Gas Prices

I really do have a fun job. I get to travel from city to city performing educational shows. I've literally driven all over Texas just this last year. The down side, of course is that I have to fill up my tank on a very regular basis. So, I did a little research and found a site that posts gas prices. All I have to do is put in my zip code and I can see all the local gas prices. It's even updated daily. http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx

Pirate Morals

All my shows have an educational message where I teach health, history or other lessons. I also teach an ethical message. In the past, I’ve taught things such as social equality and good self esteem. With next year’s touring show I needed a lesson. This show is all about pirates, so the obvious thing to teach is that children shouldn’t steal. To make this lesson appropriate for children K-3rd, I’m going to focus on how a child might feel if something of theirs was taken. Children will learn a secular version of “The Golden Rule”. Since this is a pirate show, there will be a pirate character who steals things. This pirate character will be a shark. He will learn how he might feel if some took his things. The shark will be one of several NEW characters in this show. If you’ve seen one of my pirate shows before then this will be a very different show. I’ll be test marketing the new shark puppet for a while so when this show officially opens it should be a lot of fun.

Christmas in August?

It always amazes me how early people start booking Christmas shows. I've already put several new shows on my calendar this month. There are several people in Dallas/Fort Worth who dress up like Santa for Christmas and there are a few magicians in this area. But, I am the only performer who can combine the two. In my show Christmas Magic, Santa gives kids a behind the scenes look at how he gets ready for Christmas. He'll build a magical snowman, show how he wraps presents, and he'll read from his famous Naughty and Nice list. He'll even show children the magical way he builds toys. It's a fun show. This is an all new version of the Christmas show I've done for the past few years. I've made it so every magic prop is tied in to a Christmas theme. And, several people have asked me to perform this show as me instead of Santa. The show will still have a holiday theme, but these events already have a Santa, so I get to just be me!

Promotional Material

I’ve been thinking a lot about helping to promote shows. I believe that if events are a success then I’m a success. So, I’ve come up with some things that will help. Next year I will have promotional posters. These posters are not only for libraries. They are also for elementary schools, stores and anywhere else families are every day. I’ve been testing out “mini” posters and they seem to work really well. I’ve also learned that there are specific ways I need to word things. I use to be cute with show titles, but now I keep things simple. For example, next years show will be called “Brett Roberts’ Pirate Magic Show”. This show will still have puppets in it. (In fact, I should be getting my new shark puppet today.) But, I’m calling it that because magic shows draw in almost as many kids as animal shows. Also, my name will bring some people to that show. I’ve had lots of people tell me that they came to the show just because I was there. I also have people follow me from one library to another during the summer. And, I’m debating on preparing a press release. That might not help the event that the press comes to see, but it could help future library events.

New Blog

Hi there,

I've decided to get with the times and post a blog.