Elite user 468 Posts |
Holy crap... I agree with MindPro on something...
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
MindPro, you took the words right out of my mouth. That shows great minds think alike.
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Sam Sandler Inner circle 2487 Posts |
Mindpro- very well said my friend. very well said!!
sam sandler- America's only full-time DEAF Illusionist
http://www.samsandler.com http://www.deafinitelymagic.com |
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