Magicrob 25th/31st March

Started by Graham Lee, March 17, 2013, 05:30:42 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Graham Lee

Magicrob, Robert Driscoll has volunteered to be interviewed. Rob does the daily balloon on his blog, http://mydailyballoon.blogspot.co.uk/

Not sure if Rob has a website to promote as well?
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

magirob

#1
You can find me on //http://www.childrensentertainer.biz/ as Robbie the Wizard

and on //http://www.voxbrothers.co.uk/ as one half of the Vox Brothers

Magirob :D

magirob

#2
Hi there

My name is Rob Driscoll, I live in Portsmouth on the south coast of England, I am fairly new to the Balloon Chat forum but I have been ballooning for nearly 20 years. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to answer these questions.

Magirob

G L Admin

#3
I thought this was next week?
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://balloonartwholesale.co.uk/
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

magirob

#4
1, What road led you into balloon modelling?
When I was in my late teens I used to dabble with the odd magic trick, simple little tricks from kids books and the tricks were always badly presented, but my mum decided to buy me magic lessons for my 19th birthday, it was a 6 week evening class and it got me really into the magic, it was here I met Rikki, another magician doing the same course, eventually we did a street party together and he happened to have a bag of Qualitex balloons with him, I said I would help out and for some reason I was able to blow the balloons up, I quickly learnt dogs and swords by copying Rikki and that was it, I had the Bug, I have been ballooning ever since.

2, when did you get started with balloons?
It was during the spring/summer of 1996 at a street party (see last question)

3, What's your best twisting experience?
One thing always sticks out in my mind, I used to do regular shows at a holiday camp, various evenings and then a Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday afternoon during the holidays. I was at one of the morning show and as always I got various kids up to help in the show, I remember this one little boy put his hand up and he came and helped in the magic show, eventually he got a balloon as helpers always do, nothing unusual there. After the show a lady came up to me just said "Thank you, thank you so much" I said "thats ok, no problem" and she went on to tell me that a few weeks ago that same little boy had lost his parents in an accident, this was the first time he had smiled since then, This moment has stuck with me ever since and I often think back to that moment as a life changing moment.

4, What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you during a ballooning/entertaining session?
Most of the time I am doing balloon modelling I use a pump, I do sometimes blow them up by mouth, I try not to but sometimes I just find it easier. I was entertaining at a party, 2 hours of Robbie the Wizard with a break for food in the middle, sometimes during the break for food I will make a few balloon models. I went to blow one balloon up and it burst in my eye, I could not see, My eye was stinging and both eyes were watering, for about an hour I was in pain and had to fumble through the rest of the party without being able to see properly. It turned out that there was no damage to my eyes but it was a horrible moment.


More tomorrow, feel free to ask any more questions as we go :)

Rob

magirob

#5
5, What do you most enjoy about twisting & why?
I think I have to say I love making kids (and adults) smile, seeing their faces light up when they ask for an animal and then moments later they have it in their hands.

6, What's your favourite age to entertain?
I love performing for the little 3/4 year olds, I don't do as many balloons for this age, I tend to do a 30 or 45 minute magic show and they are always just so good, I have never had any problems with them wanting to get up and run around, I just love the fact I have them glued watching me.
7, Do you have the same act but vary the presentation for all ages or do you have set acts for different ages?
I do various different lengths of show but they are all build up around the 45 minute show, This 45 minute show has 2 or 3 key elements which do not change (except for presentation of course), It starts the same and ends the same but there are various bits in the middle which will depend on the age group I am performing to.

8, What's your favourite thing to make at the moment?
At the moment I have having so much fun making lots of different things, I seem to be getting a lot of reaction from my angry bird at the moment, as much from the adults as the kids, they have no idea what it is until I add the beak and eyes and then everyone knows. I have attached a photo of the Angry bird.

9, What is the most asked for model?
Dogs, I am bored of making dogs, what is it about dogs? Kids always want them, adults always want them? Why? I can make a 1000 things much more interesting, but no, they want a dog.

10, What do you tend to do more of if stuck in the 'balloon production line' model?
Sadly, after my answer to the last question its dogs. If I am in the production line situation then I try not to let it get to me, I am there to entertain so that is what I do, if it takes me longer to make something then so be it but sometimes I need to get the line down and then its on to dogs galore, I can make a dog in about 10-20 seconds so they do come in useful.

magirob

#6
11, Who is your market aimed at?
My shows are mainly aimed at any age from 3 up to about 8 or 9 however I do cater for all ages, I have the kids shows and I also do close up magic and I am also part of a double act for adults.

12, What kind of work do you do mostly - parties? Corporate? Etc
My bread and butter is the birthday party, usually 2 hour birthday parties or 45 minute shows. At Christmas it's more 30 minute preschool shows and 45 minute school shows.

13, What is your favourite/ideal gig to do?
I actually favour doing the adult magic shows as part of a double act, we do stage shows, Dinner parties and other similar things. When it comes to the kids stuff I really enjoy the 45 minute shows, especially if they are in a private house.

14, What irritates you most at a gig?
This is easy, Noisy parents, I have various different methods to try and avoid this but still it really annoys me.

15, How do you book yourself?
I am lucky to have an amazing agent, they do all my bookings for me and talk to my customers, I don't know where I would be without them (so thanks if you're watching N and R)

Graham Lee

#7
Quote from: "magirob"I can make a 1000 things much more interesting, but no, they want a dog.
Hi Rob, was this an expression or can you make 1000 things? I have heard others comment about being able to make so many things but I think I may struggle after 50 off the top of my head. Mind you I do not do requests so if you did then I suppose you just keep making the requests so it would be infinity and beyond.

Rob has a very interesting double act, I attended a lecture that he performed at a little while back.
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

magirob

#8
Quote from: "Graham Lee"Hi Rob, was this an expression or can you make 1000 things? I have heard others comment about being able to make so many things but I think I may struggle after 50 off the top of my head. Mind you I do not do requests so if you did then I suppose you just keep making the requests so it would be infinity and beyond.

Rob has a very interesting double act, I attended a lecture that he performed at a little while back.

Hey Graham,

It was an expression, I think a few years ago I was sad enough to count how many things I could make and I counted about 300 different things but with my daily balloon thing going on I hope to reach 365 :-)

and as for the double act, we performed for the Surrey society of magicians on Saturday evening, i think it went well, a good group of people :)

magirob

#9
16, What's the biggest thing you have ever made?
I make a killer whale sometimes, It ends up about 5 or 6 ft long so it's not that big really, I usually make this when I am doing the cruise ships, When I have a quiet afternoon towards the end of the cruise, usually when were at sea, I make one of these up and then when I take it to my show I get so much attention walking through the ship, I also get great delight in imagining the family trying to get it home with them.

17, What has been your proudest achievement in our wonderful world of twisted latex?
This is a tough question, I think just to be in the position that I am already in makes me feel proud, I am immensely lucky to have a great agent and regular work.

18, What advice would you give to someone starting out, or wanting to increase their business?
First thing to do would be to get yourself a really good act, It's all very well paying for the advertising but if you are a poor performer then the new customers will not book you, a lot of my work is from word of mouth so a good act is a must. In the world of magic there are 3 rules you must always follow, rule no. 1 – Practice, rule no.2, Practice again, and rule no.3 Practice some more. it seems in this day and age these rules have been forgotten but they are still VERY important rules to follow in ALL kinds of performance.

19, What road in latex do you see yourself taking in the future
I just hope I can continue to be a balloon modeller for as long as I possibly can, as I have said before I feel very lucky to be in this position, doing something I love for a job, if this can continue then I will be very happy

20, What is your personal goal when you set off to work? Is it money or to entertain etc?
I try and always go out to have fun and if I can get others to have fun at the same time then that is great, as this is my only job I have to say that money IS a goal because without it I would be in trouble but to go out there and have fun and help others have fun is a major goal of mine.

21, What are your balloon goals for the future?
I would like to create some really exciting big models, I do like a challenge, I set up my blog (www.mydailyballoon.com) to challenge myself and already I have had some amazing requests come in which I want to make, I also want to really work on the neatness of my twisting, some other twisters are amazingly neat with their work, it really helps the models look good.

Graham Lee

#10
Quote from: "magirob"First thing to do would be to get yourself a really good act,
Any advice on how one would go about getting a good act? Might be time I got myself one as well.
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

magirob

#11
Quote from: "Graham Lee"Any advice on how one would go about getting a good act? Might be time I got myself one as well.

Oh Graham, I am pretty sure your act is fine, you have been doing shows longer than me :) you must be doing something right :D

As for getting a new act, it really is difficult, I would say talking to other people and trying things out are 2 important things, I remember when I started out doing some cheap shows just to get the ball rolling, its a good opportunity to see if tricks work for you and develop an act, slowly you will discover things that work and things that don't.

magirob

#12
22, If you could start all over again, would you change anything?
I would change nothing, I am a firm believer that I am who I am because of the mistakes (and successes) I have made. If you are going to send me back to do it again, can you give me a few minutes warning so I can jot down those lottery numbers.

23, How would you like the future of balloon modelling to develop?
This is another tough question, the problem I have is that I am still exploring the ideas which have been around for years and years, so all that is still new to me. Becoming a member of this forum and discovering a whole world of friendly people out there has been great, so for that to develop more would be awesome.

24, Who's the most famous person you have made a balloon creation for?
I am not one for famous people, I don't watch much TV, I walk around London with friends and they all shout out "look, look, there is Dermot O'Leary" and I say "who? Is he a singer?".  So in the world of balloon modelling I can't think of anyone famous I have made balloons for, if I did then I wouldn't know who they were. I was once booked to do a party for Elle McPhearson's kids (not even sure who she is) but she changed her mind and went to McDonalds instead. When it comes to doing Magic I have performed for a few famous names, and I have also been lucky to perform alongside some greats in the world of magic. My one and only real claim to fame is that I had a show on the Disney Channel for 3 years, it was just a few minutes long and was just 1 episode which was repeated once a week for 3 years.

25, How do you keep the enthusiasm going & what still excites you about our great world of latex.
My blog has helped keep my enthusiasm going as I do like a challenge, having to come up with a new model every single day is actually quite difficult but I really feed off the challenge and I have learnt so much since I started.

26, What inspires or is your thought process in coming up with a new design
I tend to work from what people request, I am very open to making anything and everything that I can, the other day I was asked by a little girl to make a Barbie doll, so I ended up working out a design there and then right in front of her eyes, when I get asked to make something new I just have to think about similar things I have made in the past and then work out how to adapt them.

27, Who would you like to work with dead or alive?
This would have to be Leonardo Da Vinci, his mind was amazing, he invented flying machines and helicopters years before the Wright brothers even left the ground, just think how amazing a balloon jam would be with him, I could just imagine popping back in a time machine and dropping off a bag of balloons for him, the Mona Lisa would come out looking a little different :D

28, What makes you laugh?
Friends, I have an amazing group of friends around me, some are magicians, some are balloonists, some are neither but all of them are amazing, they always make me laugh, smile and they make me happy.

Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to answer these questions.

Rob

Graham Lee

#13
Rob's daily balloon blog has been highlighted on the yahoo news feed, http://news.yahoo.com/photos/magician-m ... slideshow/
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

Areyouhappydad

#14
Well done Rob. What is the next project?  ;)
Kindest Regards
Stuart

We all have our cross to bear, but some of us need more wood than others!