The traditional term is "Semi-Pro."

I performed as a full-time professional for about 35 years. I was able to retire and now only perform for kids in hospitals and anyone who will pay me an outrageous fee to bring out the material I used to do.

I still keep my signature pieces in shape, though.

A secondary income that kept me slightly busy was translating German magic books into English. I still do that.

Nowadays, I travel, do research on the cups and balls and lecture.

So, I suppose I would call myself a semi-retired professional

Like so many I first entered magic at the age of 9. It was a gift. A "My Favorite Martian" Gilbert Magic Set. Soon after that I was sending away for magic from Abbott's. My first trick was a 1" set of red billiard balls.

As a teen I had a fairly decent act with some manipulation, dancing cane, candles, doves etc. As a young man however I developed a few unproductive habits that took my focus away from magic. This is a double shame since at that time I lived in the same town as Whit Haydn and Jim Cellini! (Both of whom were kind, patient and generous). While I received some toutoring from the latter, I was a fool not to take full advantage of the greatness in my own neighborhood!

In my late 20's I made a go at being a professional. (Mostly close up and parlor). But I was an undisciplined twit with his head up his own colon so of course it didn't work out. So I went back to college, got my physics degree, started teaching, built a family, etc.

Last year I took my kids to see "The Spencers". I enjoyed it immensely and felt a sense of longing. A week later I saw a sign in a window that said..."It's never too late to be what you could have been". With that I pulled my rusty old trunk down from the attic and dusted off my old books. I have never been more fired up about magic. I am slowly starting to perform again and I am living and breathing magic like never before. I am back to stay. I have 25 years to make up for!

I started in magic when I was a child and was quickly making money at it. My shows were a combination of magic and ventriloquism. In my early teens my focus turned more to show business in general, and I founded a city-funded theatre group, keeping my magic and vent for incidental money (Which mostly went into buying more magic!). When I was 21 I began doing a Christmas show (vent and magic) for the kids in a developmentally disabled hospital in my home town, and have been done that show now for forty years.
I make the bulk of my money these days as a playwright (among other plays, I wrote the authorized stage version of the movie "A Christmas Story), and in the last three or four years have begun to buy more magic and more vent stuff. Not sure what this portends, but there you have it.
Except for a little over twenty years as a creator in advertising and media (TV, radio), my whole life has been in show business (because, of course, the magic and vent didn't stop during that period)...and you could probably argue that the media stuff and advertising stuff (I wrote in all media and wrote and directed a good many educational and industrial films) counts as show business.
But I've never stopped performing magic and vent.

Please forgive the odd wording above ("been done" among others. I must've meant "been doing," I was multitasking and not paying enough attention.

-Philip

BTW, that is not directed at foreva.infiniti in particular. It is my advice to anyone who is thinking about becoming a full-time professional magician.

[quote]On 2010-06-13 21:08, Whit Haydn wrote:


:applause:

Don't think I need to state the obvious but .....
It's takes that dedication

I can't, so I am cursed .... and very fortunate

Oh for the color changing roses, streamers and snowstorms that turn red and leave a bleeding rose

What book are you referring to Tommy?

The dictionary; it has all the other books in it.

Magic is deeply integrated into my day job. Beginning as a foreign expert and English teacher in China (1998), I have evolved into the university's "resident magician" (2004). I use magic in the classroom and at formal events. I have taught classes in magic, hosted a magic club, acted an advisor of the city magic society, and performed for banquets, stage programs, lectures, and other activities.

Magic has not become a separate, semi-pro career. It has become an integral part of the job I do here. We'll see what happens when I return to the U.S. soon and no longer have this rare opportunity.