Last night was a blast…

There were some terrific audiences at the Castle last night, and I had a great time. I was especially glad that my friend (and fantastic magician) Bruce Gold stopped by to do some new material he’s been working on. Bruce is an incredible comedian and magician, and performs all over the world. In fact, he spends almost half his time traveling, so I’m glad he’s in town this week.

It was nice because I’d start my performance when there was only 6 or so people, and when the crowd got to about 30, I’d have Bruce do his new magic trick. After Bruce wowed them… I came back on to do a grand finale.

Tonight I’ll have my friends Tom and Michael in to do some magic as well. Sometimes I really love the Castle.

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One of the best things about being a Los Angeles magician is being a member of the world-famous Magic Castle in Hollywood.

Max Maven, the fantastic entertainment director at the famous Magic Castle in Hollywood has hired me to perform this Friday and Saturday evening. As a “magician member” of the Magic Castle, I’m always happy to amaze and astonish our membership and their guests.

This weekend I’ll be appearing in the Hat & Hare Lounge. This is my first time in the lounge (I usually perform in the Close-up Gallery), and I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’ll also have some guest magicians (mostly good friends of mine), who’ll be doing some cool stuff as well.

After that, I’m off to San Diego for the week. Should be fun!

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Being a Los Angeles Magician means that you’ll occasionally be asked to perform on boats. From grad parties and bar mitzvahs to anniversary parties and wedding receptions, yachts are a popular party option. But finding the right entertainment for parties at sea can be a problem.

Why Magic is a Great Entertainment Option for Yacht Parties:
Party hosts are looking for entertainment that won’t take up precious space on the boat, and that will keep all of their guests, regardless of age, entertained during the event. Magicians are a terrific yacht entertainment option for three major reasons:

1. Space is a premium on any yacht, and strolling magic won’t take up any additional space.

2. Strolling magic won’t interfere with your other entertainment. Your DJ can play as loudly as you’d like.

3. A formal close-up show can add variety to the trip, and create incredible memories and festive atmosphere that lasts all evening.

One Problem with Hiring Yacht Entertainment
If your trip takes 4 hours, many magicians will ask that you pay them for the full 4 hours… regardless of how long you’d like them to perform. Frankly, this makes sense. Think about it: the magician is out at sea and can’t book another show that night, costing him revenue.

Still, I suggest that you ask for a discount during the hours they are not performing. A discount is fair to you (you’re not paying top dollar for downtime), and fair to them (they deserve to be compensated for their time). It’s a win-win!

See you at sea!

I shot this in Marina del Rey just last week. Our boat was boarding within minutes, but luckily I had just enough time to grab my camera and shoot my weekly magic trick.

As readers if this blog know, I visited Ireland and Switzerland last April. Fooling around with Euros and Swiss Francs got me thinking about magic… and how I wanted to do a magic trick with foreign currency. So here’s a new trick I’ve been performing at shows lately. Enjoy!

PS. You can totally check out the bill in the end. Completely real Benjamin.
PPS. Special thanks to Gregory Wilson.

I have a magician friend who doesn’t like performing table-side magic in restaurants. He says that restaurants don’t pay well, and that it isn’t worth his time. I disagree.

Here’s why I choose to perform at weekly restaurant venues:

1. Performing in restaurants brings in business. I get phone calls from people who’ve seen me at a restaurant and who want to hire me for a party or event. Best of all, since they’ve already seen me… I don’t need to convince them that I’m good!

2. Having a weekly engagement also allows potential clients to see me perform before they hire me. Nobody wants to hire bad entertainment for their important event. With a short visit to my restaurant, they they can be sure they’re hiring the right entertainer for their event.

3. Lastly, restaurants are great for working on new material. The best way to polish a newly created magic trick is to perform it… A LOT! “Does my new trick have a good ending?” “Is that new line funny?” The only way to know is to get flight time. And the more you perform… the better you get. Experience is extremely valuable for ANY artist.

FYI: Having a magician is also great for the restaurant! They get an entertainer whose main focus is customer service and keeping the guests happy. Having a magician also helps the restaurant stand out from the crowd in a competitive market like Los Angeles.

Sure… restaurants aren’t going to pay $1,500 per day like a trade show. But the experience and new business contacts you make will pay off BIG TIME down the road.

By popular demand… I’ve returned to The Warehouse Restaurant in Marina del Rey! My table-side performances are from 11am – 2pm, every Sunday Brunch.

I’m really happy to be back. This will be my third summer there, and I’ve made a lot of friends with both the regular customers and the staff. The Warehouse is a Marina del Rey institution, serving the famous and famished since 1969.

Stop on by any Sunday for a fantastic waterfront view, a HUGE buffet, and magic from yours truly.

As a professional magician, people call all the time to ask about my shows. But it can be hard to educate people about their options over the phone. I could talk for hours about what makes me stand out from the crowd… but instead of telling them, I’d rather show them.

That’s why I’ve decided to make a short video of each one of my shows! Now people can see for themselves which show option is best for them! Hopefully, this will ensure that everyone gets exactly the right show for their unique event.

My first “show-specific” video is for Strolling Magic. Enjoy!

Videos of my other shows are coming soon!