It has been a busy day around the office.  The morning started early with the phones ringing before anyone else arrived.  I’m not great at juggling the phones but managed until Ethan got here.  I did a live radio interview with Somerset, KY to promote the show there on Friday, 9/12.  Jeff, the DJ, taped it and will play the quick interview several times over the next week.  After the radio interview, I moved on to a couple of newspaper interviews - also for shows coming up in Kentucky.

We headed over to the warehouse to load up a couple of illusions into the trailer that have not been with us this past tour.  Cindy was already there, getting things organized before we arrived.  I really appreciate all that she does to make sure that things go smoothly.  She can multi-task like no one I know (although Keith comes a very close second)!

After lunch, I finalized the details for two guest appearances for this month.

9/18 - 8:25AM, FOX 4                           9/25 - 8:00AM, FOX 5

AND THEN, I had another interview with the Commonwealth Journal.

Moving on to the next project, I had to prepare some b-roll footage for these two television interviews.  I finished (really finished it this time) writing the September e-newsletter.  Keith has it ready to go for a Monday morning delivery.  The Australia E-newsletter was delivered last night at 11pm EDT so that’s one thing marked off the list.

The rest of my day was consumed by designing a new lobby display for our merchandise table.  And Greg continues to get the new website ready to launch - soon!

This time of year is always “reflective” for me. We are about to head out on one of the best tours we’ve ever had after wrapping up a season of some of the best shows we’ve ever had.  We finished strong last season with a record number of sold out performances.  It was an amazing adventure!

Cindy and I are looking forward, with anticipation, to the tour that’s ahead of us.  We have the best team we’ve ever had on the road.  Keith has done an outstanding job of handling and advancing the technical requirements of our show.  He’s been working hard to “simplify” the way we do things without compromising the integrity or aesthetics of the production.  Ethan has really proven himself onstage - and off.  He’s been able to step right in to Nolan’s place - and do it with style and a strong stage presence.  Every day, he stretches and takes on a little more responsibility.

None of us take our responsibilities lightly.  Providing our audience with a quality performance is a very serious matter.  In these financially difficult times, people don’t easily have the expendable cash to buy tickets for their entire family to come to one of our shows.  We want to make sure we give them our very best.  That’s a commitment our entire team makes a priority.

Years ago, while I was in college and before I became a full time performer, I had the opportunity to work for Warner Brothers pictures.  I was part of a small team of individuals whose purpose was to promote one of their projects.  They had just purchased the distribution rights to a movie that they felt had little hope of generating much of a profit.  They decided the only way it could succeed is if “church people” would see the movie because it was about a man who had great faith.

The man’s name was Eric Little and he was a Scottish runner.  He wanted to race in the 1924 Olympic games and he trained hard and often.  He took a lot of criticism, especially from well-meaning Christians who couldn’t understand his purpose and motivation.  They thought he was just wasting his time.  After all, running had no purpose and did nothing for God.

When asked, “Why do you work so hard to run so fast?” Eric Little responded, “Because God made me fast.  And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

There is a tremendous sense of satisfaction that comes when we do the thing we were intended to do.  Sometimes (especially as we get older) we become too sophisticated to have the kind of faith it takes to step out into the darkness, into uncertainty – to walk on water and attempt the impossible.  My life - well, it’s all about the “impossible.”

I end every show with a few simple words that someone once shared with me because I want to challenge our audience to be the very best they can be, regardless of WHAT that is.

“Never let anyone talk you out of your dreams because, even if you shoot for the moon and you miss, you’ll still be among the stars.”

I’m not certain as to whom spoke these words originally but they are the essence of our career - shooting for the moon.

As a Christ-follower, I understand that God has given each of us abilities.  It is my responsibility - my duty - to use these abilities to be the very best I can at whatever I’ve chosen to pursue.  The Apostle Paul wrote “Whatever you do, do it with heart, as to Christ and not to men.”  (Colossians 3:22)  The Message translation reads this way, “Do your best.  Work from your heart for your real Master, for God.  Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ…and being Christian doesn’t cover up bad work.”

I like that - being a Christian doesn’t give you an excuse to do bad work.  There is no better place to be than to be using my talents and gifts to the best of my ability.  Some people use their talents in an organized religion or ministry.  Most of us use them in our everyday, ordinary lives.  My job is about more than just entertaining people.  It’s about bringing worship to the God who has given me the ability to entertain people.

As for that movie?  Well, it was called CHARIOTS OF FIRE.  It went on to receive numerous awards nominations including seven Academy Award nominations - winning four Oscars, and an arm-load of international awards.

I was the only one in the office today.  Because of the busy weekend of performances and the holiday, Cindy and I decided it would be a good idea to let Ethan and Keith have the day away from work (and Wayne rarely works in the office anymore).  Cindy had lots of appointments today so that left me alone, all by myself in the office.

I’m not complaining!  The phones were very quiet - only two calls all day.  And my email was down to less than 30 in my inbox.  The quiet was a bit unnerving at first but it didn’t take long for me to set my focus on completing a few projects.

I confirmed a radio interview for our show next weekend in Hopkinsville, KY at the Alhambra Theatre.  I did an interview with the Kentucky New Era newspaper, also for that show in Hopkinsville, that should run on Friday of this week.  I also managed to confirm the details of a workshop that I’ll be conducting there for a group of Behavioral Therapists on how to use simple magic tricks in their practice.  Hopkinsville is coming along nicely!

I’m all set to appear on THE MORNING SHOW on WDAF Fox 4 in Kansas City on September 18.  And the producer of GOOD DAY ATLANTA confirmed my guest appearance on WAGA Fox 5 on September 25.

I was able to finish up the text, graphics, and pictures for our September e-newsletters.  Keith will get them finalized and ready to go once he gets back in on Wednesday.  And I finished up the design of information that provides details for the Healing of Magic outreach programs that we offer - even got it printed!

But one of my most exciting projects is the HOCUS FOCUS curriculum that I’ve been working on.  I’ve been getting some great feedback from therapists and educators on this project.  They are all very excited - and that only ramps up my enthusiasm for this project even more.  I’ve begun to select the assessment tools, with the assistance of one of the leader’s in the special education movement, that teachers and psychologists can apply to gather data.  And I’ve almost completed the selection of magic tricks that will be taught in this 9 week program.  There is still a lot of work to do, but I’m confident this is going to be something that will be of huge benefit to kids all over the country.

I’m tired.  I’m going to watch a little of the Republican National Convention….

We made the four hour drive back to Lynchburg today.  Keith decided to stay in Virginia Beach and visit with Andrew today since it’s a holiday.  This is definitely going to be a short week and we’re only home for a few days.  I really need to finish up a couple of projects so I’ll be hitting it hard this week.  Once September 8 comes around, it’s full speed ahead and not much time for a break until mid December.

I’m praying for all those people in the Gulf region as Gustav makes landfall.  And I’m keeping an eye on Hannah in the tropics.  That Hurricane could affect the weather in Virginia by the weekend.  It’s projected to skirt up the eastern Florida coast and come ashore somewhere around South Carolina, traveling straight up through Washington D.C. and up to Boston.  We need the rain but I don’t think we want it all at the same time.

Today was our last show at the American Theatre.  We arrived around 11am to start getting things ready.  Keith is “tweaking” some of the lighting with the new board.  Cindy and Ethan had illusions to get ready.  Andrew arrived around 12noon and jumped right in helping Ethan get things ready.  I worked with Keith, restocked the merchandise in the lobby, and prepared a couple of the smaller tricks.  Doors opened at 2pm and the crowd started rolling in.

This audience was fantastic!  Matinee performances are generally very different than an evening show, especially Sunday matinees.  Most people have gone to church, had a big lunch, and want to come in and watch a show.  We’re the kind of show that needs “participation” from the crowd and I feed off the energy of the audience. Today, this audience was so energetic and full of life I thought it had to be Saturday night!  Great volunteers, strong reactions, and a standing ovation.  It was a memorable way to wrap up our fourth visit to the American Theatre.

A big THANK YOU to Michael, Mary, and the entire staff and crew for making our weekend a great way to start our fall tour!

Ethan and I were up early to head over to the Shelton On The Bay assisted-living complex not far from the American Theatre.  Michael Curry arranged for me to go over and conduct a workshop with some of the residents.  When we arrived, the had all gathered in the community room and were enjoying some snacks.  We got everything set up and, when it was time to start, I did a few magic tricks for the group.  They were so excited and attentive!  When I told them that we were going to teach them some tricks, they got even more excited.  We spent the next hour working with about 25 of them teaching them some tricks from the Healing of Magic manual.  We heard words like “fantastic,” “impossible,” incredible,” as they learned each trick.

After the workshop, Ethan and I went back to the hotel.  On the way back, I smelled something “electrical” burning in the truck.  The only thing I could think was “Not again!”  On our last trip, the air conditioner compressor locked up - smoke can pouring out of the hood.  This time, the smoke was in the cab!  At least there wasn’t a fire and all I lost was the high speed on the fan…but it’s one more thing that I need to get fixed before we hit the road next week for two months.  Ugh.

Once at the hotel, we picked up Cindy and went to Boston Market for lunch.  A quick stop by Target and we were back at the hotel to pick up Keith…and then back to the American Theatre at 3pm.  We had some things to work on and Keith wanted to fix some things on the new light board.

He has done an amazing job with the lighting and learning the new board in such a short amount of time.  I was concerned that we might loose some of the impact of the lighting when we started changing the way we operated the intelligent lighting.  I had nothing to fear.  Keith has been masterful in putting it all together and the stage looks even better than it did!

Cindy and Ethan worked on getting the show ready for the evening.  I worked with Keith on a few things with the lights.  Dinner arrived at 5pm - enough food to feed a dozen hungry people but there are only 5 of us!  AWESOME FOOD!

Before we knew it, it was time to open the doors.  The crowd was fantastic!  They were excited, enthusiastic, verbal, responsive - I can’t say enough good things about the audience tonight.  The volunteers were so great and added so much to the impact of the illusions they helped with.

One more show today - 2:30pm - and then we’re head home for a few days.

We had our first show at the American Theatre tonight (Friday).  We arrived around 10:30am so Cindy would have lots of time to figure out just where to put all the cases and how to set up the show.  The venue is a great space - very intimate for the audience but it is a little “tight” on the stage for a show of our size.  There’s no wing space on stage right at all other than what we create with the curtains.  Most of the show has to operate from a large room that’s stage left.  Since our last visit here, we’ve added a couple of new illusions with a much larger footprint - they take up more space.

She got everything figured out and we started loading it all in.  Mary and her crew were definitely ready for us.  The space was clear and they even go the extra mile of moving a very large and heavy curtain for us so we can create stage space in front of that curtain.   That allows me to do some of the smaller magic there while they set up the illusions behind the curtain.  Andrew Payne - a friend who lives about 30 minutes away and used to work for Andre Kole - is going to be helping us out this weekend as well.  Ethan is definitely going to need some assistance moving things through those doors!

We did get a nice photo spread in the Virginia Pilot on Thursday.  On Friday in the TICKET section, the Daily Press also ran a photo and show information.  From the time we arrived at the theatre, the phones in the box office were ringing and continued to ring all day.

We had a good audience on Friday night, not sold out but very near capacity.  I have no idea what tickets are like for Saturday night or Sunday afternoon.  I guess we’ll see.

We had an interesting experience during the show.  I young man who volunteered to help out with one of the tricks got very nervous…and then decided to leave the stage before doing the trick!  Fortunately, another guy volunteered to finish the trick for him.  In the end, I can’t say I blame the first guy.  I was going to cut off his head (magically of course).

Tomorrow is another day…and another show.

We are leaving today to go to Hampton, Virginia for our first performances of the season.  We have three shows this weekend at the American Theatre - Friday 8pm, Saturday 8pm, and Sunday 2:30pm.  The truck is loaded, suitcases are packed, and the official start of our 08/09 season has begun!

We are wrapping up several projects in the office this week. Things are continuing to move ahead with the new website design. I’m crossing my fingers that it will be ready to launch sometime in the next week. I’m very happy with the way it’s coming together. Greg is doing a great job - always creative and cutting-edge. I hope you guys like the new look and navigation. And I think you’re going to like many of the features.

We’ll be hitting the road again on Thursday for Hampton, VA.  We begin a 3-day run at the American Theatre on Friday night. I’m hoping for three great audiences! This will be our fourth visit to this venue in the last 10 years. These days, it’s like working with family.

I’ll definitely be posting from Hampton.  It’s going to be a fun weekend!

I am getting excited about the launch of the new website design for SpencersMagic. I hope to see it go online here in the next couple of weeks. We’ve been working on this design - on and off - for several months now. Greg (the design dude) and I wanted a new “web 2.0″ feel for the site - contemporary, easy navigation, cool features, social networking and, most importantly, a dynamic site that is constantly being updated with new information as it becomes available. If it all comes together, it’s going to be very cool!

One of the things that we thought might be interesting is to design some wallpaper for various size computer screens. Cindy captured some interesting images with her camera and a very talented graphic designer/photo artist did a little freelance work on them. We converted some of them into wallpaper designs and will make them available on the site. Here are a few examples:

I’ll be posting here when the new design is up and running. Until then, all of us will be working in the office and the warehouse getting ready for the Fall tour.