Virginia-Maryland Summer Camp Magic Shows Announced!

Each Summer for the past 15+ years, I've brought out new shows for Summer Camps. I always have a new preschool show and one show for school agers. This year, there are actually 3 programs. The third program is actually a workshop.

When I began my career performing magic full time, one of the first programs I developed was called The Pre-Hysterical Dinosaur Show. It was a huge hit for years and then the dino-craze kind of died off, much like the dinosaurs themselves. So I retired the show about 4 years ago. But I've recently discovered a new resurgence of interest in the 'giant lizards'! So, I'm bringing the show back with some modifications and upgrades. The new show will be called Jurassic Magic. Please note, this show is for preschoolers ONLY!

The show will run 45 minutes and will have magic, puppets and lots of fun things for the kids to enjoy.


The next show in the line-up is The Ultra Magic Show. This show is being designed for school aged children. I'm going to bring back a couple of the strongest routines from my past shows out and introduce a LOT of new material. This show will be 45 minutes, like all my programs and will have magic, more magic, and even more magic! I'm probably going to produce a short promo video for this show, so watch for that in the coming weeks.

Whenever I create a show, it usually takes a couple months to develop. The bigger the show, the more time it takes. The Ultra Magic Show, won't be big in regards to size, but it will be BIG in regards to content. So the planning has already begun.

The past two years I've taken out a version of the Underground Magic Theatre Show, but this year, the Ultra Magic Show will be replacing it. The time needed to set up the UMT show makes it very difficult to do and as much as I love doing that bigger show, it's not practical. Now, having said that, this new production may turn out to be bigger than I'm anticipating, lol. Time will certainly tell.

The final program in the Summer 2015 line-up will be The TOP SECRET Magic Workshop! I get requests every summer for a teaching workshop and for the most part I've been turning them down. But this year, I decided to go ahead and bring back the program. The workshop is 45 minutes and will include teaching/instruction in a number of magic tricks. I will have hand-outs for the kids, activity pages, and all the kids will get their own autographed magic poster. Oh, and along with that the kids will receive 1 actual magic trick that they can keep and take home. Most of the magic in the workshop is presented using everyday items like string, rubber bands, coins and the like. But this one special magic trick is like a bonus on top of everything else.

IF you are interested in any of these shows, go visit my website at www.DeanAlanMagic.com. You can actually book the shows direct through the website now by clicking the 'book-a-show' page.

Super Hero Magic Show Begins Soon

Click the picture for full size version

I am SO EXCITED about this new show!!!! For years and years I've visited schools, daycares, libraries, community center, you name it, and the kids are wearing Super Hero T-shirts. Well, I've finally created a show about Super Heroes! But it's not just any show, contained within the show is a subtle, and sometimes not so subtle message about character. This is a preschool show, so the message is pretty simple and easy to understand.

The kids are going to LOVE this show. And I encourage everyone attending, adults too, to wear their favorite super hero tshirts! I'm going to be demonstrating some cool super powers (via magic of course) and we might even have the kids test out their super powers. Then at the end of the show, I share with everyone how to develop REAL SUPER POWERS like Kindness, Honesty, Respect and so forth.

How cool is that? The great thing, the teachers and parents can keep the message going long after the show by reminding the kids that these traits help to build up their own personal super powers!

The first week of January 5-9th is already all booked! But the good news is, there are scattered dates still open throughout the rest of the month. I'm going to run the Super Marvelous Magic Show from Jan 5-Feb 13th. So if you want to have an incredible in-house field trip during a very cold month, why not make it fun and educational all at the same time!!!!!!

www.DeanAlanMagic.com

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