I attended the Next Generation Conference at the Conrad Hotel in Indianapolis on Saturday and it was fantastic. The goal was to give artists ideas on how to engage the “next generation” which is the 20-40 year olds.

I met some wonderful people from all over the country - from Oklahoma to North Carolina.

Susan and Don above were great to get to know. Susan is from Indianapolis and Don came from Roscommon, Michigan. It was nice to exchange ideas and see that we can learn from each others experiences.

I came away from the conference with some fresh ideas that I look forward to putting into action. If you would like more information, I plan on including this in our next newsletter, so please click on the newsletter submit button on the right!

This were told to us by a student at KCC who saw our Mind Tripping show today.

Our job, trip you out. Your job, get tripped out. And we each did our job very well.

As usual it was a great time. The favorite act of the show was “A Date with Destiny”. It has been a piece we have been working on for some time. There is quite a secret concerning this piece. We will keep you updated.

We have been traveling a lot of miles through Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. It is nice to see Spring in full bloom here with the trees full of flowers and the grass green. We are finally caught up on a little sleep and can let you know what we have been up to.

We freaked out this student from UAM. She and her group of girlfriends were a lot of fun and had a blast at the show. We performed about a half hour extra because they were really having a good time. It is great to perform when the energy is very positive and enthusiasm fills the air. Here is a comment from one of the students:

“Very well done. Rivals big show acts in Branson. Great stories!” Savanah Byars

On our way out of Arkansas we were very fortunate to be able to stop by one of the best magic stores in the country:

Mr. Magic in Little Rock Arkansas

Jim’s store is absolutely fabulous! We could spend hours there…and we did. Jim has so much material - great references such as books and DVDs as well as lots of magic props. But the best part is Jim himself. He is so friendly and nice - will help you with anything you need. And he is very knowledgeable. Here is all of the contact information for the store:

Mr. Magic

Jim Henson

8912 Stagecoach Rd # 11

Little Rock, AR 72210

501-455-6242

Christian, Helen, Margaret, and Katalina

Christian and I just had a fantastic lunch with 11 year old Helen and her mom Margaret. Helen saw us perform our Mind Tripping show last August at the 2006 Indianapolis Fringe Fest. Margaret contacted us to let us know that Helen loved our show and to ask us to speak at Helen’s fifth grade graduation ceremony. We were thrilled that she enjoyed it, yet very surprised that she was only 11 years old.

As most of you know, we do not perform for children. Although our shows are family friendly, we perform primarily for adults. Our Mind Tripping show in particular is mysterious and freaky and makes you question your view of reality. When we finally got a chance to talk to Helen and ask her what she remembers about the show and what she liked best, she remembered quite a bit and was able to talk intelligently about the show.

We started to think about the fact that maybe we underestimate the thinking and comprehension ability of children, especially ones 10 and older. You definitely cannot entertain a group of five year olds as you can a group of ten year olds. Just like you can’t entertain college students the same as people say over 60. They require different approaches, different speech, and different humor. Sometimes these differences are slight - a subtlety or nuance to ensure understanding.

We thank Helen for giving us something to think about and to do some more research on!

Hello Everyone,

     We had a lot of fun touring the North East.  After a long 14 hour drive home, we get a little rest.  We will get to relax for about a week.  Of course, even during this time we have to clean and repair equipment, conduct on going vehicle maintenance, and respond to people who are looking to have us perform a show for them.  So even when we rest, we are working.

     Its tax time!  After doing all the calculations, we now are very clear on what the best investments are.  We are going to invest all our money into taxes.  They’re the only thing that is sure to go up!