The Birth of Presto Club: A Rant.
Psst...Live in the Las Vegas area and want me to perform at a birthday party? Go HERE for all the details!
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Hi! I'm Ben Young. I'm a professional magician based in Las Vegas. I've been fortunate enough to perform on the hit CW Network TV show "Penn & Teller: Fool Us," over 30 Air Force Bases nationwide, all the major Las Vegas casinos, and countless children's birthday parties, schools, and more.
And now, I'm the founder of Presto Club. But where did this come from? Things are about to get real. Presto Club comes from my deep passion for magic. Frankly, I'm fed up with how kids learn magic in the 21st century. The way I see it, there's two common routes: 1. Youtube. 2. A magic set or magic tricks bought at a magic shop, online, Walmart, etc. Let's start with Youtube. I LOVE that we live in a time where ideas and information can be shared so easily. I'm a millennial, after all. And many people, especially children, learn magic better from video than written books. The problem with Youtube is that anyone can post a video teaching the secret to a trick...but where is the performance aspect? Where are the nuances to performing simple tricks in a way that make them entertaining? The answer: Usually nonexistent. And...the magic set. A marketer's dream. "Learn over 300 tricks!" But have you read the instructions that come with the set (or a prepackaged magic trick)? In many cases, these instructions are full of typos, are poorly written, and have been continuously reused since the mid 1900's. No, I'm not kidding. So with these two major resources, how are kids supposed to learn magic, and actually learn the thoughts, techniques and skills to become entertaining with the magic? They're not. The people making simple YouTube videos, by and large, are NOT professional performers. And frankly, the commercial magic manufactures don't care. They just want to make a sale. So, enter Presto Club. I spent several summers at an international summer camp, teaching magic to kids from ages 7 to 16, and from literally all over the world. In my magic classes, in addition to taking our time learning each trick, I made it a point to discuss with the kids how to perform the magic in a practical sense. How do you get into the trick when asked? How do you make it interesting? Can you make the trick seem unplanned? And that is my goal with Presto Club. Each month, your child will get a magic trick in the mail. To be perfectly honest, these are some of the classic magic tricks you've probably seen in a magic shop or magic set. But magic is not about the prop. Magic is about the performance, the entertainer and his audience. That's why, with each magic trick, there are several videos going over every little detail. These videos are sent on a schedule, in bite-sized portions so no one is overwhelmed and your child can focus on the task at hand! With all that said, welcome to Presto Club. :) |