I've been on the road a lot the past 3 months. It's my busy season, what with rendezvous and re-enactments. My Rodney the Younger character is always outside, performing magic that is over 100 years old, and taking in the sights and sounds of the 18th and 19th Centuries. As I sit in my hotel room in Nashville, TN, I have on Classic Showcase. This highlights great music, art, dance, and a myriad of other things that make life worth living.
I was just watching/listening to Handel's Fireworks Musi…
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Added by Taylor Martin on November 9, 2009 at 10:39am —
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We recently updated our home entertainment system after 21 years. The old RCA, 150 lb. analogue television set is now replaced with a state of the art flatscreen. Now, I've never had the best of anything before, at least for ourselves at home. I've been in people's houses and played with their large screeens, flat screens, Dolby surround sound systems and coveted them. But now, it's mine and I can play with it. I can change the type of sound that emerges, because we got a REALLY GOOD tuner. My Z…
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Added by Taylor Martin on October 18, 2009 at 12:37pm —
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For me, October is the busiest month of the year. I have 2 Indy Magic Monthly shows at Theatre On The Square, Mississinewa 1812 this weekend, River Thru History in Willowsprings, Illinois the following weekend, The Grand Masquerade for Damien Center on Oct. 24, and a show for Gleener's employees. I do wish all my months were this busy.
Being an entertainer without an agent and fending for myself on the time I have alloted to chasing after shows, is not easy. Learning new illusions, keeping up w…
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Added by Taylor Martin on September 28, 2009 at 9:48pm —
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With the loss of 2 of Indiana's most prominent people, Myles Brand and Melvin Simon, my mind flew back to the 2 times I encountered Mr. Simon. Both times were during my days working for Merry Minstrel Singing Telegrams. Neither were really successful. But, with all the accolades, which Mr. Simon deserved, maybe a bit of light heartedness needs to be expressed at this time. What the heck? It's a blog!
The manager and owner of Merry Minstrel had heard that David Letterman was going to attend the…
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Added by Taylor Martin on September 18, 2009 at 7:28am —
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I'm off to Somerset, PA today for Mt. Craft Days. This is one of America's most unusual fairs, in that it's vendors must demonstrate what they sell. Birgitta Nostring shows her weaving, with yarn she makes from the goat's she raises. The soap maker actually makes soap during the show. The distiller demonstrates with a 200 year old still, how wiskey was and is made. And then, there's me. Well, not me, but Rodney The Younger.
Nineteen years ago I came to the Somerset Historical Center to perform,…
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Added by Taylor Martin on September 10, 2009 at 9:00am —
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I can't believe we're down to just 2 more shows. They have been going so well. And the shows I've seen are all great and deserve the audiences they are getting.
New Vaudeville is wonderful. I've worked with 80% of the cast before. Elliot Feltman is doing his best work. It feels like a bur lee cue should feel. It's fabulous just for Joey's guitar styling, and there is so much more. A real 10 in one feel.
Here at Indy Fringe we have a tradition. All the performers go to the worst reviewed show i…
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Added by Taylor Martin on August 27, 2009 at 1:29pm —
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I think I've got a hit. The reviews are positive. I've only read one, but my guys are forwarding all of them to me. After Elizabeth Maupin's review of my Orlando Fringe show, I can't bear to read them. I've also found from 2 other Orlando survivors, they got the same treatment. The one here that got a good review from her, made money. Hard to believe one person can hold such sway over make or break on a show.
Lou Harry thought it looked familiar, according to one person who told me they read it…
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Added by Taylor Martin on August 25, 2009 at 9:00am —
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I hope to keep most of my blog posts short. I tend to be verbose when it comes to IndyFringe.
Today is my tech rehearsal and my first show. I'm sure both will go well. Of course, the stomach is in knots over whether there will be anyone in the seats tonight. I remember the first night of Orlando Fringe and there were 5 people in the house. I do have to say it was opening night, with 4 huge shows in other venues and I was on at 11 PM. And The Orlando Sentinel reviewer was there. She called me ov…
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Added by Taylor Martin on August 21, 2009 at 8:16am —
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I got to hang with Penn and Teller in Las Vegas. Teller told me to wish the Fringe the best. They like people taking chances and I think Fringe does that.
I'm in the airport right now, awaiting my flight. I arrive in Indy 50 minutes before the Fringe Parade starts. Hopefully the flight will be ontime.
Please, see Andrea Merlyn's show. It's the best I've ever done.
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Added by Taylor Martin on August 20, 2009 at 11:05am —
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Day one of my adventures in Las Vegas ended with Penn and Teller at the Rio. I haven't seen my friends in person in 6 years. It was like having never lost touch. The show is amazing. Penn does a new bit with a nail gun, loaded with nails, aimed at his hands and neck. Teller does a bit with a rubber ball and a thread. You never see the thread. He's reinvented the Abbott Floating Ball and it makes me want to create my own version.
What can I say? I'm honored to know these 2 giants. At least when…
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Added by Taylor Martin on August 17, 2009 at 11:01am —
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A quick one, before I go nuts. Tonight, Thursday, Aug. 13, begins Indy Fringe for me. It's the night of The Longest Dinner at Indy Fringe Central. This is a major fundraiser and begins my fifth year with The Fringe. It's been a nice run for me. I've never lost money at Indy Fringe, but it's time to skip a year or 2.
I'll bring along Michael McCrackin, one of my cast members. He'll be wearing a green outfit. After all, he's a leprechaun. This is his first stage appearance in a long time. He's go…
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Added by Taylor Martin on August 13, 2009 at 7:29am —
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It's 2 weeks until the Fifth Indy Fringe Theatre Festival opens and last week I was about to chuck the whole show that I'm performing. It was that or not going to Las Vegas right before the festival. The reason to go to Vegas is one of the great magic conventions and one that doesn't happen annually. MAGIC Live! is put on by one of my industry's great magazines. Simply named MAGIC! it is the brainchild of Stan Allen, a professional friend for nearly 20 years. He's an editor, writer, creator, and…
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Added by Taylor Martin on August 6, 2009 at 11:30am —
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Greenfield, Indiana, the home of James Whitcomb Riley, Eli Lilly's East Plant, and Carnegie Hall. OK, not hall, but a library that had been funded by the philanthropist and steel baron Andrew Carnegie. Carnigie funded halls and libraries all over the U.S. My wife went to Moores Hill High School and they have a Carnegie Hall. You'll see his name on lots of Indiana buildings. In Greenfield, it's a library that's been home to a great restaurant for the past few years. My wife and I celebrated our 3…
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Added by Taylor Martin on August 2, 2009 at 11:09am —
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I sometimes think that blogs are just writer's masturbation. You do it because of ego or because you want to share your life experiences. I do it because I feel privelaged to perform for people that most magicians never do and in places most would find difficult. Most don't want to perform outdoors because of weather, distractions, and not being able to be heard. I embrace all, because that's the way it was done before electricity.
My historical shows take me everywhere, so I write about the ad…
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Added by Taylor Martin on June 15, 2009 at 2:36pm —
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My friends,
It is I, The Great Porciini (TMFP). I am here to address the terror that my swine brethren are being blamed for.For a visual commentary, go to the indymagicmonthly.com website.
See you Tuesday, May 5, at the next Indy Magic Monthly @ Theatre On The Square.
Laughingly,
The Great Porciini, TMFP
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Added by Taylor Martin on May 1, 2009 at 6:05am —
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Well, if you weren't there, you missed it. It may be the only time I appear in a toga. It was provided to me by my friend Betty Munden. She sells insurance and one of the companies, Acuity, has some outrageous promo material. So, a few weeks back, she gave me the toga they gave her.
For the door prize drawing at the anniversary of Indy Magic Monthly, I decided to wear it. Needless to say, it had a sort of odd effect on the audience.
…
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Added by Taylor Martin on April 9, 2009 at 12:51am —
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Big Car Gallery? What's that? And why are all these people crushed into a little room with a living room full of instruments, electronics, jellyfish projections, and a typewriter that's being used for a percussion instrument? Who are all these people looking svelte and having a good time? Are they there to see a nationally known artist with some sort of dramatic new project that they are spiriting their fans from an unknown location? Nope, it's a CD premier party for an Indianapolis based…
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Added by Taylor Martin on March 31, 2009 at 8:00am —
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Imagine if you will a lot of folks that are creating the imaginary negative vibes of the world. When I do, I do this.
Imagine a man who was arrested in a foreign country and illegally returned to the U.S. for having a suspected, banned,vegetable substance in an ashtray. One that is named after a pesky household bug. He is then thrown into solitary confinement for 2 1/2 years in Vacaville, California. He was called by everyone who didn't agree with him as the most dangerous man in the world. He…
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Added by Taylor Martin on March 6, 2009 at 2:05pm —
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Midnight is our 11 month old miniature schnauzer. You can see his photo on my photo page. The photo was when he was 8 months old and was right before the really nasty winter weather set in. So, we haven't had him groomed for 3 months. He's a bit rambunctious right now, so we had hesitation in getting him into the groomers at Petsmart. They do a good job, even if there's a few hidden charges that show up, but that's something we have to be aware of next time.
So, Feb. 14th, Valentine's Day, was…
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Added by Taylor Martin on February 15, 2009 at 12:14am —
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Channel 23 has not had a great reputation with magicians of late. They had the Masked Magician on, supposedly revealing the 'secrets of magic.' As I've said before he never told a single secret. Oh, he revealed the mechanics of how some of our mysteries are accomplished, but not once, in my opinion, ever talk about character, practice, writing, or development. As my friends that are attending Indy Magic Monthly have noticed, it isn't the trick, it's the presentation. The magic is creating the en…
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Added by Taylor Martin on January 13, 2009 at 7:49am —
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