Today we would like to introduce you to professional magician Anthony Ware.
Hi Anthony, thank you for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Firstly, thank you for inviting me to be part of the Voyage Magazine platform. The spark for my interest in magical entertainment happened while serving in the United States Army. A magician came to the military base to entertain the troops. That experience captured my imagination, and from that day, I became completely enthralled with what I saw on stage.
After my duty and Honorable discharge tour, I discovered the Yogi Magic Shop in downtown Baltimore on Charles Street, and I enthusiastically enrolled in some magic lessons. Magic has been a part of my life and passion for more than twenty-five years from that moment.
This passion started as a pastime for me. I would hang out at the magic shop on weekends. Attend lectures by world-class magicians and purchase their books, VHS tapes (they were a thing back in the day), and CDs. At the time, never in a thousand years did I think it would become my full-time profession. It was such a thrill to be learning something that captivated my passion. I am still passionate about what I do today. I now make my living having fun!
I am sure you would not say it has been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a reasonably smooth road?
Me wanting wholeheartedly to be a magician is not something most parents want to embrace for their children entirely. After my military service, I came back home to live with my parents for a short time. I was going to college and practicing my new craft of performing magic. I can say that my father was not in agreement. He never minces words. I understood where he was coming from, in any case.
On the other hand, my mother never invalidated anything her children wanted to pursue. She would keep a watchful eye on us. (I am smiling big right now). I recently thanked her for that.
This long journey has had its up and downs. I had to figure out how to turn my hobby into a legitimate business. In the beginning, I would pass out flyers to people during the lunch hour downtown. I would place flyers on cars everywhere I went. I set up raffle boxes in a few mom-and-pop stores. I would draw the names I collected to give away a free show. I would market my service to other people. It was prolonged. Eventually, I had to get a job to help support my wife and child. I continued honing my craft. I would practice for hours almost every day. I worked a full-time job and performed part-time for many years. I love what I do—the art of magic.
Many years into the game, I tried to do it all independently. Eventually, I realized that I needed to do something different. I finally hired a marketing team, had them build a website, and started to focus more intensely on marketing, such as online videos, emails, post cards, and social media. During the pandemic lockdowns, businesses died totally. Understandably, no one was hiring entertainers. After scrambling to develop a solution, I created my virtual show presentation. I added the information to my websites and started doing business again during those apocalyptic-type months of the pandemic.
My marketing efforts have paid off. I learned that you could genuinely present a service to the world with proper marketing. People will gladly hire you if the service is remarkable and refer you. I am very grateful for the many reviews clients have written on Google.
As you know, we are big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I present a Clean Five-star Comedy Magic Entertainment performance for events. It is a high-energy show with fun & good taste and lots of delightful audience participation.
The show presentations help people solve their challenges in finding an entertaining, dynamic & engaging performance. My presentations have their audience sitting on the edge of their seats with mouths wide open from amazement and holding their stomachs from all the laughter!
Being a full-time professional Maryland based Comedy Magician and Entertainer with more than 25-years of entertainment experience has allowed me to meet and entertain audiences of various backgrounds and cultures for formal and informal events, including:
Corporate clients, sales meetings, private clients, family events, and virtual show presentations!
Each of my performances is custom tailored for a particular audience, young or older. The show might involve me just walking around an event and entertaining guests with close-up magic. That is magic that happens right in front of them, in their hands, right before their eyes. It is close-up and personal.
Then there is also the stage show that happens in a family room or a larger venue.
It involves lots of hilarious antics & witty humor along with jaw-dropping, head-scratching, mind-boggling feats of magic. There is a little mentalism (mind reading) too. It is all about having fun!
Setting my magic show exhibitions apart from others involves much zany humor and audience participation. Laughter is the best medicine. You can not be mad if you are laughing. I enjoy watching an audience engrossed in the show and just having fun for just having fun. We all can use more fun in these days and times.
I am most proud that I genuinely love what I do. Life is too short to be stuck doing something you despise. I was able to turn a pastime into an outside-of-the-box career. One that keeps the roof over my head and puts a smile on my face every day. One that brings joy, amazement, and smiles to others as well.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I believe that finding a mentor(s), coach, consultant, or someone you can go to for anything is paramount to success. That could be a best friend or another. No successful man or woman has become successful alone. They all have had a support system and or team behind them in some form or another. What has worked well for me is that I believe that a mentor can help you better understand how you can bring about the changes in your life, career, and family that you desire.
They can help you evaluate your life and goals and formulate a successful plan for achieving those goals.
I think that everyone is searching for tips and strategies that can help them change their life for the better.
You have to be willing to invest in yourself. I have had more than one business coach. I presently have one. My best friend of 39-years is also someone I can talk to about anything without judgment. It is a true blessing to have a friend you can count on for consultation at times. He also is a magician. We met at that magic shop many years ago. He was in the game before I was in the game of magic. He has helped me hone my craft.
Networking is one of the most valuable things you can do as a business owner. It is not always easy to network successfully. Still, the more you practice networking as a daily habit, the more naturally it will fit into your day. There is a good chance you already have some quality people in your existing network. People who could help to introduce you to important figures in your space. A great place to start building your network is in your current activities.
If you already take part in social activities from time to time, why not use those as part of your networking strategy? If you regularly volunteer at nonprofit organizations, for example, then you can strike up conversations with people in this environment.
Making the time to connect with others and practice your networking skills will benefit them and you in the long term. You can chat everywhere — from your gym, gas station pump, restaurants, and even your laundry place.
Source: VoyageBaltimore
VoyageBaltimore is part of the LA-based Voyage Group of Magazines. Our mission is to promote mom and pop artists, creatives, makers, and small businesses by providing a platform for these hidden gems to tell their stories in their own words.
