{"id":44,"date":"2013-08-05T09:58:37","date_gmt":"2013-08-05T09:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jerseyjimmagic.com\/blog\/?page_id=44"},"modified":"2013-08-06T03:47:44","modified_gmt":"2013-08-06T03:47:44","slug":"magician-father-makes-his-8-year-old-son-appear-on-stage-from-thin-air","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.jerseyjimmagic.com\/blog\/magician-father-makes-his-8-year-old-son-appear-on-stage-from-thin-air\/","title":{"rendered":"Magician Father Makes His 8-Year-Old Son Appear On Stage From Thin Air!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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For years, my son, Wesley, who is now 8, has wanted to be involved in all of daddy\u2019s magic shows, whether big or small.<\/p>\n

Wesley would sometimes come to my public shows but I would not be able to pick him because I felt it wouldn’t be fair to the other kids who had never seen my shows before or had never helped before.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, it was hard for Wesley to see it this way; he thought daddy was being very unfair.\u00a0 I certainly wanted to pick him especially since I knew how much it upset him.\u00a0 How could I not know with the looks he gave me!<\/p>\n

Every time I called for volunteers, I would see my own son\u2019s eager hand shoot up into the air, and his face would take on a pleading expression only to be disappointed when I picked a different child.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never pick me, daddy!\u201d Wesley would bitterly complain.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you ever pick me?\u201d \u00a0Apparently my patient explanations didn’t help him feel any better.<\/p>\n

Of course, Wesley did have a great advantage when his own birthday rolled around.\u00a0 He had his own father levitate him in midair at his own birthday magic show.<\/p>\n

One year\u2014I think it was when Wesley turned 5\u2014he even had three magicians<\/span> perform at his birthday party!\u00a0 Two of my magician partners were nice enough to attend and bring their acts with them!<\/p>\n

Still, I knew the day would come when Wesley might stop thinking daddy\u2019s magic shows\u2014and daddy himself for that matter\u2014weren’t so cool.\u00a0 I thought we better make some great memories while he was still young enough to be excited about it.<\/p>\n

\"Backstage<\/a>

Backstage at the Magic Castle<\/p><\/div>\n

The idea of bringing Wesley into the act got kicked into high gear once when I was performing at the famous Magic Castle in Hollywood.\u00a0 Wesley was with me backstage and another magicians said how exciting a father-son magic act would be.<\/p>\n

That started Wesley and I thinking and that\u2019s when we got the idea for a new illusion concept that would feature Wesley and be built around his interests and talents.\u00a0 That was the best part:\u00a0 the fact that the ideas sprang from Wesley\u2019s own interests.<\/p>\n

As a performer, I was very excited about these new ideas since they were original presentations that had never been done before, and also because it was something Wesley and I could do as a father and son team. \u00a0\u00a0(You’ll have to come see one of our shows to see what this new concept is!)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I set to work building the new illusion.\u00a0 It took months of work, lots of wood, hardware, and money! \u00a0Many late nights and a last minute paint job, but it turned out terrific. \u00a0Here’s a picture of me at the shop.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_20130514_164707_766\"<\/a>

Daddy Building Wesley’s Illusion<\/p><\/div>\n

The first time Wesley and I performed the illusion, we had only rehearsed it twice!\u00a0 Not a good idea!\u00a0 But the show must go on and so there we were, father and son, backstage in a theater, with 550 people sitting on the other side of the curtain, which was about to go up on the second half of my 90-minute FunTastic Family Magic Show. www.funtasticmagicshow.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Wesley wasn’t even nervous though. \u00a0He seemed eager.\u00a0 He said, \u201cShould I get ready now, dad?\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cOkay.\u00a0 You remember our cues?\u201d\u00a0 He nodded and got ready. \u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re gonna be great!” I reassured him. \u00a0” Just have fun.\u201d \u00a0As a parent, it’s a million times more nerve wracking thinking of your child performing than yourself. \u00a0Who cares if I make a mistake. \u00a0I just want him to feel good about himself!<\/p>\n

The curtain went up.\u00a0 My partner wheeled out the illusion, the audience oohed and aahed at the cool sight of it.\u00a0 The music swelled.\u00a0 We turned the illusion around.\u00a0 We opened up all the doors, showing that it was completely empty.\u00a0 I even walked through it to prove it.<\/p>\n

We closed it back up, the music came up again, and it happened:\u00a0 what had a brief moment before been an empty cabinet now contained my son.\u00a0 The audience was stunned.\u00a0 A gasp went through the crowd, followed by spontaneous applause.<\/p>\n

My son stepped out onto center stage and took a bow.\u00a0 Half the audience stood up as they clapped for him.\u00a0 And I saw what the audience didn’t:\u00a0 Wesley turned to me and his face flashed a smile that was bursting with joy. \u00a0I felt like I was going to cry with pride for my little boy.\u00a0 He had performed this new illusion perfectly, which wasn’t easy, and earned a standing ovation.\u00a0 I hope that special moment made up for all the little shows when I had to picked other kids\u2026<\/p>\n