It's a New Day in a New Year!

Well it is the start of a new year and I am ready for it. Or at least I think I am ready for it. I have some projects that I worked on last year that I am very proud of and some sitting on my butt I am not so proud of. This year has no resolutions, only decisions that needed to be made. And I have realized that matters really do need to be taken into one's hands if you want to see them done. I have been dealing with this one producer who keeps letting things slide. Well, no more, I called him up today, laid out a plan and what was required of him with a time frame. If he can't do it, then I will find someone else who can. Funny thing is he loved the idea, totally got the concept of what I was talking about and will be on board in two weeks. So, I will see what happens in two weeks. Either he will still be excited or he will drop the ball and I will have to move on.

I have several meetings coming up, but that's just what they are, meetings. I still get excited with the possibility those meetings bring, but it's the final outcome I have become more interested in. The meetings are fun, but they don't pay the bills. In fact most meetings send me on a roller coaster ride. I get a thrilling high of anticipation, filled with the what ifs and the low when the ride/meeting is over and the outcome is not what I expected. The truth is I am tired of the let downs, I'm tired of people waisting my time. I am sure if you are a performer, you know what I mean.

I actually had a great meeting a couple days prior to the New Year. The people were upfront and honest. They did not promise me the world. Instead they said, "we will see what we can do". What more can you ask of people than seeing what they can do. I enjoy helping other performers. When I am offered a gig I can't do, I always send it along to someone I know who can do it. Why? It makes that performer and myself look good. It also helps the client find an act that is perfect for them which encourages them to come back to me in the future with other work. I find a lot of acts will turn down a gig and leave the client wandering lost and alone in a sea of performers. It is good karma to help both sides and it makes me happy. A young magician friend of mine needed contacts when he first started out. I gave him my list. Why? Because I felt he was a good act who has only gotten better with time. These contacts are going to book someone, if it wasn't me then I would be thrilled to find out it was him. More people should learn to share information and others should learn to ask nicely. I believe the more we get together and help each other the more success we will all find in our future.

It's a new world if you want it to be and I'm making changes, are you?

Who IS Ariann Black, or... When People Talk Out of Their Colon

Who IS Ariann Black, or...

When People Talk Out of Their Colon

A new business associate of mine was inquiring about me with some magicians from Colon, Michigan. These magicians, though they know nothing about me, took it upon themselves to lie about me. I know that false accusations come from a negative place, so I am going to use this blog in a positive manner, to clear up some misconceived notions about myself, Ariann Black the Magician.

I am not a "created" female magician. My show is not fabricated by some Svengali. I understand that there might be a lot of women who got into performing magic because someone threw money at illusion builders, costumers, choreographers and consultants for them, but I am not one of those.

I am my own creation.

I have been fascinated by magic from a very early age and have never wanted to do, or be, anything other than a magician.  Any allowance or birthday money I got went to buying magic books and tricks. My whole life has revolved around becoming a great magician. I have designed and built my own magic props. And when I say built, I mean built. With my own two hands. When I was young my father taught me how to use power tools and to fiberglass. So yes, I use more than duck tape to fix my props! I am also the person who paid for each and every prop sitting in my house. I went to Chavez with Dale Salwack when I was 19 and still perform parts of the manipulation I learned in my bird act. When I am not in a show, I make money performing close-up magic for corporate events and conventions. So if "created" magicians can design/build magic props, do back-palming, dove steals, and perform miracles with a deck of cards, then an awful lot of professional magicians must be "created".

My magic show is one that I have developed and built for myself over time. It is a show that I have had envisioned for over 20 years. But doing it all yourself takes time, which I am sure that folks living in Colon, Michigan know all about. The costumes are costumes I have collected over the years. I was one of the magicians who worked in the Las Vegas show Splash at The Rivera, and when they made changes to some of the production numbers and decided to get rid of costumes, I was there to make a fortuitous acquisition. Other outfits I have paid seamstresses to sew for me. There are no magic elves leaving fabulous show garments at the foot of my bed. The music for my show is all hand-picked by me to fit each and every routine. The theme and definition of the show SECRETS was entirely my idea. The show has gone through many transitions and I am the one who instigates those changes in order to perfect my show.

I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My father became a teacher when I was a toddler, my mother a teacher's aide. Teachers are not well-paid(though they should be!), which means they could not buy my show for me, and are not bankrolling me. I have no wealthy relatives, no sugar daddy paying my way, which is why it has taken me so long to get to where I am today. I have done this by myself. It has been my blood, sweat, and tears that I have poured into my magic over all these years, like most (male)magicians.

Now don't get me wrong. I, like many others, have said the wrong thing about someone in the past because I had been led to believe it to be the truth. I believe that most of us have been guilty of something like that at one time or another in our lives. But the difference is that as soon as I found out the truth I owned up to my mistake and went about correcting it. I doubt that same courtesy will ever be afforded to me.

Especially when someone's talking out of their Colon.

How The Demise Of One Ticket Broker Can Spell Disaster For Las Vegas Shows.

How The Demise Of One Ticket Broker Can Spell Disaster For Las Vegas Shows.

Three days ago Prestige Travel filed for bankruptcy. This might not mean anything to people outside of Vegas, but to casinos, producers, and ticket holders this means a full on panic.

Prestige Travel was one of the main ticket brokers for shows in Las Vegas. They sold a lot of show tickets and took a very high commission from those tickets. Most producers relied on the check they received every week from Prestige for tickets already sold to pay for the shows, cast, crew, advertising and theater rental. Large show producers like Cirque du Soleil will be hurt yet not truly affected by this sudden turn of events. But smaller shows will be soon be forced to close or declare bankruptcy themselves because of this one company's bankruptcy debacle.

Most of the smaller shows rely heavily on the weekly check they receive from Prestige for ticket sales and are surviving from check to check. Without this money, producers suddenly find themselves in the position of paying everyone and everything out of their own pockets. The theater rentals that these producers pay dearly for don't care about a ticket company not paying the producers. The theater expects the check every week or they pull that show and bring in the next show that is waiting in the wings. The ad agencies expect the producer's weekly check as well, or advertising gets pulled. Dancers, acts, and stage crew who work so hard to put on a show every night will wonder if they will get paid this week. Most of these performers also live pay check to pay check, which will leave them unable to pay their bills. This sudden disastrous circumstance has shows and performers wondering how they will recover from the financial setback.

In the next week the fall out from this one company's bankruptcy filing will have a huge impact on the smaller-scaled shows providing entertainment in Las Vegas. There will be many shows closing as others scramble to find new backers to carry them over this hardship. Some shows will be forced to cut costs, firing performers and keeping stage crews to a minimum until they can get back on their feet, if they can get back on their feet. And when Prestige Travel has debts that add up to over $10 million, I don't see the little guys getting their money anytime soon. It has left producers with very little recourse.

Even though there are other ticket brokers in Vegas, and Prestige is restructuring under Chapter 11, the damage to small Vegas shows is as yet unfathomable. Revenues from prior ticket sales will never been seen by producers, as funds from those tickets sales are swallowed up in the bankruptcy. The money owed these producers ranges from $20,000 to $500,000, enough to send even a well-established show into a tail spin.

The snowball has started and unfortunately over the next month it will be rolling down a very steep and slippery slope, picking up speed as it get bigger and bigger, clearing a path that leaves me wondering who will survive.

The Real Cost of Las Vegas Show Business.

While working a guest spot in a show on the Las Vegas strip last week, I got to thinking about shows in Las Vegas and what the producers have to deal with.

20 years ago casinos used to have a big production show as well as a lounge show to entertainment their patrons. This meant the producers were paid to supply a casino with lavish shows featuring beautiful costumes, stunning dancers, amazing choreography, plus unique variety acts. There would be a cast of 50 or 60 performers that filled the stage every night to the delight of the casinos' gamblers. These shows were considered a loss leader because the casino used them as a marketing tool. They would advertising the dancers in their skimpy showgirl costumes and give tickets away to guests as a perk for coming to that casino and gambling. The lounge shows would be used in the same way because a good lounge show would keep gamblers around to spend a little more. The casino owners understood the value of these shows, they knew that shows had the ability to not just entertain but to also create a form of good will. Casinos only wanted the best shows at their casino because ultimately it meant more people through their doors. But all that has changed.

Today shows compete for space on a casino stage. Meaning the casinos have become landlord renting out the theatre to whom ever has the most money, not the person with the best show. There is no quality control and ticket brokers will push only the shows which pay them the most to sell their tickets. What does this mean? A lot!

•   The casino no longer cares how good the show is, only how much money they are making from the rental of the theatre, not realizing that this backfires on them. Casino patrons don't know the casino has nothing to do with the show, but they assume it does, so people walk out of a bad show thinking it was a casino show and leave the casino resentful that they wasted time and money watching a terrible show.
•   Shows now have to make money when they never use to. So there are no lavish productions numbers with beautiful sets, because that takes time, money and space. When a show shares the theatre with 3-4 other shows backstage space is at a premium. These shows not only have to pay rent but also pay for music rights, dancers, singers, speciality acts, stage crews, advertising, pre-production, etc. All this leaves producers scrambling to fill seats as soon as possible spending valuable dollars on advertising.
•   Anyone with money can rent a room and because there are so many rooms with so many shows, some amazing little jewels get lost in a sea of mediocrity. There are hundreds of shows to chose from, how do you know if you are getting the diamond or the coal.
•   Ticket brokers used to be paid a couple dollars for every ticket they sold, now they are making $35 dollars or more per ticket for some shows. For most shows that means the broker is making more off of the ticket than the actual show. It also means that the broker is not selling you the best show but the show they will make the most money from. When you as a ticket buyer walk up to a ticket booth and they start telling you about the different shows, generally brokers will only tell you about the show tickets they want you to buy, skipping over the shows they still only make $5 dollars from.

I know that this current trend with shows and show business will change, but will that change come soon enough? Will casinos realize that a good show is worth its weight in gold, and a bad show is not worth the rent? Yes! I know it will change, I just hope it doesn't take another 20 years to make that change.

The Art of Happiness

Happiness truly is an art which we must practice to perfect. I am lucky because I have a naturally sunny disposition. It does not make me a happy person all the time, but it helps me see the brighter side of things. I like being happy and I surround myself with things that make me smile or laugh when I see them. That is just one of the ways I bring happiness into my life. If I am going to be upset or angry about something it tends to be about my career and I find that success as a magician is fleeting and I always want more. So if I am going to be upset, miserable, whinny and down right ornery, it is because something is not right in my career. Still, most of the time I choose to be happy. That's right I "choose" to be happy and I can find happiness in almost anything.  

My pets bring me such great joy and happiness. They are so funny in the way they express themselves. I love artwork so have photos and paintings in my home that are beautiful and remind me of pleasant things. Even a hot cup of tea can put a positive spin on the day.

Sometime it is being able to stop and look at everything around me and think, Wow! I am really happy right now and I'm going to remember this moment. I seldom dwell in the past or on unpleasant memories. I know I have many more happy days ahead of me.

When making choices in my life I stop and think: Will this make me happy in the long run. If the answer is YES, then I jump in without looking and trust in myself that happiness will come. And generally it does.

Bringing happiness to other people makes me happy too. It is the kind of contagion that is meant to be spread to others. Trying smiling at a stranger and more often than not they will smile back. That simple smile might be the nicest thing to happen to them all day and costs me nothing to share it. When I go for walks I can't help smiling at people. They always smile back and in return it fills my soul with sheer joy.

My sister and I 

There are so many ways to find happiness in the world around you. Take the time to look, notice and enjoy this beautiful world. It will lead you to brighter days. The search for happiness might be a little daunting at first, but little by little joy will enter your world. You will wake up one morning to discover you are living a felicitous life.

The Lying Game

Everybody lies... Most people tell white lies in order not to hurt others feelings. Some people tell lies to look better at work or with friends. Others tell lies that are meant to move blame to another person, and there are a few people who only know how to lie. I love the whopper fish tale which we all know as a lie. Then there are the worst of all lies, which are the lies we tell ourselves.

There are three professions who lie. Grifters, politicians, and magicians.

As a magician I am paid to lie. It is part of the art of deception to tell people you are doing something when really as the magician you are doing something completely different. But there is so much more involved to the deception than just the lie, there is the skill, performance and most importantly the misdirection. There is a whole psychology to the art of magic that is over looked by many performers. Magicians play the lying game to entertain.

Most lies when discovered ultimately hurt the people involved. With magic it means the illusion had been uncovered and people know how it is done. Once the secret is out, I find a lot of people become disappointed as the mystery that magic brings into a persons life is far more appealing than the truth. Remember that the next time you ask a magician to tell you the secret. You will be far more happy wondering how the magician made the rabbit appear, than knowing where it truly came from. At the end of a show magicians rely on the whopper tale. More often than not a trick is remembered as being far more magical than any magician in the world could ever make it. What performer doesn't like to hear about their presentation of an illusion become larger than life. I use to correct people with what really happened and now I let them tell the whopper magic tale. You should hear the stories of my rope escape, and how I let the guy tie me up, or that I steal everything from him while tied up. Doesn't happen, but it makes for a great story and makes others want to come see the show. But it's little things that push people in the direction of these tales that have been crafted into the act. For example: I steal the jacket and hat, or jacket and glasses to give the impression of stealing many things from him. I also send him back to his seat with things in his hands so it leaves the impression of giving things back not just giving him things. The reason people think the audience member ties me up is because .... Well I can't give that away. Some of these little pushes I stumble across, and others I methodically think them through and work them into the routines. It is through this process that my whopper magic stories get bigger and bigger.

In real life I happen to be the worst lier you will ever meet. But if you pick a card and put it back anywhere, no matter what I say, I'm lying because I always know where your card is in the deck.

Transformations

The ability to transform ourselves is an amazing ability. As human beings we can become whatever we desire. But as a human transforming ourselves is different for all of us. There are people who look inside transforming spiritually. For others it's as simple as cutting their hair and putting on different clothing that makes them feel amazing. Some people cover themselves with body art, using their own body as a canvas to express themselves to the outer world. There are also people who physically change their body believing that a boob job or other forms of plastic surgery will transform them. And then there are some over the top people who change their entire personality, even taking the time to rewrite their past (FYI: don't trust anyone who does that kind of transformation they are just lying).

My sister and I at 8 years old.

 

 Whether you go to extremes or use something simple we have all transformed ourselves at some point in our lives.  Most people transform because they want a change in their lives. I know for me a great hair cut makes me feel strong and beautiful. When I was a kid I was a quiet shy tomboy. It wasn't until I was finished with college that I realized a tomboy was not the look I wanted for stage, so I slowly started to change little things about me. I did a photo shoot where they did an amazing job on my make-up so I put the photo on my mirror and copied the make-up. It took a couple weeks to get it right but now I knew how to put on make-up and do it right.  The hair is a different thing. I am still not great with hair but hair styles change all the time I now embrace that thought and let my hair change with the times. The same with clothing, I am not a fashion forward person, but I am lucky enough to have wonderful people in my life who are and I let them help me find clothes for on stage and off. The tomboy element still comes in as I don't like to wear dresses, but I have had a friendly intervention and have become a better clothing shopper.

 

The photo I used when copying my make-up

 

I am who I am and that I never want to transform, but making changes to become a better me or even the best me I will embrace everyday.  Try it yourself you don't need to make big changes. Think of all the little things you can do to transform your life and the world around you. It is these little steps that will make the world a better place and eventually lead you to your goals.

 

Who I am today.