S7E11: Jon Armstrong - Having No Plan B for Magic!
Release Date: 10/16/2015
S8E14: Joe Monti - Great Advice on Show Business
Successful Performercast by Kris Sheppard | Successful Performer Cast | Weekly Interviews with Professional Entertainers | Show Business, Showbiz, Performer, Magic, Magician, Juggler, Comedian, Musician
In my final interview here in this chapter of Successful Performercast, I have Joe Monti who gives us some valuable advice when it comes to show business and shares some stores from his career that will have you at the edge of your seat. ...
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S8E13: Bill Gladwell - Stationary One Man Show
Successful Performercast by Kris Sheppard | Successful Performer Cast | Weekly Interviews with Professional Entertainers | Show Business, Showbiz, Performer, Magic, Magician, Juggler, Comedian, Musician
In this interview, Thought Reader Bill Gladwell who talks about the ins and outs of having his own stationary one-man, mentalism show and how he’s been able to make it a success. ...
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S8E12: Al The Only - General Practice Magician
Successful Performercast by Kris Sheppard | Successful Performer Cast | Weekly Interviews with Professional Entertainers | Show Business, Showbiz, Performer, Magic, Magician, Juggler, Comedian, Musician
In this interview, Al The Only talks about how he's found success in being a "general practitioner" of magic. He also talks about how he came up with his brand of Al The Only. ...
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S8E11: Steve Chezaday - Tips & Tricks from a Rockstar Magician
Successful Performercast by Kris Sheppard | Successful Performer Cast | Weekly Interviews with Professional Entertainers | Show Business, Showbiz, Performer, Magic, Magician, Juggler, Comedian, Musician
This week, I bring you an interview with Steve Chezaday who shares some advice and insights from his years performing full-time. Topics include dealing with clients, pricing, managing your money, and customizing and maintaining your props. There’s a lot insight to be gained from this chat. ...
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S8E10: Angela Parrish - Multiple Streams of Income
Successful Performercast by Kris Sheppard | Successful Performer Cast | Weekly Interviews with Professional Entertainers | Show Business, Showbiz, Performer, Magic, Magician, Juggler, Comedian, Musician
This week I have singer/songwriter Angela Parrish who shares with us about the importance of having multiple streams of income and how she runs her business. She also talks about how she saved for and completely self-funded $20,000 to record her latest album, . ...
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S8E9: Fantastick Patrick - Juggling, TV, & Generosity
Successful Performercast by Kris Sheppard | Successful Performer Cast | Weekly Interviews with Professional Entertainers | Show Business, Showbiz, Performer, Magic, Magician, Juggler, Comedian, Musician
In this episode, Fantastick Patrick talks about his juggling career which includes performing on TV, dealing with fear & failure, and having a mindset of giving. ...
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S8E8: Tom Ameen - Building a Career as a Musician
Successful Performercast by Kris Sheppard | Successful Performer Cast | Weekly Interviews with Professional Entertainers | Show Business, Showbiz, Performer, Magic, Magician, Juggler, Comedian, Musician
In this episode, Tom Ameen talks about how he's built a successful career as a classical pianist. Topics include restaurant gigs, getting private parties, and selling albums. He also talks about his new solo piano Star Wars album, which is awesome! ...
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Bonus: How are Jay Alexander & Christian Cagigal Building the Fog City Magic Fest?
Successful Performercast by Kris Sheppard | Successful Performer Cast | Weekly Interviews with Professional Entertainers | Show Business, Showbiz, Performer, Magic, Magician, Juggler, Comedian, Musician
I've invited back onto my show Jay Alexander and Christian Cagigal because they have been putting together a four-day festival of magic up in San Francisco called the Fog City Magic Fest and I wanted to get them on to talk to them about how they’re putting it together. They take us behind the scenes and talk about the nuts and bolts of how they're going about putting together this four-day festival of magic. ...
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S8E7: Katie Marchese - Running a Magic Biz & Working with Her Husband
Successful Performercast by Kris Sheppard | Successful Performer Cast | Weekly Interviews with Professional Entertainers | Show Business, Showbiz, Performer, Magic, Magician, Juggler, Comedian, Musician
Last week I interviewed Mario the Magician. Katie is his wife and other half. She works with Mario as a team and handles all the business and marketing aspects of their business. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s essential for your spouse to be onboard and supportive of your entrepreneurial efforts, and this week, we’re diving into that very perspective! ...
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S8E6: Mario the Magician - Generosity & Building His Own Props
Successful Performercast by Kris Sheppard | Successful Performer Cast | Weekly Interviews with Professional Entertainers | Show Business, Showbiz, Performer, Magic, Magician, Juggler, Comedian, Musician
In this episode, Mario the Magician talks about how he makes all of his own props. He also talks about generosity and gratefulness and how those play a part in his business. Mario is a magician who performs primarily on the East Coast entertaining children and their families. The thing that really makes him stand out is that he’s a creator and inventor, making all of his own props for his show including fun, educational robotics. He’s an advocate for the Maker Movement, STEAM/STEM educational initiatives, and can be seen on a recent episode of Sesame Street. He’s Buster...
info_outlineIn this episode, magician Jon Armstrong talks about his career so far in magic and why he has no Plan B!
If you’re a magician and don’t know who Jon is, you’re probably new to the club or have been living under a rock. Jon has performed in such notable venues as Walt Disney World, Sea World, and Caesar’s Magical Empire where he headlined. He’s also taken his act around the world performing in over 30 countries.
He’s a sought after director when it comes to producing quality magic acts and has consulted on films and TV shows like The Mentalist and Spider Man 3. This is in addition to many TV appearances, his most recent being a performance on Pen & Teller’s Fool Us.
There’s almost too much to mention about Jon, like his comic series Smoke and Mirrors, his products for magicians, and his involvement in the Academy of Magical Arts. Even this is just scratching the surface!
Kris' Recommendation of the Week
Chris Ruggiero Podcast - a show where variety entertainer Chris Ruggiero interviews other entertainers he meets in his adventures. In this show you’ll find incredible stories that will leave you intrigued, inspired, and ready to live your own dreams. He’s interviewed entertainers like Justin Flom, Jeff Civillico, Brett Loudermilk, and Barry Friedman.
Interview with Jon Armstrong: Success Mantra
Having a fallback plan means you can fall back.
No Plan B
• Talks about his early days.
• Either he hustles or doesn’t eat.
• Talks about some of his lean times.
• Tells about some of the “day jobs” he’s had.
• Gives a brief synopsis of his career up to this point.
Jon’s Time at Walt Disney World (WDW)
• Talks about how he got his gig at Rose & Crown at Epcot.
• What they initially wanted him to do for his act and what he ended up doing.
• Talks a little about the character he developed to Epcot.
• Developing his material, some of which he uses to this day.
• This is where he cut his teeth.
• Reformatting his material out of “the British” character for venues outside of WDW.
• Within a show, you can say anything to anyone as long as you beat yourself up first, and deliver your jab or witty remark to them with a smile on your face.
Jon’s Time in Vegas
• Talks about his first steps when getting there.
• Connecting with other professional magicians in the area.
• Working with Joey Burton, Apollo Robbins, and Armando Lucero doing strolling magic at Caesar’s Magical Empire.
• Tells how he got lucky and became a featured performer at Caesar’s.
• Why he left Vegas.
• Surrounding yourself with people who are doing what you want to do and will challenge you to further yourself.
Persistence and Overcoming Challenges
• Dealing with dyslexia and overcoming it in daily dealings.
• Systems he has in place to hep him work around it.
• Why he’d much rather jump on the phone with someone rather than correspond in written form.
• Nobody likes writing, they only like having written. Living and Working in LA
• Performing at the Magic Castle and handing out business cards.
• Engaging and befriending people and getting their cards or contact info.
• Getting people on his email list.
• Looking for creative ways to add value to people’s lives.
• Focusing on his strengths in that he’s a really good people person so he uses that.
• Sending “stuff” to his top clients.
• Personalizing his interactions with his email list and clients.
• Creating cool different ways to keep in front of his clients and prospects.
• Referring other magicians when he’s already booked.
Failure Moment
Tells about a time very early in his career where he learned about the importance of hygiene. He literally felt like his career was over.
Favorite Success
Wining Close Up Magician of the Year from the Academy of Magical Arts.
Parting Advice
Go out and make as many friends and genuine connections with people as you can. Make human connections.
Recommended books and resources:
Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!
Resources:
Mint.com for Keeping Track of your finances
Books
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud