Well, here we go. This is my first posting on my new blog. My name is Anthony White and I am a full time magician, balloon twister and Santa Claus. Well, actually "full time" is a misnomer. I should put I am a professional magician and entertainer. I work whenever I get a gig - a birthday party, show for a daycare or library or school, etc. It's never full time.
I have always been fascinated with magic. I started studying magic seriously about 20 years ago, the year I saw Topaz (a German magician) on tv's "World's Greatest Magic" as he made sunglasses appear and disappear off his face, made multiplying bells and finally made an electric guitar appear. I was hooked and decided that I wanted become part of the world of magic.
I started off with simple magic shop tricks and card tricks, and would perform for family and friends whether they liked it or not. :) Over time, I collected tricks and props. I studied from books and videos and started practicing and putting together a small show.
While shopping at the magic shop, I found out about the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) and started attending meetings. After about 10 years of being a magic hobbyist, I performed my first birthday magic show for my neice Ashton's birthday party. I remember how nervous I was, but the responses of laughter, surprise and awe were magically addictive!
The economic downturn started for me about 5 years ago. Before that I had been a salesman for many different places and I had lost another job due to the company folding. I couldn't stand the thought of looking for yet another dead end sales job. So instead I chose to take that opportunity to try my hand at self employment - I would become a professional magician.
Being a magician in Utah is not really profitable enough to support a family. My wife went to work and I found that I had become "Mr. Mom". Not quite what I had anticipated life as a magician would be. But one of the things I love about being a magician is that my kids can go to work with me.
Trying to increase my marketability, I learned how to twist balloons. My son learned along with me and quickly surpassed me in skill. He found he had quite a knack for it and soon was doing events with me.
I also found that my I could be Santa Claus in December which has become my most profitable month of the year. I love playing Santa and seeing the sparkle in little children's eyes as they tell me what they want for Christmas.
I love performing, whether it's magic, balloons or Santa. I may not become wealthy, but at least I love what I am doing!
Three girls came in with two mentally disabled people, a man and a woman. First the woman came up and stood beside me. As always, I asked what she wanted for Christmas, but got no reply. One of her companions explained to me that the woman could not communicate. I stood up and took her hands and looked into her eyes and saw a spark of recognition for Santa. I asked her companion what she liked to do and she told me she liked books. Looking back into her eyes I asked the woman if she wanted Santa to bring her some books for Christmas. Her eyes widened and she squoze my hand. Figuring that I was on the right track, I asked her some different types of books. When I mentioned Disney books, her eyes widened again and she squoze my hands again. I then asked about Disney princess books, and she squoze even tighter. I smiled and sat down and looked at her companion and said, "It looks like she would like some Disney princess books for Christmas."
