Before I had my TV-show, (it debuted in 1985) but had relocated from T.O. to #Winnipeg, I was trouping, doing smaller but numerous magic shows throughout Winnipeg and Manitoba; (I already had a few shows in Toronto under my belt by then, BTW) I acquired several great agents who were booking me at the time, such as Kerry Hogan from Gags Unlimited, Pat Riordan, Terry Morris from #MorrisAgency, and Brian Twerdun from #IdeaProductions, all before #LenAndree from #AndreeProductions. Besides commercially-available larger illusions which I owned already, (such as the Pitchfork Illusion, similar to the Broom Suspension, and pictured here with the female suspended in mid-air) I commissioned a builder to build me several (ten in all) other larger illusions, so that the agents could get more money for my services from sponsors, corporate heads, malls, etc. After a couple of dozen shows, I noticed that my audiences were oooh-ing and ahhh-ing from my Botania (appearing bush illusion, pictured here) just as much (maybe more so) as my large illusions! By then, my TV-show had just started, and I was starting to gain some notoriety and rather than continuing to employ people to transport my illusions from location to location, endure the physical efforts, (I was in my late twenties, but it was getting physically tiring) I decided to slowly phase out the larger illusions in favor of doves and rabbits, and eventually more portable illusions that "played big and packed small" such as the Dagger Head Chest Illusion, Chair Suspension, and various Bow Saw Illusions. I had found my balance: large illusions easier to transport, satisfied audiences and agents, plus higher and higher fees; by the time I left Winnipeg in '94, and with my TV-show, my fee was $350. for a 30-minute show. Of course, in larger eastern Canadian cities, the average fee almost thirty years later is minimum $450. for a thirty-minute show, or more! Lots of fun!
