“A speaker just blew over on the stage!” text message…..
This past summer, the Canadian National Exhibition invited us to bring our act to Toronto. The CNE is North America’s oldest and one of the largest fairs. Needless to say, there was never a dull moment.
It was a fantastic eighteen days of entertainment and almost perfect weather. We did our Twin Magic and Comedy show fifty four times and had the pleasure of sharing the stage with some amazing acts. Mighty Mike the Strongman, The Fire Guy and Juzzie Smith (Australia) brought their “A” game. The benefit of working with a variety of professional people is learning from what they do. How each of us work corporate and conference events, comparing Canadian, European and Australian audiences, along with a million stories from the road.
When you’re going to be performing away from home for almost three weeks in one city, it’s important to have a good “entertainment family” you can rely on. On this run, blood was shed (during our first show), medics were called, fresh batteries and an entirely new PA system were rushed to the stage by fellow performers.
This brings me to the text message at the beginning of this article. The Fire Guy was just starting his show, when a large speaker on its stand literally blew over backwards onto the stage. Mike a I rushed down to the area to help, as “the show must go on” and all of the acts worked together to make sure things were ok for the next performance. The next day, an entirely new PA system was set up.
Keeping your head in the game over eighteen days is also important. We used some energizing pre-show music before every set and had a whole list of jokes to entertain the crowd that would arrive, sometimes twenty minutes early. On an outdoor stage, people may have spent the entire day in the hot sun, they might be tired or hungry, but it’s our job to show them something unforgettable. We want them to tell their friends about this “amazing Twin Magic show” at the fair. Judging by the audience in the photo, I’d say word spread quickly.
“We were there!” was our closing line for every show, and after the last day we hope “we will return!”.
Mitchell Hrycan, Double Vision
