Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2001 22:26:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: Larry Moss <moss@balloonhq.com>
To: Balloon Twister List <balloon@balloonhq.com>
Subject: Re: need a book review

On Sun, 15 Jul 2001, Sir T wrote:

> I am in need of a book review for Life on the living room circuit item
> number 5011. I am thinking about buying it, but I have not heard much about
> it? Anyone care to offer a review of it?

For those that are lost, Life on the Living Room Circuit is a book written
by T.  Myers.  I'm assuming the item number Sir T mentioned is the item
number in T's catalog.  it's been years since I've looked at it, but back
when I got it, it was a great thing to help me get going seriously in the
birthday party world.

This is all from memory.  I don't have the book in front of me, so anyone
can feel free to correct me if I've made any mistakes.

The book is a step by step recipe for a successful birthday party
magic/balloon performance.  It does not talk about any of the business
stuff of booking the party or working with the parents.  It's strictly what
you do when you walk in the door and start the show.  It is a complete
30-40 minute (depending on how you play it) show.  When you buy the book,
you are buying the show T did back when he was doing the birthday party
circuit.  Included in this is T's presentation of the Giant Tazmanian
Man-eating Devil.  Everyone that was at the first TJam and many people
(everyone?) that saw T lecture at some point, saw him do this routine.
It's his way of using balloons as a running story-line to join the various
bits of magic he does into a cohesive presentation rather than just many
disjointed bits.

Anyone looking to make the jump from just playing with balloons to doing a
birthday party show can benefit from this book.  You don't have to know how
to do any magic.  Everything is explained clearly and it's all easy (but
powerful) stuff.  An experienced performer may be able to learn something
by seeing what another entertainer does at a birthday party, but it will
probably be a lot less useful for those people than for the person just
making the leap into children's entertainment.

I said above that it was a great thing to help me when I started doing
parties.  My previous experience had been street performing (not line work,
but shows in Central Park in New York).  I had done the occassional party,
but needed help pulling a show together, so I bought the book.  I didn't
use any of the magic T described.  Instead, I used his show format with
most of my own material.  (The Giant Tazmanian Man-eating Devil was too
cool to ignore and on occassion, just for fun, I still do it.)

Larry Moss
BalloonHQ.com