It was COLD out there......

This past weekend Phineas and I performed at the Staten Island Autism Speaks Walk.
We volunteered at this walk last year and although smaller than the Manhattan event it was still exciting and very well attended. This year we woke up to temperatures in the 40's with high winds. s you'd realize, not the greatest weather for an outdoor event.
So we beefed up our costumes for warmth, thermals and a sport jacket for me. I actually had this jacket for my costume for just such an event.
As we arrived, we watched the staff and other volunteers were setting up and actually holding the ropes of the tents down and trying to prevent all the flyers and other giveaways from blowing off to Oz. The families started to arrive and although their kids were bundled up in layers to stay warm they were still there to walk and participate.
My usual routine is to walk around and work with the crowd and my prop of choice at the autism walks is my bubble wand. No luck with this thing in the wind, the bubbles came out and disappeared, so after about 15min I had to abandon it and just go back to working with the crowd.
The rule about clowning with a crowd in this type of event is to use anything around and everything we see, this includes the weather. So we clowned and joked with the attendees about the weather and  having this walk outside in the wind. We shared the situation with them and were able to make fun of ourselves and the common challenge we were all facing.  Applying our clown characters to this situation resulted in comedy for all. One of our teachers in clown, the Great Joel Jeske taught that formula, situation + character = comedy. It doesn't take props as much as applying your character's way of dealing with situations you're put in.
Oh, and I did get to meet the AdvantageCare Mascot! what a good dog......

Hey check out that plaid!!! Really warm also
Be Well
Keep 'em clean

THIS JUST IN.......

Dr. Vir Lateus Dentum Magician, Time traveler and Canine Psychic has been booked to perform at the Pennsylvania Steampunk Festival on August 31st 2019 in Bethlehem, PA!
In addition I will be performing table hoping walk around close up magic at the Time Traveler's Gala for the PA StemFest in April 2019

If you are anywhere near the area please consider joining us for this Gala and then in August for the Festival. The joy of the SteamPunk Genre is its connection to the Maker Movement, and the CosPlay community. The level of creativity is infinite! Where better to share my magic that weaves all the tales of my various time travels and experiences in history with great close up illusions.
Then later at the end of the Summer I get to busk at the Steampunk Festival. Some of the best audiences are the folks that attend festivals. They are there to have a good time and enjoy stopping to watch the magic, and hopefully donate to my hat at the end.
I always remind my audience, the price of a movie or club is going up and up and live street theater is harder to find and now happening right in front of them so its certainly worth a few dollars for the hat. That's just one of my hat lines and its the truth! I feel that live entertainment is a very different experience for an audience and magic is a wonderful live art form so please join us for this or follow me to any other festivals and enjoy the sights, sounds, tastes and of course the MAGIC!
Be Well
Keep 'em clean

Enchanted City 2018 Troy NY Steampunk Festival

Through one of my google searches for festivals to busk I came across the perfect venue fr Dr. Vir Lateus Dentum to perform magic for the crowds. The annual Steampunk Festival in Troy New York, up near Albany is a local gathering of all things Steampunk. This would actually be my first Steampunk Festival so I wasn't sure shat to expect. I reached out to the organizers and discussed my busking at the festival. They were very enthusiastic about it and we agreed I would come join the fun and set up and busk on a corner at the event.

I arrived at the festival and at first I didn't see anything but as I got closer and then rounded the corner, it was full steam ahead and it was wonderful. The costumes and the props from all areas in the Steampunk genre. There was a parade of genre specific vehicles and some of the most elaborate props I've ever seen. Lots of different vendors had tables including a wild bird rescue. Visitors could meet an owl and raven up close and see all these majestic birds one on one. The best part was that everyone was very nice and enthusiastic to each other about the celebration of the Steampunk SciFi ideas and concepts.
I walked around and looked at all the vendors and met  lots of other fans. We talked shop about costumes and other aspects of Cosplay. So much fun to be there with everyone.
Then it was time for magic! I found a pitch on a corner next to a busy area near the vendors and set up the table and the act.
Then the performances began and the crowds gathered. It was a full day of shows and nice fat hats!
All together it it was a great event and I'm already scheduled to be back next year.

Be Well and Keep 'em clean