TONY BLANCO: Mesemerizing magician

Blanco performs April 13 at children's festival

Henderson magician Tony Blanco is determined to mesmerize and amaze families at the Clark County Parks & Recreation Children's Festival, but he won't be doing it with giant illusions.

"We all can't have big illusions," the event headliner said. "Some cost from $5,000 to $10,000 a piece and you can only get about five minutes play out of them. I'm going toward more of the comedy and entertainment magic as opposed to the spectacle magic which is filled with very high tech illusions with lights, sounds, fog and dancing girls. I'm studying old magicians that incorporate a lot of comedy. They can get 10 minutes out of something simple enough to fit in a pocket. Some of these guys used to travel the country with nothing more than a carpet bag and they could perform for hours."

Blanco said a town like Las Vegas already has the best of the big acts, with Siegfried & Roy, Lance Burton and David Copperfield. But there's still room for magicians who specialize in close up, intimate magic.

When Blanco does a corporate party, he doesn't try to wow them by cutting a woman in half. Instead, he visits every table performing little tricks to entertain the guests individually. The personal attention pays off. When he served as a magic master of ceremonies at Boulder Station, Program Coordinator Tess Harris had this to say of Blanco:

"(Tony) created an atmosphere that was entertaining, comical and fun. He thrilled our players with his magic, wacky games and comedy," Harris wrote in a recommendation letter Blanco still keeps on file.

Blanco's Henderson home is dedicated to the study of magic.

"This is what I call the library inspiration room," he said as he opened the door to a room packed with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves each brimming with countless magic books. Against one wall sat a special trunk made to house a small television and VCR. The magician uses the portable set-up to review his performances and those of colleagues either from home or on the road.

"I'm in R & D right now," he said. "Research and development, just like a corporation. A lot of the stuff that's out there has already been seen or exposed."

Next door to the library, sits Blanco's sewing room. Scarves, curtains, puppets and even costumes are expensive, so the magician has learned to make many items on his own. He studied puppet construction with an artist who worked with Jim Henson's Muppet workshop. Although Blanco has dabbled in puppet productions, magic always draws him back.

Blanco builds many of his own props and tricks in his garage wood shop.

"My mother was always saying, 'Oh, you're going to cut your hands. You're going to ruin your magic hands with the woodworking,' " he said.

Combining the sewing, woodworking and study, Blanco comes up with tricks all his own.

"I'll find something that's out there, an old method and revise it into a new trick or I'll change close up tricks into stage tricks. It's not the same old pick a card trick," he said.

Blanco learned much of the humor he uses on stage from the Ringling Brothers Clown College. He studied with the circus in Florida for nine weeks, six days a week. There were classes in makeup, juggling, stilts, props, gags and acrobatics, with a final graduation show.

Blanco is bent on making his County Parks & Recreation Children's Festival performance even better. The annual event is set for April 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Winchester Community Center and Park, 3130 S. McLeod, just north of Desert Inn Road. Admission to the festival is free.

The festival will feature song and dance performances by K.A.D.S. (Kids Against Dumb Stuff), girls performing group Razzmatazz, youth dancing group Star Catchers and singer/songwriter Shawn Eiferman.

Blanco will perform at noon and 1:30 p.m. in the indoor theater.

Other free activities include face painting, indoor craft workshops, carnival-style games and prizes, an environmental station in the new desert garden, bounce houses, Italian street chalk art, jewelry making, roving clowns and balloon creators, story telling, outdoor craft projects, historical re-creations, spin art, sand and water play areas and Clark County's own Recmobile with old-fashioned games and prizes.

Food and drink concessions will be available for purchase. B & S Amusements will be in the park with an array of carnival rides, including a full-sized ferris wheel, fun house, antique cars, extreme racers, and a swing ride. Carnival games, a rock climbing wall and Hair Flair temporary hair painting will also be offered.

For more information call 455-7340.


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