Joining the 2022 Magicians On Mission and Armed Forces Entertainment Magic & Comedy Tour
I’m honored to have been invited to join the Magicians On Mission and Armed Forces Entertainment Magic and Comedy Tour later this summer! I have hoped and prayed for an opportunity to use what I do to support and encourage our active duty military personnel deployed overseas. I’m beyond excited that this is finally going to happen! (NOTE: For security reasons, I will not be sharing the specific details of the tour locations until after we leave each base.)You can help, too! Visit www.magiciansonmission.org and click on the “Donate” option. You can make a one-time gift, or you can set up a continuing donation to become a sustaining partner. Even $5 per month would help us support one service member per year.If you know influential people, celebrities, or other people with meaningful platforms who might be interested in partnering with us, please contact me so I can introduce them to our founder, Chris Rose.Magicians On Mission is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.#magic #mentalism #magicians #mentalists #comedy #comedians #military #activeduty #armedforces #armedforcesentertainment #performingarts #supportourtroops
The Magical Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
For the last five and a half years I’ve been a producer of Atlanta Magic Night, a monthly magic, mentalism, and comedy show with a rotating cast of local and national performers. I get to perform and MC the show sometimes, but I am also one of the “on call” people if a booked performer has a problem. As it turned out, one of the performers booked for our January show contacted me to let me know he had been diagnosed with shingles. That meant that I was suddenly on the bill for Saturday, January 11. We had a pretty good pre-sale even though the weather was gloomy, so off I went to our venue partner, Atlanta’s venerable Red Light Cafe. The sky grew progressively darker as I drove there, loaded in, preset props, and did my sound check. Sure, a little rain, but everything was going just fine… until a loud crack of thunder introduced a torrential downpour. The flooded parking lot suddenly looked like a theme park flume ride. Despite the increasingly scary weather, we opened the house as people were arriving anyway, bringing news of traffic and power outages and other fun things. No worries, we had power and music and lights and food. Then, maybe 20 minutes before showtime, the entire complex went dark. Rather than panic, I went to the piano and started playing so that there was background music. I took some requests from people in the dark house. I continued to improvise and play and chat. A little after 8:00 PM, the manager asked me what we wanted to do. I suggested we give it another 30 minutes, and he agreed. I explained the situation to the people that were there. Then I also explained that rather than have them leave with no show, that we would try something unusual so even if they didn’t get a full program, they would get a really neat story to tell. We rearranged the chairs and tables to create a small performing space on the floor. People took out their phones and turned on their flashlights. And there, in a dark club, with multiple LED spotlights, I performed a close-up magic show that nobody there will ever forget. I know I won’t. One of the club’s owners is also a tech for the Atlanta Opera. She has seen hundreds of performers, performances, technical glitches, entertainers, bands, and live theatre situations. Her comment on the night? “I have no idea how you pulled that together — entertaining those people during a power outage. You pulled it off, and I’m impressed. Seriously, one of the finer things I’ve witnessed. You’re on the list!” Ellen Claire Mills Our emcee for the evening was a local attorney who does magic on the side. When he sent the photo you see here, he also shared a comment that was inspirational to me: “This was beautiful. This is what magic is about. You are a riveting performer Joe, and a connector of thoughts and people.” (Thank you, Chris!) Sometimes “stuff” happens. You either can let an unpleasant, complicated, challenging situation stop you cold, or you can let it push you to create an #amazing experience for your audience even in the midst of the storm. And that’s something useful that we can learn from the magical night the lights went out in Georgia. Epilogue We sent everyone home. I packed everything away by flashlight. As I packed the last item into my case, the power came back on. Some things are simply meant to be.
Atlanta Magic Night Celebrates 4 Years of Wonder
Atlanta Magic Night Celebrates 4 Years of Wonder City’s Longest-Running Magic/Mentalism Show Continues to Amaze ATLANTA – April 17, 2018 — Atlanta’s longest-running magic and mentalism show, Atlanta Magic Night, celebrates its four-year anniversary on May 5, 2018 at 8:00 PM at the Red Light Café in midtown. The show was launched in May 2014 and is produced by comedian Jerry Farber (https://jerryfarberscomedy.com), mentalist Mark Johnson (https://www.markjohnsonspeaks.com), and magician/mentalist Joe M. Turner (https://turnermagic.com). Farber is an Atlanta entertainment legend whose former comedy club, Jerry Farber’s Side Door, was the show’s original venue. “These guys really made it happen,” says Farber. “They’re top shelf performers and there was never a doubt in my mind that they’d connect with audiences.” Johnson, a mentalist, author, and communication consultant, originally approached Farber about putting together a team to produce a show. Said Johnson, “When we started there was no ongoing venue for live magic anywhere in Atlanta. We changed that, and the success of Atlanta Magic Night has been deeply rewarding. Not only do we have terrific shows, we also have a growing community of people who are seeing professional magic. And we couldn’t have done it without the early support of Jerry Farber. He has helped us so much along the way.” Turner, a magician, mentalist, and professional conference keynoter, previously produced a one-man show, Shenanigans, in Atlanta from 2005 to 2008. “Producing a show can become an all-consuming task,” he said. “Working with Jerry and Mark made it not just more efficient, but also just plain fun. I think the vibe of the show, and really the whole brand, reflects that. It’s funny, even a little irreverent, but always coming through with an impossible magical experience. And it’s clear the city wanted that experience, because we are consistently selling out. The Red Light Cafe has been a fantastic venue for us and we are grateful.” The show features a different line-up of magicians and mentalists each month. The anniversary show on May 5 will feature Johnson, Turner, Paul Sponaugle, Howie Marmer, with a planned guest appearance by Farber. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.com, RedLightCafe.com, and AtlantaMagicNight.com. Contact Atlanta Magic Night | Joe M. Turner, Producer
Nailing the Punchline
Opportunity knocked again one recent Sunday afternoon. Well, actually it called my cell. My family had already left for Tennessee to visit family and enjoy Thanksgiving. I had stayed behind due to plans on Monday evening, with a flight out set for Tuesday morning. Sunday afternoon, then, found me home alone with no real plans, until my phone rang. “Joe, I’m glad I caught you!” said my friend Christian. “Are you working tonight?” “No – why?” “Well, I’ve got a situation…” Christian is a local comedy magician who was scheduled to play Atlanta’s Punchline Comedy Club that evening. Due to some miscommunication between himself and the club manager, each thought the other had booked the rest of the talent for the evening’s show. That is, they had a headliner but no emcee and no feature act. Would I be interested in taking one of those spots? The emcee spot runs about ten minutes, then you introduce the other acts. The feature spot is a 25-minute spot, then you’re done for the evening. I had never worked a comedy club before. Sure, I use humor in my act, but I don’t bill myself as a “comedy magician.” My friend assured me that I would be great and that the crowd that night was expecting strong magic. Back in April I wrote about the importance of being willing to jump into unexpected opportunities. I thought about that post as I considered this offer for a few seconds. “If I can do the feature spot, I’m in.” “Done. See you at the club.” Next thing I know, I’m headed into town to work the Punchline. On the way, I considered how I would start. I had a routine that I knew would fit comfortably into the time slot. I knew the effects would work well together, involve the audience, and generate some laughs from their intrinsic humor. My main concern was precisely how to open for an audience largely primed for stand-up comedy. I decided to take part of a humorous speech I had written for another performance and adapt it to this new venue. Basically, I set out to establish that I was on the show for contrast, to make the funny acts seem funnier. However, in positioning myself that way, I was also getting some laughs. The combination worked well, and I had the audience laughing at my ‘predicament’ before I even started the magic. As it turns out, I had a great time. Excellent comments after the show, including “You were our favorite” from a couple who didn’t know any of the performers, and “You changed our whole outlook on magic” from another couple who had actually come to see the headliner and didn’t expect to see other performers. Some of my takeaways from the experience: Take advantage of unexpected opportunities to grow. I could have stayed home and told myself, “That’s not my venue.” Instead, I now have a new venue. Are your skills or services applicable to a market you haven’t explored? Think about your opening. Find a way to position yourself for success by turning your presumed weaknesses into strengths. They’re not bugs – they’re features! Is there something about what you offer – or about what you don’t offer – that you can use as a point of contrast to others in your field? Nail the punch line. In comedy, you won’t be successful if you don’t nail your punch line. All the build up requires that you deliver the goods at the end. How do your clients know when it’s time to laugh and applaud? Are you nailing your punch line? Here we are at the end of 2011, a year that has been both amazingly challenging and amazingly fruitful. You have just enough time left to nail your punch line.
