The Magic Castle had a fire on Halloween last year, and was under renovation through January. I visited the club once it had fully reopened, and WOW!!! it has never looked better.
The Castle team did much more than simply restore what was lost to the fire and water damage. Old rooms have been restored, walls have been removed or replaced, and the new paint and carpeting looks fantastic.
Now that my wife and I have a baby, I don’t get the opportunity to visit the Magic Castle as often as I used to. And my private party and corporate event schedule is so busy I can rarely give a full week of my time to the club. But I’ve performed in nearly every showroom there… and I really hope I can find the time to be back soon!
I’ll be performing 6 shows with Tom Ogden on October 21st and 22nd at the Magic Castle. These will be my final shows at the Castle for 2011.
Tom wrote “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Street Magic” and is a regular performer on Holland America Cruise Lines. His show is very, very funny.
As always, only my magic show clients and those on my Magic Castle Email List are invited. I’m looking forward to seeing old and new faces at the club!
This week I debuted a brand new show at the Magic Castle. It’s called “The Magic Powers Show,” and it’s unlike any other show I’ve seen at the Castle.
The premise is simple… I have a list of magic powers on either side of the stage (teleportation, mind reading, etc.), and I let my audience choose which one’s they’d like to see. Whichever magic power they pick… I do!
The really fun thing about it is that every show is different, depending on what my audience chooses. Every audience will get a unique experience.
It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s also a lot of fun!
In the Parlour of Prestidigitation
From June 27th through July 3rd, I’ll performing a brand new show at the Magic Castle. If you’d like to see it, sign up for my Magic Castle email newsletter at the very top of this page.
While I normally perform in the Close-up Gallery, my new show is so big that I needed to upgrade the room! I’ll be making my debut in the Parlour of Prestidigitation with some new magic and new laughs.
I’m taking some pretty big chances with the show, but I’m excited. If it’s a success, I’ll be adding large portions of it to the after-dinner show I perform at corporate events and larger private parties.
Only 5 weeks to go… and I’ve got a lot of writing and practice to do. Here we go!
I’ve had a fantastic run of shows at the Magic Castle this week. New Year’s Eve, was a blast! I did four shows and rang in the new year with my lovely wife Sarah.
I’d like to thank all of my friends and past clients (no to mention my parents!) for accepting my invitations to see my latest show. It was wonderful seeing all of you there.
This will be my last major post on this blog. After 2 years, I’m moving onto Twitter. Directions to follow soon.
Happy New Year!
Joe
After a very hectic month of holiday parties and private affairs, I’ll be finishing out the year at the Magic Castle.
The Castle has hired me to entertain guests in the famous Close-up Gallery from 10pm to 12:15am throughout the last week of December. The entire week is already sold out, but I was able to get in most people on my Magic Castle VIP email list.
I’m looking forward to seeing my friends, and making some jaws drop!
Jesse Dee, Jack Goldfinger, and Joe Skilton
What a crazy month. My good friend Jesse Dee and I debuted our two-man magic show at the Magic Castle‘s Peller Theater to rave reviews!
Most magicians only perform at the Magic Castle 1-3 times per year, so when you’re at the Castle, you gotta make it count. The magic world is watching, after all.
I didn’t promote this show because I honestly didn’t know how it would turn out. I was doing some new tricks in a new theater, with a magician I’d never worked with before.
Turns out I had nothing to worry about at all. People kept telling us that we made a terrific team, and that the magic tricks we performed together were lots of fun for everyone. Word of mouth spread… and we were over capacity in 5 of the 6 shows!
Jesse is a great guy, and the audiences loved him. I’m glad we could work together, even if it was just for one weekend. I don’t know when I’m back at the Castle next, but I’ll be doing some of the magic from that show next time.
Reel Magic Magazine
Reel Magic Magazine, a DVD publication for magicians, filmed a segment at the Magic Castle featuring me and three other magicians.
Reel Magic Magazine is one of the premiere publications in the magic industry, with subscribers all over the world. My friend Jon Armstrong regularly appears in each issue, and he hosted a discussion on professional performance.
Jon Armstrong has three instructional DVD’s about magic with playing cards, and he lectures for magicians all over the world. Jon talked about a little-known card move that can add flash to any act. I talked about what I feel is the best way to tear and restore a borrowed $100 dollar bill. I hope other magicians find my advice useful.
Like any profession, magic has it’s own publications. The most popular are Genii, MAGIC Magazine, and Reel Magic. What makes Reel Magic unique is that it’s a DVD magazine, featuring video articles, interviews, and in-depth magic instruction. As the tagline says… it’s “TV for Magicians.”
I had a lot of fun, and I hope I’m asked to participate again!
