Sailing, Sailing away!

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This month I’ve been really busy working on filming scenes for a television pilot. It’s going to be a children’s show on Rogers Television filled with fun, jokes magic and the message that there’s more to treasure then just silver and gold.

I’m the director, writer, set designer, prop builder, ect., ect,  it’s been a lot of work, but it’s also been a lot of fun and very enjoyable. Unfortunately due to the tight schedule I often find myself not thinking everything through fully. Last week I had wrote a scene into the show that required Captain Corbin rowing to shore in a rowboat and arriving on land. Great classic movie scene and it would fit well into the show as the show opens with me on my ship and the next scenes have me digging for treasure on the shore. This would make a great transitional scene. Only hitch I could see was at the time, I did not have a boat!.

Boats, I have just realized are expensive. Not only are they expensive, but they can not be purchased on short notice ( I was filming the scene in a couple of days) And as the set designer I thought to myself, a pirate would have a proper wooden rowboat with a ragged sail and long weather beaten oak oars. It did not take long to find out wooden rowboats are “antiques” and also very, very, expensive! I only wanted a little rowboat for a 1 min. scene, I did not want to have to take out a loan! Luckily I had a pirate sail I could use though. I had the sail made up to use as a backdrop during my magic shows a few years back. It looked nice, had my name across it and it was made with real canvas!

I searched Kijiji classifieds, asked everyone I knew and visited a few boat shops. With a time constraint I lowered my expectations from an old wooden rowboat, to a aluminum boat, to a plastic boat, inflatable raft, inner tube, and was coming close to buying a pool noodle when a friend finally contacted me at the last minute with a boat I could use! It was a nice one too, a rigid 8 foot walkers bay dingy. It was fairly new and bright white, but if the show gets picked up, it would be simple to paint it brown and make it look more wood like.

I was told It had not been used in a year or so, so I thought it best to test it to make sure it would float and support me. I did not want to film a scene with me sinking.  I loaded up the van, grabbed a life jacket and headed out to a small lake nearby. The boat was light and easy to handle. fit in the van well and even had a wheel built in so I could roll it to the edge of the lake. It was a cold windy day, but I figured I’d only be out for a while to check for leaks then back to shore.

I got the dingy in the water and hopped in. I even set up the canvas sail in the boat thinking “dress rehearsal”. The Walkers Bay boat has a nice hole in the front seats for a sail. ( It can be turned into a proper mini sailboat with a kit!) The oars were nice and long and I pushed off. Part of me thought that I should have tried it in a pond or just filled it with water and seen what leaked out, but I was already in the boat and on my way. After a few minutes I had my sea legs and was happily rowing around like I’d been sailing all my life. “Fun stuff rowing, and I’m even getting a bit of exercise for a change” I thought to myself. The canvas sail billowed in the wind and looked great and very funny!  After a short while I was amazed to find out I had rowed all the way to the other side of the lake! The sky was getting a bit dark, and the wind had picked up a bit so I thought it best to head back to shore. It was then I learned that rowing with the wind with a sail is absolutely nothing like rowing against the wind, and it wasn’t until I got home later that night that I learned there was a gale force winds warning out for that exact time I was on the lake.

It took me a good hour to paddle back to where I began, fighting very high winds and waves that almost came over my boat! I took the sail down pretty quick, but I was still a small heavy boat in the middle of rough choppy waters. The trip back needless to say was not anywhere near as enjoyable as the ride out. By the time I got to shore my hands were full of blisters and the boat had a few buckets of water in it. Luckily though It did not sink and proved to be a very seaworthy craft. (It did get me back!)

I film the scene on Thursday and have been checking the weather report constantly. Even still, I’m going to have a very long rope and keep it tied to shore! Look for an update to this post with pictures in a week, and keep  a sharp eye on Rogers Television for the debut of Captain Corbin’s Boatloads of Fun show!

UPDATE ~

Filmed the scene, and it went well. The lake erie shore was a bit choppy and a few of them waves nearly capsized my boat, but after rowing out a few hundred yards I was able to row back to shore without incident.  Unfortunately I did not get any pictures, so you’ll just have to watch the show when it goes live on Rogers television!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A day in the life of a proffesional performing pirate!

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Ahoy all,

I’ve often been asked what I do all day (and by more people then just my wife!)  Just recently I’ve received a request to have a student “shadow” me during a weekday. While most days are very busy my weekdays are completely different then the weekends and unless you like sitting next to a computer screen and a phone all day, you’d probably prefer my weekends, I know I do!

It has been said that in the entertainment business is 70% business and 30% entertainment. I’d up that a bit. Most weeks from Monday to Friday It’s all business, with alot creeping into the weekend. And it’s a 24hour business with clients, customers and kids contacting me from the moment I wake up, through the day, after school and in the evenings. Sometimes I even get calls past midnight!  Don’t get me wrong, Its part of the business and I especially love to receive calls from kids after school looking to speak with the Pirate that visited their class!

This week has been particularly busy with March Break right around the corner. Every day I’m either busily working away on the computer or running off to the printer or Wal Mart or the magic shop for that special little something I need to get an effect just right. A routine weekend has me performing 4 or 5 shows, typically birthdays or banquets so I only have to prepare 2 different types of shows, During March Break I have libraries, a Mall, private parties, banquets, and many more and everybody requires a different type of show!

At the end of the day I’m tired, but I know the work I’ve done, the clients I’ve talked with and the kids who have called and received a pirate joke over the phone from the Captain himself will help to make my weekends great and the performances special. I’d rather be onstage than infront of my computer, but you can’t have one without the other!

March Break fun

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Ahoy mates!

March break is always a ton of fun. Every year it is one of my busiest weeks and this time around is no exception. You can find me from one end of the province to the other with private shows, public shows, pirate shows and formal banquets and receptions. I think every year March break is when people celebrate the coming of spring and really party

If ye be in the area, I’d love to see you come to one of my public shows!

On Monday March 12 2012 I’ll be in Windsor Ontario performing at the Devonshire mall. I’ll be performing there all day, and I’ll have lots of surprises in store!

On Tuesday March 13, 2012 I’ll be performing at a couple of the Ft. Erie Libraries. You will have to check their website for times and locations. These will be special magic shows that will involve a few children from the audience!

On Wednesday March 14, 2012 you can find me right in the middle of Southwestern Ontario at the St. Thomas Public Library! This will be a fun show based on the movie HUGO! I can hardly wait, this was a great show to put together. The show starts at 2pm and lasts about an hour.

On Thursday March 15 2012 you can find Captain Corbin at the Jalna library in London ON. This show is a very special presentation for all of the younger pirates. Some age appropriate magic, and a story read by the Captain himself! then a bit of gold for all. If you have some young pirates at home bring them out for a buccaneering good time!

On Friday March 16,2012 I’ll be performing a Magic and Mystery show at the Alymer public Library! The kids will have a blast as they try to solve the mystery, look for keys and figure out the magic. A great show for all ages! Show starts at 2pm, but seating is limited, so contact the library today!

This week is going to be alot of fun. I hope you can make it!

Ahoy all,

Captain Corbin

What came first, the apple or the tree?

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Ahoy mates!

Sometimes an effect takes months to perfect, sometimes I get it in a week, and sometimes it takes considerably longer. Over the years I’ve performed alot of magic. some stays in my shows, and some i quit performing after a while. I determine what stays in my shows and what goes based on how many of my “requirements to perfection” they fit.

Requirements to perfection

A- it’s a stellar almost impossible effect.

B- It fits the shows theme well

C- The story or patter is good (educational, entertaining or funny)

D- it gets a great reaction from the audience

Most of the tricks I perform fall into one or two of the above categories. An effect becomes a Perfect effect for me when it falls into all four categories. The more I perform a trick, the closer to the “perfect effect” it becomes. If I’ve had an effect in my repertoire for some time and It’s still only hitting one of the points I usually drop it and look for something better. That’s usually how it works. except when it came to my apple.

I found and researched an old effect that had a silk appear inside an apple wrapped in foil. It was a good effect, but not magic enough for me and I did not like covering the apple in foil. I soon worked out a way to bring out the apple, have a spectator sign her name on a silk, I vanish the silk, and then the silk appears from Inside the apple.  It was an incredible effect and I loved it. but it never got as good a reaction as I had hoped and after over 2 years of performances it still only fit one of my points ( A stellar effect)

I loved the trick and could not let it go. I tried all kinds of different story lines and presentations. The silk could be a treasure map, but why does it end up in the apple, the volunteer could draw a picture but what story could I tell. I even tried to perform it silently to music, but the magic spell broke when I tried to explain to a volunteer I wanted her to sign the silk ( I thought that was important ) I kept at it though, trying all sorts of things. The trick was always well received, but it was still lacking something.

I discussed the effect with a good friend and associate Peter Mennie ( that magic guy ) Peter told me about a Vinyl Cafe podcast about apples. He mentioned that the podcast talked about how the McIntosh apple was an Ontario apple. I started my research! I could not find a copy of the podcast, but I scoured the internet and found a wonderful blog called “A life of Apples” that went into details about the apple. I got alot of information there and at the library and I went to work redesigning the effect.

I changed the entire presentation of the effect. Now I have my volunteer draw a picture of a tree. I ask her to draw a McIntosh tree. To help with her picture I bring out a McIntosh apple (ha ha) There was always a lull in the presentation here while I was waiting for the volunteer to draw on the silk but now I can talk about the history of the McIntosh apple and what’s going on with it in agriculture today! It creates interest in the effect, and gets the entire audience involved. To vanish the silk I now put it in a small box which becomes my “apple crate” With a snap of my fingers the picture disappears from the apple crate. With my empty hands I pick up the McIntosh apple and bring it to center stage. I say ” Usually an apple comes from a tree, but tonight the tree will come from the apple!” I dig out a small corner of the silk and have an assistant pull out the rest and hold it up to the audience. What a great effect and a great reaction!

Finally the apple trick has become a perfect effect for me. It’s a stellar trick, fits the show well, has a great and interesting story and gets a wonderful reaction from the audience. So far I’ve performed it about a dozen times like this and the reactions are so very different from before. I had the pleasure of performing this effect for an agricultural society banquet and there were some apple farmers in the audience who came up to me and said the trick was great, but they enjoyed the mcintosh story more! I think this is one effect that will become a staple of my shows for a long time to come!

 

 

 

a few bottles of wine on the wall, a few bottles of wine!

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I’m always looking for new and interesting ideas. Last month, I was looking through an antique store one day and came across a wine cannon. Those little display holders for bottles of wine. I thought it looked great, but it took me a few days to figure out what do do with it.

I had the cannon sitting on my desk for a while. The obvious answer was something needed to appear inside the bottle but what? A treasure map would be the expected cliche item, but just making the map appear inside would not be interesting enough for the audience. Plus as an expected result, it lessons the effect. The natural idea came to me when I though about another effect I perform often. A playing card appearing inside a box. A playing card could appear inside the bottle, that’s a good trick but what would make it magic?

It’s natural to assume that if a card disappears from somewhere and appears in an impossible location such as a sealed bottle of wine, a fruit or a box, that the magician used two identical cards. It’s the first thing children will shout out. from the audience. If I was going to do this,  I needed to involve a volunteer and I needed to make the audience believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was their card in the bottle. The idea became the effect “A signed Card appears in a sealed bottle of wine”

After about a month of work, research, and practice, many bottles of wine and a few decks of cards I think I’m almost ready to present this new bit of magic. It’s become a beautiful effect. I’m looking forward to performing it at a banquet in a couple of days for the first time. I won’t be performing this trick often, only on special occasions at banquets or receptions, but I hope you get to see it.

this cannon gets the pirate loaded instead of vise versa! 

 

Wine Cannon

Back to School!

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Today I had a blast visiting John Wise P.S!

I love visiting children in a classroom. It’s alot of fun and the children are often very appreciative, attentive, and well behaved with a teacher in the back of the room. I know I looked forward to every visit and assembly and special event that they had at my school. Anything to get out of schoolwork! This morning I had the pleasure of visiting two classes at John Wise P.S. in St Thomas ON. The children were great fun. One group was a full day kindergarten class, and the other were grade threes. The Kindergarten class was fun, they threw me for a bit of a loop though. They loved the magic, and pirate jokes, so I brought out a pirate story to read them. As soon as the cover of the book came into view they all shouted “We read that one!” and pointed to it on the shelf. Always the prepared pirate, I smiled and pulled out another book. The back up book. As soon as the cover of that one came into view another cheer of “We read that one too!”  What I did not know was all the little pirates had spent the last few weeks doing their homework preparing for a visit from a magic pirate ( me ) and besides reading every pirate book they could, they decorated the classroom, Built a pirate ship in the corner and put a treasure map on the wall! I put down the book and pulled out a larger magic trick I had set up for the older kids in the next classroom. The children loved it and were very happy.

Thank you Captain Corbin

The Grade three classroom visit went well also. This class was not expecting me, as the visit was set up at the last minute. The children were thrilled when I walked in the room though! I was not sure if they knew what to expect from me, so I asked how many of them had seen me before at a fair or a show at the library and they surprised me as just about every hand went up. Out of a class full of kids I don’t think there were more than two children who had not seen me before. It was wonderful to visit them and show them some new tricky bits of business! Both classes wrote me wonderful thank you letters as well. Definitely a day I’ll remember.

I love visiting schools and having fun with the kids. Big show in the gym, or a small show in the classroom I would love to come to you children’s classroom and visit them. Have your child’s teacher give me a call!

A Treasured Visit

they treasured the visit

Restaurant Magic

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The past few weeks I’ve been busy performing at restaurants all over Southwestern Ontario. Kelsy’s, Montana’a, East Side Mario’s, ect, ect. Restaurant work is always a lot of fun and a bit challenging. I have a blast performing my close up magic for dining guests. Most of the time patrons in a restaurant do not expect to see a magician at their table It’s interesting as i wander the restaurant to see the looks, people wondering who I am and why I’m there.

I love performing my favorite close up magic tricks, but a restaurant also provides the opportunity to try new effects and different routines. These past few weeks I challenged myself to bring a new bit of magic to each restaurant and to go “off script” as much as I could whenever I presented my standard effects. A magician often scripts his routines out, and of course after presenting the same piece of magic over and over again thousands of times, you A- Get really good at it. and B- you begin to sound like a recording. So these past few weeks I’ve come up with some new and very funny different ways to present some of my magic. It was a great success and I believe my presentations are much better now! The new magic I performed was good too. A new card trick, a new “mind reading” effect, and a few other close up routines. As expected the first few times I presented them they were a bit rough, but by the end of the run, all the kinks were worked out and the presentations were smooth!

Next time you visit a restaurant, if you see a magician wandering around, be sure to call him over or ask you waitress to have him come over. It’s a great bit of entertainment, and beats small talk while waiting for your meal to arrive!

 

Eating on the road

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I have been lucky enough to be able to travel all over Ontario. Traveling is something I love to do, the drive can be fun ( on the way there anyways ) But the locations are the best. Often I try to plan my trip to include extra time at the city, just so I can visit other locations and look around. One of my favorite things to do is to discover the best places to eat in different city’s, here are a few of my favorites. Let me know if you have any “special restaurants’ and where they are!

Best Italian food – Zappi’s in Niagara Falls 6663 Stanley avenue (corner of Dunn) It’s kinda hidden in Niagra falls, but worth looking for (don’t bring the kids)

Best Buffet -Frankie’s Tomato 7225 Woodbine ave. Markham ON. I love the buckets of olives hanging from posts all over the restaurant. alot of great atmosphere.

Best Cheap pizza – Stobies pizza on Dufferin st. in london. This is one of those things that defy explanation. It’s a flat cheap slice of pizza, but it’s very good!

Best Chain restaurant – Appleby’sYes it’s a chain restaurant, but I have to admit I’ve never had a bad meal or bad service here. Good for a night out with your lady or a family dining experience.

Best Fast food restaurant
Ha ha ha ha, LOL – your kidding right? why would you even ask.
Best Fish / Fair Vendor Craklin’s Fish on a stick ( from lucan, but they are mobile!) You can find them on the east end of dundas street in London ON. Great and crispy fish, worth the drive.

Best Burger – Old Marina restaurant mcClintock drive Punslinch lake
5 mins. off the 401 on Punslinch lake. This burger is huge and covered with melted cheese that smothers the burger, runs down the sides and gets fried with it, giving it a crispy ring of fried cheese. That’s how it’s served and it’s wonderful

Best Gyro – Admiral Submarine Dalhousie st. Brantford. The restaurant looks like it’s seen better years, but the staff is friendly fun and they load your plate. (and it tastes great!)

Quick bits
Best dessert -Triple brownie at the great canadian food booth at “family shows canada” fairs or at the london ON western fair market building -Get it dipped in chocolate if you can!

Best apple fritter – Dutch bakery on Wellington street in St Thomas ON. (covered in cinnamon sugar with fresh apple wedges and an amazing filling!)
Best frys – Mackies in Pt. Stanley a large fry is good, but what makes it special is the secret home made chunky sauce, pile it on your frys high and grab one of their orangeades to wash it down

Best hot & sour soup -House of Gourmet 484 dundas st, east of spadina-

So that’s where I go to eat. Have you gone to any of these places? do you plan to? Let me know your favorite restaurants and tell me who you think are the best. Also Where should I go to eat in Windsor or Chatham? I need a good restaurant to go to in those towns!

Bathroom problems!

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If I ever write a book for the traveling entertainer, bathrooms would take one of the first chapters!

I used to have a rule about bathrooms on the road, the less I have to touch the better. I’m not an obsessive compulsive germaphobe, but some rest stop bathrooms have bugs that cast a shadow, and mold that moves on its own. So I thought a “hands free” bathroom could only be a good thing.

Unfortunately some businesses figured out that the less that I had to touch, the less they had to clean, repair and maintain. They liked that very much and of course have taken it to the extreme. Now the new “hands free” bathrooms have faucets that are gone and replaced with motion sensitive taps that have one temp- Hot! the paper towels have disappeared to make way for a hands free hot air hand blower (mostly useless) and doors have been removed, to be replaced with a windy curvy entrance!

I want comfort, cleanliness and privacy in the washroom on the road and I don’t want a useless hot air machine! give me a door and paper towels nearby to open that door with! give me a tap with water that won’t burn the germs off and make sure everything is well stocked! is that too much to ask?  I know the real reason for the hot air machine is that it’s cheaper then paper towels. I’m just hoping the next rest stop I visit has not found a “hands free” way to replace the “expensive” toilet tissue!

A Suprise from and for the Captain!

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One fine day a few summers back I was heading out to perform at a birthday party in Hamilton Ontario. I travel all over Ontario and Hamilton is not that far from my home port, however it is far enough that I left plenty early in case of traffic and to do a bit of treasure hunting at the local antique shops. Upon arrival in the fine town of Hamilton I found many of the antique shops closed fer the day (twas a Sunday yarr!) So with plenty of time on me hands and nothing to do I went to the park nearest my afternoon show and thought I’d sit on a bench and play me guitar for a while. Upon arrival to the park I noticed a group having a party. There were three dad’s and a ton of kids that seemed to be running and jumping and generally driving the fathers crazy. It was a large park, surrounded by trees and utterly devoid of playground equipment, no swings, slides or anything fer these wee kids to do. I figured I had nothing better to do fer a while, so I hatched a plan to head over and perform a magic show for them, I had lots of time. I slipped my pirate garb on in the van ( luckily I parked in a secluded spot and brought no attention to myself) then I hopped out, grabbed me trunk on wheels and headed to the group of confused dads.

As I figured as I’m marching to the group in full pirate regalia the kids attention turns to me and I was swarmed. I head to the picnic tables and immediately get the kids to sit down fer a magic show. This is when one of the dads approach. Before he could ask who the heck i am I say, ” Hello I’m Captain Corbin the magician. Sorry I’m late, I’ll just need a minute to set up and I’ll begin.” The dad just said great and asked if he could help in any way. I smiled and told him to relax a while ( the three dads looked like they could use a break) The dads took a seat on a picnic table and I began my show. Kid’s love it and I had a blast performing for them. A free surprise show. I had no idea what the dads were thinking, I just assumed the main dad thought his wife had set something up. Or perhaps he was just happy to get a break. After my show I really had to get going fast! My time was running out and I knew I would not be able to get to the actual birthday party early enough. ( I’d get there on time, just not as early as I would like) So I packed up quick and then the father who spoke with me at the beginning comes to me and asks if I’d been paid. It briefly flashed across my mind to say no and try to get some $$ for the show, but instead I just said yes, that the cheque had arrived in the mail a few days ago. That seemed sufficient enough for him and I quickly ran to my van loaded up and drove off having done my good deed for the day!

It took me a while to find my afternoon show. I knew I

A surprise show?

was nearby, but had to stop at a Tim Horton’s to freshen up and there were a ton of one way streets that really got me turned around. I was supposed to arrive at 1:30 for a 2:00 show and it was already 2:00 when I pulled into the driveway and ran up the front steps to the door. My client let me in the porch and I apologized to her for running late (I blamed traffic ) That’s just about when I noticed through the hallway poking around in the kitchen a guy who looked very similar to one of the dads from the park. My client, a lovely lady said “that’s okay Bill called me from the park and told me what a great job you did with the kids there” You could have knocked me down with a feather. I was surprised to say the least. My client showed me to the back yard where all the kids I had just performed for were playing and I began my second show for the group! I never told them what had happened, and i had to customize a second set on the spot, but I must admit I laughed to myself all the way home!

P.S. I just remembered ~ I actually hadn’t been paid for the show yet. That was just something I said to the dad at the park. After the “second set” I asked the mom for the cheque and I noticed the dad overhearing me. I mentioned to him I was mistaken when I said it had arrived before and that I was thinking of another payment. It could have gone very awkward at that point however!