"It's nice to get paid for being stupid.''
An apt quote from a gal named Twinkles who works with a guy called Almar the Professional Idiot.
It kind of sets the stage for this weekend's Night of Magical Entertainment, a Willow Valley kickoff of sorts for the Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center's annual Coffee Day Campaign.
The hour-long show promises to wow its audience with magical feats of derring-do, and to tickle some funny bones along the way.
The performance brings together the aforementioned Almar the Professional Idiot (a.k.a. Ed Clarke, owner of Ziggy's Magic Shop), his assistant Twinkles, (a.k.a. Robin Maguire, a server at Willow Valley in her other life), Shawn Gollatz, a maker of extreme balloon sculptures and Pete Watt, a guy who'll entertain folks in a grocery store line if given the chance.
It ought to be a hoot.
"You gotta keep 'em laughing, keep 'em pointing,'' explains Almar. "I make no sense sometimes when I'm talking, and that's on purpose — sometimes. Other times it's due to the medication.''
All three magicians use humor to propel the show, which, by the way, is family-friendly.
Almar and "Twinkles'' have been working together nearly 15 years. The two met when they both worked for Sickman's Haunted Mill. ("He was looking for an assistant and it went from there,'' says Maguire.)
In fact, that's where Gollatz met Almar, too.
Gollatz, at the time, was hired to dress up as a scary clown and frighten visitors.
Almar did makeup.
"It wasn't necessarily a friendship (we developed),'' says Gollatz. "It was kind of like a father-son, no that's not it, it was more like he was the grouchy uncle. It's the relationship we still have now.''
The good-natured bantering is normal between the magicians, who often gather at Almar's North Queen Street magic shop.
At 68, Watt had been a frequent visitor at that shop for years, when it was owned by its namesake, the late Edward Ziegenfuss.
Watt, who was a finalist in the Pa. Senior Idol Contest a few years back, has been entertaining people for more than half a century. It's an obsession that began about a block away from Ziggy's shop, at an old tobacco shop in which the owner sold magic tricks in the back room.
"My buddies and I would go to the movies on a Saturday and go over to that shop afterwards,'' remembers Watt, who adds that he'd love to learn more about the old shop he remembers as Steinfelds Tobacco.
He was just 10 when he began developing a love for magic, and for Watt, it's a passion that never quits.
"Magic's been good to me,'' he says. "I never hit the big time or anything, but I've been a lot of places and I have no plans to slow down.''
Gollatz, too, developed his interest in magic at a young age. At the young age of 26, he already has 18 years of experience.
Gollatz remembers the first magician he'd ever seen like it was yesterday.
"I was in kindergarten,'' he says. "I remember the first trick. He made a jar of peanut butter and jelly switch places. I'll never forget how it made me feel. My socks were knocked off.
"It just took off from there.''
With the patient support of his parents, Gollatz practiced his magic shows in front of family and friends. By the time he was 12 or 13, he started fooling around with balloon twisting, which he says was partially because out of all the shows he'd attended, he was never chosen as the kid who gets the balloon animal.
The sideline specialty has blossomed and now Gollatz creates larger-than-life spectacles using up to 20 balloons.
"They have to be big, loud and colorful,'' he says. "I refuse to make a single balloon doggie."
For Almar, the thrill of magic is its spontaneity.
"I love the adrenaline. I love the juice,'' he says. "My act is constantly changing.''
Almar's first public act of magic was dramatic, to say the least.
After reading a book about the life of Harry Houdini, Almar (at age 12) decided to dive into a lake his family was visiting – while shackled in handcuffs.
"Of course I made sure there were plenty of people watching at the time,'' he says.
When he came to the surface (unshackled, of course) the lifeguard was just reaching him.
"Let's just say I received my first lecture on being an idiot at that time,'' he says. His second followed closely when his mom found out.
The Night of Magical Entertainment is just one of four public events Willow Valley is hosting throughout the Coffee Day Campaign, which runs from April 4 to April 18, according to Maguire.
An evening of basket bingo takes place April 7; a gift certificate auction will be held on April 14 and cow patty bingo ("a ton of fun,'' she says) takes place April 18.
For details on the events, call Sharon Tomlinson, 464-2711.
"A Night of Magical Entertainment''J. Peter Watt, Shawn Gollatz and Almar, the Professional IdiotFri. 7:30 p.m. (Doors open at 7 p.m.) $5, free for children under 5Palm Court, Willow Valley Resort and Conference Center2416 Willow Street Pike. 464-1711CONTACT US:
kdaminger@LNPnews.com or 481-6015
