I finished out March at the W.C. Fields Bar in the Magic Castle. I had a lot of old friends and clients come to see my show, and I also got to meet lots of new people who love magic. Awesome!

The W.C. Fields bar has stadium seating and a bartender who makes drinks while I perform sleight-of-hand. Since its an actual BAR… the crowds can get pretty outrageous (aka. drunk). I think things went really well… considering the sometimes impossible circumstances.

In my next post, I’m going to talk more about performing for drunks or other “problem people.” You can tell a lot about a professional entertainer by how they deal with odd situations…

I’m back at the Magic Castle this weekend. I’m at the W.C. Fields Bar. Its a cool bar show with stadium seating where I perform my very best sleight-of-hand while a bartender makes drinks.

It doesn’t pay as much as a Japanese commercial… but it is lots of fun!

This is me in the W.C. Fields Bar area, taken from when I was shooting a segment for Japanese TV a few years ago. One of these days… I’ve really got to get serious and learn Japanese.

Joe Skilton at the W.C. Fields Bar

Jon Armstrong, Lou Serrano and I did our lecture on Tuesday night at the Magic Castle to rave reviews. We spent about 90 minutes teaching other magicians some terrific (and easy) effects they can perform at cocktail parties, or anywhere there isn’t a table.

I really enjoyed it because I don’t have a lot of experience lecturing/teaching other magicians in a classroom setting. I’ve given a few private lessons, but I’ve never given a teaching class.

As it turns out, the most popular topic of the evening wasn’t magic tricks, but the business side of things. Lou, Jon and I went overtime and even talking about weekly restaurant gigs and other topics. I hope they found some good value in it. I’m certainly glad I was asked to participate.

My friend Jon is hosting a lecture at the Magic Castle, and I’ve been asked to teach some top-notch magic tricks to the members in attendance. It should be fun!

Most of the Castle members aren’t professional magicians. They’re enthusiastic amateurs who are always looking for new, entertaining effects to present to their friends and family. Therefore, I need to make sure that the tricks I teach are amazing and also not insanely difficult to do. I really enjoy the Castle membership. They’re great guys, and I hope they enjoy what I have to teach.

I’ll keep you posted…

Well… as it turns out, the ad agency that wanted to hire me for the commercial in Tokyo was able to find a Caucasian magician already living in Tokyo… so they hired him instead.

They told me it just came down to $$$. Can’t say I blame them. I would have loved the paycheck, but I’m sure the business-class tickets, hotel, translator, etc. were going to add significantly to their shooting budget. I probably would have made the same decision.

Maybe next time!

FYI: These aren't Geisha, they're Maiko

I just got a call to shoot a commercial in Tokyo next weekend!

I love Japan. I visited there in 2004, and had a fantastic time. While a few of my friends have performed for various companies and resorts in the Tokyo and Osaka areas… this is the first time I’ve been asked to perform in a Japanese commercial.

Frankly… I’m not going to get my hopes up. But I will keep my fingers crossed!
Here’s me at the famous Silver Pavilion in 2004:

Silver Pavilion, Kyoto, Japan

So here’s a photo me in costume at the commercial shoot. It was a very long day, but the director was terrific and the crew was top-notch. I had a blast… even though I ended the day with a mild sunburn on the back of my neck!

Cups & Balls in Venice

(please ignore the prop glasses and fedora… I’m in character!)

I shot a commercial for a Russian telecommunications company last week!

The director needed a professional magician with serious skills to play a con artist in the commercial. It was an important role, and I was really happy to be a part of it.

You know how Verizon has the “Can you hear me now” guy? Well, in Russia they have a spokesperson too. But instead of a benign dork walking around the country with a cast of 100’s, their spokespeople are three mobsters who are endlessly protecting their territory. (get it? Territory? get it? huh huh???)

Anyway… these commercials are a big hit over there, and the characters are well known. In my ad, they’re visiting Venice beach and interact with a magician / con man on the Venice strip.

I’ll post a pic here soon!

I filmed 4 episodes for the Virtual Channel Network during the summer. In this first episode, I perform TWO magic effects and discuss how I got into magic in the first place.

Joe on the Virtual Channel Network

CHECK IT OUT

Future episodes include:

* What books to purchase if YOU want to learn magic
* How to hire entertainment for your next party or event
* More sleight-of-hand!

I hope you enjoy!