The Pros And Cons Of Technology

Technology and the digital age have changed everything about the way that we live. I mean think about it, you no longer have the annual Yellow Pages popping up on your doorstep helping you to index services when you’re looking for something. The physical mediums for movies and music have changed too. We have traded our VHS, DVDs, CDs, Vinyl and Cassettes in for Netflix, Hulu and Spotify.

I am not telling you anything new, you’re teaching your kids on tablets, not the abacus. Our younger readers don’t even know what an abacus is, that’s what I am talking about. As you’re reading this, consider that this writing is today’s marketing. Remember when the Blues Brothers were promoting their show? The put a speaker on the Blues Mobile and drove it around town asking people to come to their show.

Technology has forever changed and the world has changed along with it. From the days of the first printing press to the last bit of data streamed, It is our reality. Changes in tech have impacted the Rick Wilcox Theater in ways that I am sure Rick and Susan couldn’t see coming and that’s what this week’s video is about.

How has technology improved or impacted your life? As always, we are listening and want to know. Talk to you soon.

CT

Taking Suggestions From Friends And Family

Who knows you better than you do? I mean really? You spouse? Yes, Siblings, yep! Children? Yep. We naturally as individuals with personal sovereignty usually reject their synapses of who we are and how we react to our situations and day to day decision. We have all had someone we know say “Well I didn’t tell you because I knew you would ______.” As a person I would say, you’re wrong I wouldn’t have ______ but the reality is, regardless to what I might say, that someone on the outside can always see more than the person on the inside.

That’s what made this an interesting story for me. I think that we as people genuinely have an aversion to criticisms about our actions. Rick and Susan truly don’t though. They take the opinions of everyone around them to heart and seek to improve their business every step of the way. We as friends watch the show and if we see something awry we point it out and work with them to make the adjustment.

Don’t take my word for it, watch this week’s video and see just how much Rick and Susan value and seek advice from their circle. We would also love to hear who’s opinion you seek and trust as well. What does their input mean to your life?

Talk with you soon,

Chris T.

The Audience Attention Span

Welcome to the digital age my friends. You live in the moment of NOW! If you’re anywhere around my age (which I will not disclose) you can remember when television stations signed off for the evening. Then they were on 24/7, then you got cable and cable begat the DVR, now you go to Netflix and you choose what you want to watch, when and for how long!

Well in this day and age of choosing and tiny computers in the hands of everyone in America, there has been a significant shift in the attention spans of all of us, myself included. That’s fine if it’s me multitasking a blog post while half-watching Daredevil on Netflix but how does that impact a magic show?

People don’t realize it but Harry Houdini escape tricks weren’t 2 minute episodes. They were escape tricks with real cops, real cuffs, real straight jackets, real heights and submersion. These feats could last an hour and you know what people were doing while waiting for the great escape artists of old to "prestidigitate" right before their very eyes? They waited, that’s right they waited and chatted with each other postulating on the odds of the escape artist’s survival chances.

That’s a significant amount of time to see if someone is going to pop out of a padlocked crate. If Rick were to attempt an act that lasted that long, he wouldn’t return to the same size audience that he left there as I am sure some would opt to read about it here than stick around. This week’s video is about the change in the attention span of our audiences and how it impacts the show.

Drop your comments below, we would love to discuss them with you.

Thanks for reading and talk with you soon, Chris T.

Inspiring Tomorrow's Magicians!

Throughout the course of the Rick Wilcox Show, audience members are brought up on stage. Rick brings any and everyone up from a 5 year old to the grandparents that bring them. It’s a part of the show, it’s what he does. That part of the show for him though, does something for the little ones. They tend to walk away with that spark in their eyes that changes lives.

After 19 seasons in the Rick Wilcox Theater, you can imagine that there have been a boatload of children through there. That’s significant because as a social media manager, I am regularly receiving messages from today’s new crop of magicians who are directly citing their experiences with Rick as a part of their decision to pursue their magical paths.

It’s like the Bill Walsh coaching tree in football. I show you, you show someone else and art and legacy are preserved through impression, imitation and mastery. This week’s video covers Rick’s thoughts on the topic as well as the magician that took time to meet and influence him.

Which leads me to this week’s question, who influenced your path in life? We would love to know! Enjoy the video and talk with you soon!

 

~On Stage Choreography~

So you say you want to be a performer eh? There’s a lot of practice that goes into being a professional entertainer. The craft is one thing. If you’re a singer, it’s the notes. If you’re a comedian, it’s the jokes. If you’re a dancer, it’s the moves like Jagger! (Yeah baby, i went there)

The point is that it takes a lot to be entertaining not just a one off move but a sequence of carefully planned events.

In the case of Rick and Susan we have to be concerned with lighting, sound, timing, and body movement. Rick and Susan don’t come out and trip the light fantastic when they’re on stage but they have a series of well timed and thought out movements that aren’t by accident.

If you have never seen the show (which obviously you should), the lights and music are synchronized to the second. When the wow moment happens the music shifts and the lights do to. Now imagine if at the end of every trick, rick took a knee and threw his hands up in the air like an NFL Running Back. After the first knee you would be like “That’s awesome, he took a knee!!!” Then after like the 5th of 6th knee you’d say, “He doesn’t know anymore poses?”

If it were me, I would just keep taking knees lol but it isn’t me, it’s Rick Wilcox and he always goes the extra mile. So being the bar-setters that he and Susan are, they bring in professional choreographers to help them put the polish on their poses. This week’s video is all about that!

Have you ever taken dance lessons? The most I have ever done was the “Hustle/Electric Slide”. I did take swimming and music lessons though. I got pretty good at both. What lessons have you taken, do you use what you have learned still today? We would love to hear about it.

Talk with you soon,

Chris T.

Rick's First Assistant

Batman of course had Robin, Sherlock Holmes had Watson, Rick Wilcox had his sister! That’s right, his original first assistant! In all fairness we are talking about 15 year old Rick taking on the mountain that was a kids dream and the support of his family to help him achieve his goals.

Rick was working in magic before he was old enough to work. So this wasn’t a fly by night situation for either of them, this was a job. In this week’s video Rick talks to us about time where his assistant (sister) was violated by the acts third participant. It’s a pretty entertaining tale that will get a wild “Hare” of a laugh out of you for sure.

Please feel free to share any stories that you have with us about assisting gone awry, as always, we are reading them.

Talk to you soon,

CT

The Advantages Of Owning A Theater

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s topic. Today we are talking about “Home Field Advantage." Now most of us would attribute that term to sports, but I want to take that home field advantage and give it a more personal twist. Dorothy said there’s no place like home for a reason, there really isn’t.

There are comforts and advantages that “Home” offers us that you just can’t get anywhere else. Most people don’t know it but for a time after they bought the theater, Rick and Susan actually lived in the theater. This isn’t just a building for them, this is home.

Home does more than afford comfort for the Wilcox family though. It also improves the quality of the show that they are able to perform day in and day out. That’s the big advantage for the guests that come see the show. In this week’s video, Rick expresses how that impacts the show. (see below)

I love to grill food and I don’t think I would be as effective grilling at someone else’s home as I would my own. We would love to hear what advantages home has for your crafts and hobbies, leave your “Home” story below, we love reading them.

Talk to you soon,

Chris T.