TO THE LETTER - (Performance Tips) by Rand Woodbury

From: the forthcoming book ILLUSIONWORKS 4 Written By: RAND WOODBURY (who has worked for Carnival Cruise Lines for 21 years) Offered Exclusively For Magiczine

I am not an easy person to get ahold of and I kinda like it that way. My friends and family know where I am; usually on a plane, in an airport, or on a ship at sea. (Hey, I just past 4 million miles with American Airlines - seriously!) I don’t know if I should get excited or feel pathetic. OK, moving on. I recently got an e-mail from someone who had been trying to track me down for some time. He was asking me for advice and so I replied to the best of my ability. Then something dawned on me as I was typing my response. Boom! ‘I’ve written this letter before and not just once.’ Yep, it’s been a while, but this information has passed from my lips and hands before; many times.

The young man did exactly as I had done many, many times. He has all his ideas for his show. The thoughts are like crystal clear pictures in his head. The concepts, construction, even the color of the boxes are all there, in writing, drawn out to the last detail. However, like me (years ago) he has ‘no money’ to move his dream forward to a reality.

People thought, when I was a lot younger, because my father was Woody Woodbury (TV and Movie Actor, Comedian, and Entertainer - living in a really big, fancy house - in either L.A. or Florida) thought my father bought me props and I made a go of it. Wrong! That would of been a mistake. Don’t get me wrong, that would have great, but still a mistake. How so? My father taught me carpentry. My father taught me to figure it out. (And I couldn’t always do it myself.) However, by educating me this way, this process made me ‘hungry’ for what I wanted and instilled a drive within me. And it is that drive that made me succeed. Quitting or giving up was just not an option. Period. I think the last props my parents paid for was a triple, color changing cane to flowers and a set of ‘Rings and Things’ linking rings. The first illusion I bought was a used ‘cutting a girl in sixths for $300.00 USD and that money came from dough I made at Mc Donald’s.

Here’s the rub …. theater’s want to see, in advance, what they are getting before they book it. Obviously. Selling a show, in idea form, is a million to one shot. And if your dream project is still on paper - well, do a full color presentation and detail the whole thing in a 1 or 2 page (no more then that) proposal. And pitch your concept where ever you can and really prey that someone bites. The alternative is getting a job and work and raise the funds yourself. You can build stuff yourself; some of it at least. But you have to put in the time and really have the passion and the drive to see it through. And that is tough when you are working. I DO KNOW. I have been there.

It’s tough and it sucks. I know. You have it all up there in your head and no money. I think so many of us have been there. So what do we do. Well, it all does fall into ‘your’ lap. You just have to go at it one step at a time. (Unless you know a guy with millions.) When I went to write my first book I asked Paul (Osborne), “How do you do this?”, expecting a miracle answer. Paul replied, “One page at a time.” That’s not what I wanted to hear, but the only correct answer. How does anyone climb any mountain? One step at a time. How does anyone ever achieve anything? Drive, passion and the willingness to not to quit or give up.

The main factor will always be YOU. No one else. You have to ask yourself, “How bad do I want to do this?” And if the answer is, “No matter what!”, (and you really do mean it!) …. then go for it and don’t give in and don’t give up. And I really mean don’t give in, don’t give up and keep moving forward towards your desired goal. No matter what. OK? Looking back, the fun (though daunting at times) in actually in the doing. If it keeps you busy and focused, it’s all good.

You probably have more skills then you actually thought. And laziness will never be your friend in trying to reach a goal line. That’s why my books exist; to show you that even a guy who can’t write can in deed write book. Each book I’ve written, each illusion I have designed, each show I produced, each prop I have built was just another mountain I had to climb or goal line I had to reach.

Another way to explain this is like this, “How many of you rely on the Lottery to pay your bills every week?” Without knowing it, you probably have the drive because you make your bills a priority. Giving up is not an option unless you wander the street with stolen shopping cart. You do it every day, you just maybe never give yourself enough credit in the achieving department. And that’s why I’m probably friends with Tim White and Paul Osborne (and they both have really hot babes/wives!), because they are do-ers not talkers. Jack and Dove (also dear friends and shwing - another wonderful babe!) achieve because they simply refused to ever quit or give up. Andrew Mayne (another great friend) never stops designing, thinking and doing and I’ve never seen him with a woof-woof either. Greg Edgar, a close friend and producing partner at Illusionworks, is a genius when it comes to music and is relentless at writing (musical) charts and arrangments. And I could go on and on, but like Clint Eastwood’s dad once told Clint, “Nothing comes from nothing.” Be a doer and you will see.

When I build … I use wood glue on every wood joint. I use the right size screws and I never ever use nails and my stuff lasts for a minimum of ten to fifteen years. (And it’s all being used every single week.) I build it right the first time, so I don’t have to rebuild it again and again. That’s what my father taught me. Yes, he taught me carpentry, but in the process he taught me a value system. Giving me money, would have (possibly) allowed me to never appreciate what I have achieved. Hey, have I screwed up and made mistakes throughout my life? Sure, huge ones, but if it was something I was driven to achieve …. giving up was never, ever an option. If the horse threw me, I grew thicker skin and got right back on that bucking bastard. The outcome does reside in YOUR effort, YOUR passion, YOUR drive and YOUR willingness to NOT GIVE IN AND NOT GIVE UP! Good luck … r.w.