In Creativity of Entertainers Volume Three, I say, "Accoring to the Tarbell Course in Magic, the first version of a transforing book was created in England in the nineteenth century.  It was a magic stamp album." (page 81)

 

Recently I have seen a recreation of the magic stamp album available for sale.  I purchased one just to add to my collection.

 

However, I have learned that the transforming book concept goes back much further.  It was described in Discovery of Witchcraft by Reginald Scot in 1584.  The version described by Scot was a magic school text book that would change subjects.  For example, from a math book to a art sketch book.  A notching method was used making many transformations possible. Duane Laflin has used the notch method in manufactuing my Ledger of Life.

 

Currently the most widely used variation of a transforming book is the Magic Coloring Book.  The history of the effect, handed down from entertainer to entertainer for over four centuries, demonstrates that there is much more potential use for the concept.

 

What type of tranforming book would fit into your performances?  How would you construct it?

 

On page 153 of Creativity For Entertainers Volume Three I describe meeting Jimmy "Happy" Williams at the Circus World Museum for the first time in 1986.  At that time he taught me a card trick with the four aces.  I discuss that trick in Volume Three.

 

Jimmy was the resident clown at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI for 32 years.  He appeared there in 1962 and 1963.  He returned in 1967 after serving in the military and stayed for 30 consecutive years.  In 1972 he became the CWM director of diplays, a position he held for 24 years.  He was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame in 1995.

 

This month I visited the Circus World Museum and saw Jimmy Williams there again.  He is no longer performing, but he visits the museum on many days to enjoy the performances and chat with his friends.  It was great to have the opportunity to thank Jimmy for teaching me the trick that has been an important part of my repertoire for the past 23 years.  The article below is an example of one way I have adapted the trick.

 

Who taught you a valuable lesson?  How can you show your appreciation to them?

 

Fifteen participants from Japan attended the 2009 Clown Camp program in La Crosse, WI. 
 
I normally perform card tricks like Charlie's Marked Cards and Charlie's Marked Fish silently.  (For a description of these effects see the Props page of my web site. Props )  On the first day of Clown Camp I realized that I could count in Japanese while displaying the cards.  That increased the appeal of the trick for the Japanese participants.  First, because I stumbled a little with my pronunciation and they were helping me learn to count in Japanese the participants were not concentrating on watching the mechanics of the trick so they were even more surprised when the final transformation occurred.  Second, because I was attempting to communicate a little in their language it showed that I cared about them which established a rapport between us.  Almost any book on learning another language includes counting making it an easy way to do something in that language.
 
In my juggling act I display a sign that asks, "Want me to juggle with 4?"  Then I pick up two balls and a large cut out number four and juggle them.  I conclude by actually juggling four balls.  I entertained at the World Expo in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan during the Clown Camp Japan program.  I asked somebody to translate my sign into Japanese.  I attached the translation to the back of my regular sign.  I displayed the English side of the sign, looked at the audience, realized they couldn't read it, and then turned it around to display the Japanese side.  That got a great response when I was in Japan.  I have kept the translated sign and used it during the 2009 Clown Camp program in La Crosse.  It got a lot of laughter from the audience who realized that I was paying tribute to the presence of the Japanese participants.
 
When I was in Japan I developed one trick cartoon in Japanese.  I can write the word dog in Japanese and then add lines to quickly turn it into a picture of a dog's face.  I taught my class in trick cartooning in La Crosse and was surprised to see many of the Japanese participants in attendance.  They were taking my classes because of the rapport that I had been able to establish.  I was concerned about how much they would get out of my trick cartoon class because most of it is based on English words and the shapes of English letters.  The Japanese participants surprised me afterwards by sharing with me some of their creations.  They were able to take what I was sharing and find a Japanese equivalent.  For example, I showed how to turn the word "boy" into a caricature of somebody in the audience.  They were able to turn the Japanese word for Grandfather into a picture of an old man.  I was impressed by their creativity.  They also proved to me that the concept of trick cartoons can be used in different languages.
 
During my trick cartoon class I mentioned that I had done two days of strolling entertainment at the World Expo.  The children in Nagoya swarmed the clowns asking for autographs.  The first day I signed my clown name in English, and the children politely thanked me.  That evening I had somebody teach me how to sign Charlie in Japanese.  The next day the children got excited when they saw my autograph and started calling me by name.  I realized that they could not read my name the first day.  Knowing how to sign my name in Japanese has been useful at home.  I live in Seattle which is a Pacific Rim city and we have many Japanese visitors who come here on business or vacation.  When I realize that somebody is from Japan, I do my only Japanese trick cartoon and sign my name in Japanese.  That always gets a great reaction.  After my class in La Crosse I noticed that several of the English speaking participants were asking the Japanese participants to translate their clown name for them.
 
When you perform for a different culture, how can you incorporate something in their language into your performance?  Is there some way you can count during your act?  Do you use signs that can or should be translated?  What languages are frequently spoken in your home area?  How can you be prepared to do something in those languages?