Working The Magic Castle

W

hat’s it like to perform at The Magic Castle?

That is a complicated question to answer.

After all, it is the mecca of magic and a place that many strive to work. Adjectives to describe the feeling include: exciting, challenging, nerve-racking, humbling, honored. I have performed there pretty much every year since 2009. It takes extra effort for me to appear there because I am on the other side of the country and many factors have to come together. I now consider the place my West Coast home.

At my last appearance, I thought it would be interesting to my non-magician friends to see all the thought process and work it takes to perform at the Castle. I published a blog every day to show that you don’t just walk in and perform. I hope you find it interesting, too They Want Me? How I Got the Chance It was in Louisville, Kentucky at the IBM/SAM Combined Convention in 2008 and I was becoming president of the S a aven had just finished his inspiring lecture and was walking past when he noticed me. I knew Max when he was Phil Goldstein. We both grew up in the New England

area and would see each other at magic conventions. I said hello and added, “We’ve come a long way since the Magicale conventions in Boston.”

Through the years Phil/Max had seen me perform at various venues and knew about my “out of the box” theatrical routines.

Max was then the entertainment director for The Magic Castle and asked me, “When was the last time you worked the Castle?” I told him that I’d never worked the Castle.

He was shocked and replied, “You haven’t? Why not?”

“You never asked.”

“I thought that you’ve performed there in the past. You never wrote to me or sent a video?” m not that ind of guy always figured that if they wanted me, they would ask me. Candidly, I never thought of myself as anything special for the Castle. I was a full time magician who occasionally performed at conventions but I never thought I was Castle material. Evidently, Max thought I was.

Max then said, “We’ll have to correct that,” and then he moved on.

Four months later I got the call. I believe I was the last person Max booked before he turned the

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[facing page] Arlene and Bruce Kalver in the lobby of The Magic Castle. position over to a oldfinger ve een performing there now for the last fifteen years am very grateful. I look forward to my appearances there.

The audiences are fantastic. Any other show, you have to warm people up to watch a magician do magic tricks. There, they are primed and ready to watch. The gig also challenges me to come up with something special — not just for the magicians, but also for the public.

Getting The Call Your mobile phone rings and you see the name a oldfinger on the s reen our heart s ips a eat and you start smiling ello r oldfinger I was hoping for your call.” When Jack calls, you know that he is about to tell you something good.

“The Magic Castle would like to have you perform the week of January 17 -22.” Are you available to work the Parlour?”

The minute he asks, a dozen things go through my head. Can I get away on those dates? Which effects did I leave at my son’s house in Los Angeles?

When do I start rehearsing? Which friends did I promise to tell when I was working the Castle so they could arrange their trip? Can I book a plane ticket at a decent price since it is less than two months away?

You are required to send an updated bio, a photo, and a list of what effects you are performing. They try to keep performers from duplicating tri s our a t is no shorter than fifteen minutes and no longer than twenty minutes. They are very strict on the time.

Getting Ready From the minute you say yes, the patter runs through your head on all of your effects and you begin internally rehearsing. Since I have performed there many times, I have honed a perfect act for the twenty minutes in the Parlour.

This time, I wanted to add a new one-minute effect. Doing so makes it complicated. What do you take out? Can you change the patter on one effect to make it shorter? Does the set need a new effect? Is it worth the effort?

Pa ing is another proje t y five effe ts fit into two suitcases because I leave two of my effects at my son’s house in Los Angeles. I am lucky that I can do that, otherwise I would have to ship things each time I perform there.

I always work in the Parlour of Prestidigitation doing the Early Show. I like performing there because you are not sharing the stage and have the freedom to do some extra things without getting in the way of others. I also prefer the Early shows

Posing in front of the Castle’s dressing room door. because my body is on East Coast time. Doing Early shows have me finished ea h night y p m and by then, I am exhausted.

My signature effect in the Parlour of Prestidigitation is You’re There. It is a Pepper’s ghost illusion where I pay tribute to my mentors (who happen to be my relatives). It is a very complicated set up but is worth the time for the reaction it creates. I invented it spe ifi ally to perform in the Parlour, and it kills every time.

It’s Showtime!

The Castle treats their performers with great respect. Your dressing room has a sign with your name on it, sometimes, there is a swag bag waiting for you, and you are assigned a “butler” who grabs food, beverages, and anything else you need so you can concentrate on your performance.

One time, I asked the butler to just have a glass of plain iced tea in the dressing room between shows Don t ma e it fan y finished the first show and went to my dressing room where I found a nice glass of iced tea on a silver platter with fruit around the glass.

What follows are excerpts from the day-to-day blog of my visit to the Castle at the beginning of this year, showing what the week is like. You will notice that my performances are always a “work in progress.” With 21 shows, you really learn your routines Than you, a oldfinger and the staff of The Magic Castle. You really make a performer feel at home.

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Day 1: Monday Opening night!

While driving to the Castle on the 101, a car from the first lane lost control of their vehicle and spun three-and-a-half times right in front of us, crossing four lanes and barely missing us. The spinning car stopped inches from the side wall of the highway, facing the wall. It was twenty to thirty feet in front of us. If we were going any faster, I would not be here writing this story. Very scary.

At the Castle, after a four-and-a-half-hour set-up and a couple of tech rehearsals, I was ready. y show involves five magi routines and my a t is not a “run in and start the show” type. Perhaps because of my theatre background, I try and make the performance something above the norm.

My wife Arlene is my greatest secret. As my stage manager and sometime director, she inspires

sailing. Another full house and an even more responsive reaction, with cheers at the end.

Show three: During my show, I ask a spectator to become the magician and ask him to come up with a magic stage name. Usually it’s Mike the reat, or Steve the agnifi ent Tonight pi ed a guy who said his name was Ritz. “What will be your magic name? Ritz the...” and an audience member shouted, “The Cracker!”

Entertainment Dire tor a oldfinger who am thrilled to call my friend) attended the third show, ever smiling in the top corner seat. The reactions were so large in this performance that the show went over a few minutes. I apologized to Jack and his response was “no problem — don’t change a thing.” I always thank Jack for booking me and his response is always, “ No one does the routines that you do here. Welcome home.”

My takeaway from tonight’s shows came from

Onstage presenting You’re There, a tabletop Pepper’s Ghost illusion.

Another moment from Bruce’s You’re There routine.

me to tweak every routine. It truly helps when you have a wife with a degree in theatre.

There was a “beat” missing in my You’re There illusion since its inception. It was a small thing that made the routine stumble a little. While setting it up this time, we came up with a little thing that makes the missing beat work and also makes the illusion more affling s say, all of my routines are works in progress and ever-evolving. Tonight we would test it out.

I was thrilled and honored to see that my lighting preset was still in the computer at the Castle!

Show one: I was a little shaky about it but it went well, without a hitch. My close friend and sometimes comedy writer for me, Bob Carroll, was there with his wife, Debbie. They are a lucky charm for me. Debbie always tears up at You’re There. The full house was a great audience and was really responsive.

Show two: No more shaky feeling and smooth

the magicians in the audience who were told to see my act. Many gave high praises for You’re There. The ones who have seen the effect before mentioned my twea and were affled on how it was accomplished. A success!

Day 2: Tuesday t s only day two and the wee is flying y The crowds tonight were a little quieter than the night before. I guess people out on work nights are tired.

Even so, had good reactions to my routines.

Fixed a little issue with the workings of You’re There and now it’s smooth sailing for the rest of the week. What looks simple onstage gives you the most work. The third show comments to me as they were leaving left audience members very emotional, in a positive way. I love that they share their thoughts with me.

I am so honored when Board members take the time to come and see me perform. I’m also happy to call them my friends. Jonathan Levit stopped by

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to see my a t for the first time and enjoyed ou re There.

It’s always a pleasure to see Sara Ballantine (the voice of Mary Jane in the Spider-Man cartoons, a multi-talented actress, and the daughter of the great Carl Ballantine) in the audience. Sara always tries to catch my act. I love when people like her take the time from their very busy schedule to attend. It means a lot to me.

During my Knife Through Coat routine I cut my finger, just short of leeding just ept going and no one noticed. It’s a good thing it didn’t bleed. I’m on blood thinners and it would have stopped the show.

Got to remember that the steak knife is real — and also sharp!

Arlene’s cameo in the show is getting great reactions. Glad she is here with me.

Adam Wylie (Into the Woods, Picket Fences) was performing at the close-up table and I got to catch a few minutes of him. I’ll have to say hello tomorrow.

We always seem to be working at the same time and never see each other.

In all, a very pleasant night and a successful three shows Si down, fifteen to go Day 3: Wednesday Tonight was a Cocomelon night with my son Eric bringing his coworkers to see the show. All very nice people and the look of wonder on their faces showed that they had a fun evening. f it is your first time at the Castle you are overwhelmed with all the things to see and do. You will never see everything in one visit.

The audiences were very enthusiastic for all three shows. The best we’ve had so far. ne of the hardest things to find is an opening line to your performance. About ten years ago I found it. It gets the biggest laugh of the act. You’ll have to see my show to hear it.

I was still looking for a closing line and yesterday I found it. After You’re There I would rush a “Thanks for coming, goodnight.” It never worked. Tonight I let the applause die down. Then I said something to put a cap on the performance, and then ended the show. My line summarized what they just witnessed and thanked them for being a part of it. It was perfect. The Castle performances allow me to experiment and perfect the act. Always evolving.

After I set up for tonight’s performance, a librarian from the Castle mentioned that he heard a out my final tri invited him up for a private showing of You’re There. I presented the illusion to him and when it was over he said, “ I’m speechless.

I’ve never seen anything like that.”

If you are wondering about You’re There, it is an

illusion I created about eight years ago. It tells the story of my family and their entertainment background. Within an empty see-through framed box, I bring back the ghosts of my relatives/mentors.

There is a magical twist at the end. People always ask me if I have a video of the illusion and I don’t. It must e seen live on film it would loo li e spe ial effects. I hope you get to see it someday.

We’ve added another comic bit for Arlene and once again she gets a big laugh.

Our butler, Carlos, is super helpful and brought us the est stea have ever had The filet mignon was so tender, you didn’t need a knife. Perfection.

Day 4: Thursday Starting to get sad that the week is almost over.

By Thursday you become a well-oiled machine and everything is flowing smoothly t least that is what you hope for.

Spectators are usually gracious and go with the flow asionally, li e tonight, you have a few spectators who decide to try to be funny on their own and show off to friends in the audience. I understand that they may be nervous and worried about how you are going to treat them onstage. By the way, I always am respectful to my volunteers.

I had a couple tonight who tried to do their own presentation. It doesn’t bother me. Having 56 years of dealing with this kind of thing helps. There are casual things that you can say to show that you appreciate them, but I need to do my things.

Comments like, “And that was just a sneak peek of what you’ll see when they appear next week here at the Castle. For now, I only have twelve minutes left, so let’s keep to my act, okay?” y sister, eanette iello, flew in with her boyfriend David to see the show. This is her first time seeing me perform at the Castle and the first time seeing a lot of the illusions that I performed. Jeanette was my first magi assistant growing up (aren’t all sisters of magicians?), so she is aware of a lot of magic. I caught glimpses of her smiling through

A poster promoting Bruce with what has become his signature illusion.

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the whole act. We discussed after the show the fact that if my parents and grandfather were alive today, they would be crying tears of joy from the audience over me performing here. It is a true accomplishment and I am incredibly grateful. They would have loved You’re There. After all, it’s all about them.

Writing this, I just realized I have been forgetting to say a line that will add another laugh to the show. It goes in tomorrow (if I remember!).

Also in attendance was my friend Ken Levine and his wife, Debbie. Ken is a writer, director, show runner for shows like M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier, Almost Perfect. He is kind enough to come to the Castle to see me perform when I am here. I appreciate when I glance over and see this Emmy Award-winning writer laughing at things I wrote.

After the shows, we hung out in the Invisible Irma Room and I picked his brain about working with Harry Anderson. He tells great stories.

The three shows tonight went well, with enthusiastic crowds. For the third show, the host who introdu ed me got flustered in the introdu tion and by doing so, ruined my opening line. I rebound back and saved it with a quick comment. t first, get upset when things li e this happen, but ultimately it teaches me “outs” to use in case it happens in the future.

In the third show, You’re There got a very strong reaction and the audience left the room much slower as they wanted to shake my hand and tell me how much they appreciated the last effect. When they approach me teary eyed, I know that the illusion was successful and they got what I was going for.

Again, Arlene’s cameo (they only see her hand and hear her voice) is getting great reactions.

Day 5: Friday Much like a play or musical, a twenty-minute magic show has moving parts. You try and not worry about some of the parts and concentrate on the magic and perfor-

Playing to a packed house.

mance. Sound and lighting are things that you set and just go. They are not supposed to be a problem. n the first show, the host pressed the E light preset button and the lights changed to show mode. I came out onstage and realized that the lights were not right. It was dimmer onstage and I could not see the audience at all! Inner panic mode set in for a variety of reasons. First, I need to see the audience to select volunteers. Second and most important, the lights have to be right for You’re There. It takes a long time to get the combination of lighting to make that illusion look magical.

I proceeded with the show and got through the performance. Elissa, my daughter-in-law, was in the audien e and said that the lighting seemed fine Because the lighting board is locked, we cannot make any changes during the evening. Resetting the act, I tried pressing other people’s presets and none were right. I came to the conclusion that I would just use mine and leave it as it is.

The second show began and, when I went through the curtain, the lights readjusted themselves and my lighting was back! I have no idea why or how, but it worked for the rest of the night.

What a relief!

Celebrity sighting in the Castle: A male cast member from the TV series Crazy Ex Girlfriend.

Also Adam Wylie stopped by the dressing room for a chat.

During the second show, I brought a married couple up to the stage to do Cards Across and asked the wife, “How long have you been married?” She said a year. The husband argued that that was not right. They bickered for a few sentences. It was hilarious! Then I went on with the trick. At the end of the effect, when I am about to reveal the big surprise, the wife said, “I know what is about to happen and there is no freakin’ way that you did this. Do you want me to show the audience, because this is impossible. There is no freakin’ way. How could you do that?”

I replied with, “ You must remember that this is not the ‘No Freakin’ Way’ Castle. This is The Magic Castle!” The audience went wild! She was shocked.

The audience was laughing and delighted. The show went long by two minutes because of the reactions of the audience to this couple. You wish you had them at every performance.

You’re There continues to bring out emotions and delight to the audiences. I do it last because there is nothing that can follow it. Fixed a smoke issue that has been popping up. Lots of spooky smoke last night. Problem solved. So much to think about.

Arlene continues to tweak the show for the better. So glad she is with me. The new Torn &

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Restored Poster trick is getting bigger reactions than I expected. The trick stays in.

And now something sad: only six shows left.

Day 6: Saturday Each night we have a different host for the room. They lead the people into the room, get the people excited for the show, give a few rules, and introduce you. Tonight we met Robert.

We spoke for a few minutes, going over my introduction, which was on his iPhone. I noticed that his screen was cracked and the screen was

A selfie outside in the Hollywood hills. flashing and popping in and out e told me that he just got back from vacation and dropped his phone, which was now acting weird. We rehearsed the intro, because the last line leads into my opening line joke. The intro is very important.

The people came into the room and Robert egan to introdu e me fter the first line, his phone went dead. I was in place, behind the curtain, waiting to come out with poster in hand for my first tri and he ouldn t introdu e me With a very quiet voice I said, “Do you want to use my phone?” He heard me and whispered back, “Yes, please.” His hand went through the curtain and I turned around and grabbed my phone, going to my notes with the intro. I placed it in his hand and he pulled it through the curtain and began the intro again. He did the whole intro and ended with, “please welcome Bruce Kalver!”

As I went through the curtain, he handed me back the phone. I put it in my pocket and began.

After the show I told Robert how professional he was and how great it was that he picked up on my solution. He apologized for what happened and I praised him for realizing how important that intro was to the act. I want Robert every time!

Have you ever had sweat go into your eye? It stings and makes it hard for you to keep your eyes open. It happens to me every night. Many years ago, mentalist and friend Glenn Falkenstein gave

me a tip that really helped me this week. He once told me that if you rub Vaseline on your eyebrows, the sweat will redirect to the sides of your face and won’t go into your eyes. He did it every time he worked outdoor venues.

On Monday, during You’re There, the sweat went into my eye and I began rubbing my eye trying to see. After the show, Eric told me that I looked like I was getting emotional during the trick. I said to Arlene, “I wish I had some Vaseline to do the eyebrow trick.” She said, “I brought some!” Thanks, Arlene, for remembering. Now every night, no more eye stinging.

My dear friend Laura Dewey and her partner Amy were my guests at the Castle. Four years ago, she was to see me perform for the first time and aught the flu ast night, aura loo ed li e a id seeing Disneyland for the first time She loved every minute of the evening and will definitely e a She and my were treated to banana cream pie and creme brulee.

Many Academy members also stopped by the show to witness You’re There. Word got around about this illusion and they all praised the presentation.

At one performance an aerospace group of about thirty people came to see my show. Throughout the performan e hoose five people as volunteers for my a t hen as ed the first four what they did for a living they all said, “I’m an engineer.” When it happened the fifth time, loo ed at the audien e and asked, “Who is not an engineer?” Only a few hands went up. It was funny. Experience tells you to take those moments.

Arlene’s lobster tail dinner choice was a good one and I treated myself to a steak. f you ever visit the Castle, there are five ars throughout the building and, like a private club, you can carry your drinks all around the mansion.

I asked the bartender what was the most expensive drink. He showed me some alcoholic drink that was 25 years old. It was also $250 a shot! Glad I don’t drink.

Depressingly, three more shows to go. One day more.

Day 7: Sunday Closing night.

Arriving at 3:30 to casually set up, clean up, and get ready for packing after the show, we realized that we couldn’t get into the Parlour because a Celebration of Life was going on for Max Maven, who passed away recently. Arlene and I sat in the dressing room and listened to all of the speeches and remembrances. They were touching, funny, and poignant. We are all going to miss Max. So glad we were able to attend and hear it.

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Bruce commemorating the hanging of his poster on The Magic Castle walls.

The event ended at 6:40, which gave us twenty minutes to get set up and ready. Setting up normally takes an hour. After six nights of setting this up, we got it done. With no time to eat or relax before the show, the room was opened and the first show began. Tonight was both exciting and depressing all at the same time. After all, it was the last night.

Three great audien es The first audien e had some prominent members of the Castle in attendance. They heard about my illusion and wanted to witness it themselves. My good friend and honest critic, Paul Green, stopped by to catch my act. He has seen my stuff multiple times but commented that he li ed my fi es on the routines e is always very honest with me and I appreciate his feedback.

The second show had a spectator who was very nervous about his jacket when I performed my Knife Through Coat illusion. He was nervous laughing throughout the demonstration and was relieved when I gave him his coat back unharmed.

The third show had a funny moment during the introduction. The host said, “He is the national president of the Society of American Magicians...”

I popped my head through the curtain and said, “Hold on a second. I am a past president of the Society. On any other night I would let that go.

However, the current president is sitting right there in the third row!” And he was! After I came through the curtains and said my opening laugh line, I then formally introduced Rod Chow and he stood up for his applause. Glad it happened.

The last performance was perfection. Great responses, wonderful feeling, amazed attendants.

You’re There was particularly special to the group as I had a long line of people shaking my hand and telling me how touching it was to them. It’s a unique magic effect that has an emotional feeling to those who witness it.

When I introduce each relative at the beginning

with one sentence each describing their accomplishments, by the time each ghost appears, the audien e nows who they are and identifies with them and is happy to meet them. I am truly delighted that my creation has evolved to become my signature illusion. My original signature effect was the Growing and Shrinking Head Spiral but this has taken over.

So great to see Gay Blackstone and Erika Larsen. It’s so cool that they know who I am. Also bumped into Rob Zabrecky (my son’s second favorite magician). He is the medium at the Houdini Seances in the Castle.

The best accomplishment all week was the fact that I didn’t do the Brainwave deck trick. Let me explain: I always have a Brainwave deck in my left breast pocket. It is there in case there is a problem with one of my planned effects. It is a “go to” effect to fill out the time. I am proud to say that every trick at every per for mance worked and I never had to do the Brainwave. a oldfinger came by to say goodbye. I am truly grateful that he likes my act, likes us, and has me back. He and his wife Dove are treasures The Magic Castle show and I appreciate them bill for the week of greatly.

January 16-22, 2023.

Arlene is a godsend. I could not have gotten through the week without her.

She is my director, stage manager, rock, and secret weapon. When we walk around the Castle, people greet her and are thrilled to meet the person behind the hand (the only part of her that you see in the show).

My son Eric and his wife Elissa brought around 75 people to the Castle this week to see me perform and I appreciate their dedication in coming every night. I let Eric juggle the guest lists and don’t know how he is so well organized. He is a mensch.

Thanks for reading; It was a great week of visiting my happy place onstage. As you see, magic shows are not easy — many moving parts and lots to be aware of. Done properly, it is a true performing art.

Until the next time, Magic Castle, I’ll miss you.

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