Christmas Magic with Dean Alan & Santa

That photo is of a 4 year old Dean Alan (me) visiting Santa for the first time. Little did I know that later in life I would actually BECOME one of Santa's Helpers. Yes, Virginia, Dean Alan WAS one of Santa's Helpers!!!!

I was a Mall Santa for Potomac Mills Mall and for Fair Oaks Mall. This went on for several years as I was highly requested by Santa's people. You see, the difference between me and a lot of Santa helpers is I spent a lot of time studying the history of St.Nick, the Reindeer, the North Pole and so forth. When kids would come up I was ready to answer any question they might have. I also made sure I was knowledgeable on the latest toy crazes.

The elves that I worked with also requested that I return each year. The reason was, I basically put on a SHOW everytime a kid came and sat down and frankly even when they just walked by. I was an extremely animated and jolly Santa. I know it was great for business, but I really was doing it to please the families, the kids and mostly Santa himself (after-all, you never know when he'll show up to do a spot check!)

I have so many stories about being Santa. One of my favorites was the Mom who came up to my sleigh and told me her kid was really BAD this year and wondered if there was anything I could do to 'set him straight'. I told her, "I've got it under control, send him over". And the little fellow came over and sat down in my sleigh and I asked him his name. He told me and I sat there for a moment, kinda looked around puzzled, rubbed my beard and said, "hmmm, I don't recall anyone with that name on my Good List. WAIT A MINUTE! I know you! You're on my bad list!" The look on his face was priceless. I leaned in and told him, "Hey, don't worry, it's very easy to get off the bad list, you just have to listen to your Mom, keep your room clean, pick up your toys when you're finished playing with them, and do good in school. Why, if you can promise to do that, I'll make sure you get moved over to the top of the GOOD LIST!" Needless to say this kid was extremely relieved and was like Scrooge on Christmas Morning, a new Man! or new KID as it were. His Mother was all smiles and gave me two big thumbs up!!!!

Another thing I used to do was put on a really good show when babies were brought up. I would act as if I knew exactly what they were saying. Often this was video taped and the parents just LOVED the byplay between their infant and myself.

I was eventually replaced by a 'real bearded' Santa. I had a lot of people contact me and complain that the replacement was not as good as I was. It was a shame, because that pretty much put an end to my Santa career. I think it was the year after this that I started doing magic full time. I guess it all worked out fine.

AND Speaking of doing Magic Full Time, I will be doing my VERY MERRY MAGIC SHOW this month, not as Santa, but as ME! Click the link to find out more....(if you're interested that is). 

My Recollections of Past Seuss Shows

As you may know, I present School Assemblies with the theme of Reading. My most popular shows are about the Books and Characters of Dr. Seuss. I have presented quite a few different versions of the show over the years. But I remember the very first. It happened by accident. Let me share the story with you...

I received a call from a school asking if I would come and do some magic for their Dr. Seuss Party.

They asked if I did anything relating to Seuss and I said no, but I would try and come up with something. So, naturally, I decided to create a trick with Dr. Seuss as the theme. It wasn't much, mainly because I didn't understand the magnitude of Dr. Seuss's popularity. When I arrived at the school, all the teachers wore big Cat in the Hat Hats. The students, some not all, were costumed as their favorite characters. It was an eye opening experience. I should point out that the LOVED my show and were so appreciative of the Seuss routine I included. Well, you don't have to tell me twice...I went home and began work right then on an ALL Seuss Show. Within a few days I had it and tested the water at a couple other schools. Before you know it, word was out and I was doing the show all over.

I remember wanting to come up with a second version of the show. All I was able to come up with was one additional routine. I was not happy about that either. So I kept doing the old show with this one new routine, again, everyone was thrilled and happy....everyone but me. Because I was unable to develop more material, I decided to scrap the show. But my clients wouldn't let me. They kept asking for it. Eventually, I decided to up my game and really infuse the show with a lot more content, more education, more trivia. When I chose this path, I suddenly found that I was able to develop new routines. So I began offering a new show each year. Sometimes I would repeat material every couple years but overall the majority of the show would be new.

Here is a list of the books or stories I covered in my years of doing Dr. Seuss themed programs.

• 1 Fish 2 Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
• The Cat In the Hat
• Horton Hears a Who
• Green Eggs and Ham 
• The Bippilo Seed 
• Gustov the Goldfish 
• IF I Ran The Zoo 
• If I Ran the Circus 
• I Can Read With My Eyes Shut 
• The Sneetches 
• The 500 Hundred Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins 
• McElligot's Pool 
• Yertle the Turtle
• Daisy Head Mayzie 
• Scrambled Eggs Super
• The Lorax
• How The Grinch Stole Christmas
• The Cat In the Hat Returns

and there are others that I don't recall right now. But those stories, plus facts about Dr. Seuss's life and other educational tidbits became over 6 hours of Dr. Seuss subject matter. Each year, I tell myself, NO MORE. And each year I change my mind and create a NEW show. I was pretty certain after the 2013-14 school year that I was done making new shows. I had decided at the time that I had accumulated enough material, so I could recycle it for all the students that had never seen it before. But apparently fate stepped in and here I am working, once again, on another new program. All new stories for me, which means all new magic routines, new props, new everything. It's one thing to read a story, it's something completely different to be able to turn that story into a magic routine. You see, most of the routines I have created actually TELL the story using magic. Finding the right mix of magic and story is not always easy. The Sneetches was a story I wanted to add for years but could never figure out how to tell the story with magic. I had a half dozen different ideas, but none of them were practical in my mind. So the story kept getting dropped.

In 2013, I finally hit upon the right mix of magic for The Sneetches. I figured out how to tell the story, in a condensed way with magic and audience volunteers. That routine became the opening routine of the 2013 show and it set the tone for the rest of the show. I must admit it was one of the best Dr. Seuss routines I ever created. 

Another routine which became a favorite, not only to me but to audiences was Gustov The Goldfish. After reading the story, I knew instantly how to tell this with magic. I was able to recreate almost the entire story with a helper from the audience. The audiences loved the magic and the story. One of the reasons I chose Gustov is because I knew the back story. You see, Gustov the Goldfish never made it into book form, until around 2011 that is. It had appeared in a magazine years and years before and that was all. Actually, that was not all. You see, Dr. Seuss's first wife Helen, asked him if SHE could have the story. He agreed and she changed it a bit, had different illustrations added and changed the name of the story to A Fish Out Of Water. THIS book, was familiar to Teachers, but Gustov was not. So this was an instance where even the teachers learned something.

Being able to educate and inspire the students is only half the mission of these shows. The other half is to give content that the teachers will enjoy as well. I remember one Library Specialist contacting me and telling me she used a line from my show to encourage the students. It was when I talked about Dr. Seuss's attempts to get his first book published and how he was rejected, and rejected and rejected and rejected but didn't give up. I was so happy to know that this message continued to inspire long after I was gone.

Work has begun on the latest version of the show, this time called All You Need Is A Book! The show name comes from a quote by Dr. Seuss that goes like this, "You Can Find Magic Wherever You Look, Sit Back and Relax, All You Need Is A Book." I think I have the book selections fairly well narrowed down now, but that could still change before February. I am confident this years show will be the BEST ONE YET! And it may also be the last for me. Other areas of my career are pulling me and I may be heading in a new direction. I hope I'll still be able to do the reading programs, but if not, perhaps I will train someone new. 

What other directions? Well, there is a rumor I may have MY new book finished early next year. Promoting that book is going to become a full time job I think. It's not a children's book unfortunately, though I have a children's book written, but I need to get an illustrator. I guess no matter what direction I take, I'll still be involved with books in some fashion. 

HEY, IF YOU WANT To Book A Seuss Show for Your School, go to http://wizardofreading.com/dr-seuss-show/ 

 

Dr. Seuss Themed Reading Show for Elementary Schools

I have been presenting shows based on the books and characters of Dr. Seuss for ever ten years, close to 15 now. There were others who had a single Dr. Seuss routine in their shows, but I was doing a full show of ALL Seuss stories. It began at daycare centers and moved to elementary schools. To say it's been popular is an understatement.

Over the years I've developed hours upon hours of material on Dr. Seuss stories. Since I shifted to doing the show at elementary schools, I beefed up the educational content considerably and I brought out a new show each year. It's been very rewarding to share these stories with the students and give them a lot of background information on the stories as well. It peaks their interests to discover how and where many of these story ideas and characters came from. I've been told time and time again by school librarians that the books get totally wiped out after my assemblies.

This year, I'm doing another new show, The All You Need Is a Book! Show. The title actually comes from a quote by Dr. Seuss that goes like this, "“You Can Find Magic Wherever You Look, Sit Back and Relax, All You Need Is A Book”. Isn't that great?! I expect to fill all the dates for Feb/March/April with this new show. YOU can have it at your school too. I am mainly in Virginia, but will be traveling to North Carolina, Maryland,Tennesee and beyond. Distance isn't really an issue. If you are interested in scheduling a FANTASTIC show about the Books and characters of Dr. Seuss, you can find my contact information at my website www.WizardofReading.com

 

Here are just a few quotes from schools who have seen the show!

“The Wizard of Reading combined clever tricks and switcheroos to entertain our audience, at the same time giving lots of interesting information about Dr. Seuss and his stories.  We got great feedback from kids and parents.  It’s delightful.” Pat Gleason, ESOL Teacher, Keene Mill Elementary School, Springfield VA

“Thank you for presenting such a fun and inspirational program for our students.  They loved the magic, the audience participation and learning new facts about Dr. Seuss.  I have used your example about Dr. Seuss’ perseverance several times with my students.  What a great character trait to emphasize!  And those Dr. Seuss books flew off the library shelves the rest of the week!” Beth Yankey, Library Media Specialist, Loch Lomond Elementary, Manassas, VA

“The assemblies went great.  I have heard a lot of positives and the schedule went fine.  Thanks for all you did.  Hope to be able to bring you back next year” Olivia Eades Reed, Intervention Teacher, Broadus Wood Elementary, Earlysville, VA

“Your show was so entertaining and I loved the facts you shared with us about Dr. Seuss. Your sense of humor was perfect for our students and they had a wonderful evening with you” Claudia Easley, Reading Specialist, Carver Elementary

“Thanks so much for an excellent show (I’m still hearing positive comments!)” Cheryl Redman, Reading Coach, Norton Elementary, Norton, VA

“Thank you again for a fabulous show. Many children are still talking about it. You were awesome!” Christine Caravello-Goodman, Reading Specialist, Kempsville Meadows ES, VA Beach, VA

“We really enjoyed your show! I overheard children talking about Dr. Seuss and your show for several days. Several teachers commented on what a great show it was as well. The kids loved the magic tricks! I know it inspired many to read a Dr. Seuss book. Thanks again!” Elizabeth Massa, Reading Specialist, Alberta Smith Elementary, Midlothian, VA

“Thanks for the wonderful assembly. It was a great way to kick off ‘Read Across America Day’ and the children talked about it nonstop.” Carissa Stanziola, Reading Specialist, Rolling Ridge Elementary School, Sterling Virginia

“My head start class loved your show. It had special meaning with the Dr. Seuss twist. They came back to the classroom wiggling their fingers to make magic like you did. Thank you very much!” Tish Jarvis, Cameron Elementary Head Start

Holiday Magic Show in Virginia D.C. Maryland

I'm currently booking for my VERY MERRY MAGIC SHOW which starts in December. Watch the video below for info on a special deal! The contact me!!!!! 703-404-8902