What I Learned From Dr. Seuss

For the past 15+ years I've been presenting a Dr. Seuss Magic Show at daycares, libraries, and elementary schools. It is the single most popular educational show I have. The story about it's origins is one I've told friends before, but I'll briefly share it with you.

I received a call one day from a daycare asking if I did any Dr. Seuss magic tricks. I told them that I did not, but I could put something together if they wanted to book a show. I told them I'd include one trick related to Dr. Seuss. The trick I came up with was simple and based on a classic kidshow magic trick. I think the original went by PetShop Pranks, or Barnyard Follies or something like that. It was a Supreme Magic item. I simply used Dr. Seuss images in place of the animals. Easy as 1-2-3.

What I didn't expect was when I arrived and everyone, kids, teachers, and parents were all dolled up in Cat in the Hat Hats and various other costumes related to Dr. Seuss. Most were home made items, but many of the hats looked store bought. It was then that I found out how popular the Doctor still was and that his birthday was actually 'Read Across America Day'.

The following year, I added more material to the show until I came up with an entire show of Dr. Seuss routines. But again, they were more just magic tricks with a Dr. Seuss covering. It wasn't until I brought the show to elementary schools that all that changed. I began to delve deeper into the stories. I researched how the stories came about, the origins, the stories related to other stories and so forth. It was then that the show really became an educational show. And it was then that I really learned how to make a really strong themed show with a great message.

Prior to the elementary school version, I was merely taking standard magic tricks and repackaging them with Dr. Seuss pictures and so forth. But now, I was using magic to tell many of the stories. Not every story is easy to illustrate with magic. And some took many years before I hit on the right formula. An example was last years The Sneetches routine. I worked on getting that book into my show for more than 5 years but I just never had the right routine. Finally, last year I stumbled upon a brilliant concept for the routine which perfectly illustrated what was happening in the story. It was a hit.

The show today is a mixture of story based routines and some of the older magic with a Seuss theme. The difference between now and then, even the older routines are educational because I share many of the important aspects of the stories and characters while I do the magic.

The photo at the top of the page is a routine called 'Gustav The Goldfish' which can be found in the book, The Bippilo Seed and Other Lost Stories of Dr. Seuss. In my routine the entire story is acted out in a similar way as it appears in the story. When the routine is over, I share how this story never made it into print while Dr. Seuss was alive. The reason was because Dr. Seuss's wife Helen Palmer asked him if she could have the story for her own, and she changed it a bit, added different illustrations and renamed the book 'A Fish Out Of Water'. Many people were familiar with that story and not Gustav, but now they learned where it came from.

Dr. Seuss took simple and sometimes silly stories and rhyming words to convey often complex subjects. But no matter the message, his stories were always fun to read which in turn helped young readers to build up their reading skills and helped them to find joy in reading. 
And because of his example I've really learned how to take any magic trick and turn it into a themed presentation and not simply for kids. Messages such as motivation, success, time management, and so forth can be taught by using magic as the vehicle to get the message across. One of my Seuss programs even has a lesson in perseverance and this directly relates to Theo Geisel's own life.


Thank you so much Mr. Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss)!

Virginia Summer Camp Magician Commercial

Short commercial for my upcoming Summer 2015 Tour

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.

2015 is Taking Off Like A Rocket

I must ask this question, Have you received my email newsletter yet? IF yes, GREAT! If no, then you've got to sign up. I sent out my first online newsletter today which contained info on the new Super Hero Show, News on the new Dr. Seuss Show and information on Summer Shows! It also had some additional information about my recent public appearances and something really HUGE that is in the works.

The image above is a screen shot of the newsletter, well as much as would fit into the screen. It's actually a bit longer than that. Here is how the newsletter works. For all my current customers and those who sign up for the newsletter, you will get one email per week. The newsletter will probably be the only one with images and such. The other emails will contain stories, sales and marketing ideas and general motivational stuff. Let's face it, no matter what job you have, you are in sales. Moms and Dads are sales people, they have to sell their kids on what to eat, the right way to behave, what to watch and NOT watch on TV and so forth. Yes it's called parenting, but it's also a form of sales.

Daycare Directors are sales people, they've got to sell new prospects on using their center. They've got to sell their employees on new programs and new procedures. School Teachers are sales people. You have got to be able to deliver your lessons in such a way that the students understand them, comprehend them and can retain them. You are selling math, science, art, history, reading and so forth. WE ARE ALL SALES PEOPLE in one way or another.

I'm going to show you some easy ways to do it. Ways that may only benefit you personally and other ways that my help you in your work. You might be wondering, what does it cost? My newsletter is free. The great thing about email is you can choose to read it or not. But I'll tell you this, I'll also be sharing some magic and the occasional magic lesson. That's right, I'll teach YOU a trick that you can share with friends and family. Don't worry, it won't be so difficult that you won't be able to do it. I promise it will be fun to learn and fun to try out on your friends. I probably will only teach a trick one time per month.

Why? I'll be honest, many of you are not only customers but long time friends. I like to share stuff with my friends. And if I can pick up a few new friends along the way and in turn help or teach you something, then it's a win win for everyone. This is only for existing customers and anyone else who signs up for my newsletter. Next week I have a 'super hero' story to share that I think you'll really enjoy. Where to sign up? Just go to my website www.DeanAlanMagic.com and about half way down you'll see a box for the sign up. 

I've been working on this for more than a year and have had several false starts, but it looks like it's all working now. I'm so excited for 2015 and all the cool things that are in store!!!!!

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

Christmas Magic Show Fun in Leesburg

Dean Alan tossing out 'magic' to the kids!

I feel like the King of Leesburg VA all of a sudden. Last week I was there presenting my Jingle Bell Magic Show at Rust Library. We had such a wonderful crowd of kids and families that day. One parent came up to me after the show and said "We hired a magician for my daughters birthday a few months ago, and my daughter wanted you to know that YOU WERE BETTER! And FUNNIER!!". That's always nice to hear :)

Today, I was at Lucketts Community Center. The show was for the preschool there but it was also open to the public as well. Imagine my surprise when we filled up the room! I'm not sure if there was an empty chair in the place. It was great! They got to see my Very Merry Magic Show, which is similar to the Jingle Bell Show. The only difference, the Jingle Bell Magic Show is all about holiday stories and books. The Very Merry Magic Show has a number of those same routines, but also some just plain fun things as well.

The family audience today was so GREAT. And Ms. Wendy, from the Community Center was kind enough to provide me with these wonderful photos. She was afraid they would be all blurry, but she is a far better photographer than she realizes!

I have so many memories of shows at Lucketts. Years ago, I did a company Christmas Party there for Magnavox. Just to show you how long ago that was, Magnavox doesn't even have an office building in the area anymore! I also presented, along with my buddy Ralph, the Festival of Magic there probably around 2002. And then my assistant Denise and I performed there in 2006 just before we caught a flight to Chicago to audition for America's Got Talent.  Lots of memories and good times!

www.DeanAlanMagic.com

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).