Clowning at the Hospital Today

Today I had the privilege of clowning at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn where we have our Clown Dr program for the Hemetology/Oncology department's xmas party for all their patients in the community. It was attended by over 100 children and their families. At first they asked me to do a magic show but then it was decided that I should do walk around instead. I brought some great walk around comedy and decided to bring the balloon pump and twist a bit as well.  What FUN I had....spinning the plate, doing magic, dancing with the kids and making my usual simple single balloon sculptures. I think the thing that went over best was the three frog monte. This effect was developed by the late great Bob McAllister. In fact he gave me this set just before he came to market with it. Having groups of kids guess which frog will squeek was a blast. The cut and resotred rope went over well in this situation and as always I ended up with the stream of children following me waiting to see the trick again and again.
Just as thing s slowed down a bit, in walks balloon twisting guru Todd Neufeld. I recognized him immediately and introduced myself. Well before I introduced myself I threw my balloon pump into my bag and put my twisting stuff away. I always defer to the expert in the room. Funny thing, and I told this to Todd when we spoke, is that I had just followed him on twitter the day before.
After a few more games of three frog monte and the end of my rope....it was time for me to go.
A wonderful party, all the kids and their families had good food, entertainment and fun.

Keep 'em clean....

Phineas Blows them away at Century Association

Last night Phineas was invited to perform at the Century Association in NYC. This invite came from non other than the legendary (in implant dentistry and magic) Dr. Victor Sendax, a good friend and mentor of mine. The Host for the evening was long time Century Association member Dick Cavett. What a thrill to meet Dick Cavett after watching him and listening to him for years. You may not know that Dick is a magician as well, but after he performed a very entertaining rope routine, everyone knew! After Dr. Sendax did his serpent silks and snake basket routine he introduced Phineas. He did his award winning Coney Island Knife Juggling routine, then the great rising card effect. The audience loved it. Next came some mentalism by Peter Cove followed by Dick Cavett's rope routine. An incredible show! Afterwards we spoke with Dick Cavett who exclaimed to Phineas, "stay in show business you were great" and we got a picture of this legend and my son the clown.

Meanwhile back on the other side of town, Pupperdoodle was performing in a ballroom dancing show in preparation for a Ballroom dancing competition next week. We are hoping with all the kid's practice and effort that her team takes the school to the next level. Everyone in this circus works!
that's it for now
Keep 'em clean

Bark For LIfe Walk this May

We've created our team and registered for this year's American Cancer Society's Bark For Life Dog walk. Its scheduled for May 2012, exact date TBA. We will be walking in clown this year. So Dr. Molar Magic, Phineas and Pupperdoodle will be walking behind Otto aka "Four Paw the Canine Clown" To help raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society. Last year we joined a friend's team and walked and this year we're making our own team and hope to raise lots of funds.
So if you're looking to make a donation this holiday season please consider the wonderful work of all the charities the Dr. Molar Magic Foundation supports throughout the years.
The Diabetes Research Foundation
The American Cancer Society
The Good Dog Foundation
Autism Speaks
Camp Sundown/ XP Society

Keep 'em clean

Graduation Day

We did it! Otto and I graduated from The Good Dog Foundation's therapy II class. We are all ready to start making visits. I've gone through the list of facilities that good dog offered and made my wish list. Now as soon as our starter kit arrives in the mail and we set up the schedule we start. Otto gets to go in and let lots of lucky people meet and pet him. Check out the graduation photo from today.

We also have some clown rounds coming up and this year's addition of our off  Broadway show is being written as we speak.....
Keep 'em clean

One more week until Graduation!

Four weeks have gone by very fast and Otto has done great. He has come a long way in Therapy II class with the Good Dog Foundation. This week we find out if he passed the course and can be certified as a therapy dog. BTW I was asked where the classes are held. Class is held at Camp Bow Wow in Long Island City in Queens just under the entrance to the 59th Street Bridge. This place is a wonderful doggie day care and overnight kennel that Otto has stayed at from time to time. Its wonderful place and every night the dogs get a goodnight treat in their own private areas and they play classical music for them.
Anyway, we await an email from our trainer to see if Otto and I are ready.
On another front we've selected the theater for the show! We will be returning to the Producers Club this Spring. More details to follow as the she show comes together.
Keep 'em clean

Otto starts class-The Good Dog Foundation

Sunday was the first class for Otto and I for the Good Dog Foundation. Our puppy is learning to be a therapy dog. Well that's for other people, he's been therapy for us since we got him. The Good Dog Foundation helps train owners and their dogs to make health facility visits to help folks heal, kind of like clown rounds but with dogs. We figured he's so good with everyone and has such a great temperament that he should do this kind of work....he has a gift!  Check them out www.gooddogfoundation.org.
We both did great on the first day of class after getting over some jitters. I'll update our progress as the five weeks of classes go by but please check out their web site its a great organization.

The next news is that we visited the theater and we are looking to do another edition of CIRCUS BICUSPID this Spring. I'll send out lots of notice about dates and tickets when they are finalized.
That's it for now...Keep 'em clean.

NYU College of Dentistry Performance was great...

This past Saturday from 9-1 Dr. Molar Magic teamed up with Dr. Rabbit from Colgate to entertain all the kids as their parents completed the registration forms for the dental screenings. A few adults actually got into the act posing for photos with Dr. Rabbit and me. A successful day working with everyone and the staff at NYU working the screening were a friendly bunch who enjoyed the day as well.
I enjoy being asked to go back to perform at my Alma Mater. The school has certainly changed since I graduated in 1994 (boy I'm starting to feel old). An excellent institution constantly striving to improve oral health care for NY and the world....

On another note...Otto aka "four paw the clown" continues to train and come out of his shell. Hopefully he'll be ready to join the act by the beginning of 2012. He's also been registered for training with the Good Dog Foundation which will train him to visit hospitals and nursing homes to make people smile. And who wouldn't smile and feel better while petting this adorable puppy. Check them out at
www.thegooddogfoundation.org
that's it for now Keep 'em clean

"you made her day..."

Some days clown rounds are pretty routine. Things go well, we get laughs and smiles, but every once and a while we get a special comment that makes you feel good about what we do.
The Pediatric unit was light on Sunday, a few smaller kids and a few teenagers (the word sends a chill down my spine). There was one teenage girl who looked pretty bored, after all there is very little to do in a hospital bed on a Sunday afternoon. The in came the clowns, and she "allowed us" to perform and play with her. We did our stuff, Phineas juggled, Pupperdoodle danced to our music and told her best jokes, and I did some mystifying magic. ( Okay it was the cut and restored rope, but I do it very mysteriously) This patient stopped being a patient for about 10 minutes and went back to being a person....she laughed and groaned at our bad jokes and when we were done she said thanks. Off we went to the next room.
Then as we passed back down the hall she waved and her mother came over to us and told us that she was very down about being here and you really made her day.
This was the little reminder that we are there for a very important service and we had the privilege of helping this young lady feel better that day.
Until next post.....keep 'em clean!

Clowning at Camp Sundown

The team spent last weekend clowning and working with the campers at Camp Sundown. This is a camp for kids and young adults with Xeroderma Pigmentosa. This rare disorder makes it potentially lethal for them to expose their skin to the sunlight or other bright lights. (Please google this disorder for more info)
Through a clown friend who has worked with this camp since it opened we were able to go up during the day and spend time juggling and doing magic with the campers. Pupperdoodle spent hours doing glitter tattoos on everyone. We enjoyed a great dinner made the local fire department with these remarkable campers and their parents. The after dinner show was great! The campers did a skit and performed. the Mothers performed and then the clowns performed. The kids did great with our "Old Macdonald Had a Band". We handed out instruments to groups of kids to chime in when the song came to them. Phineas and I did some physical comedy stuff and our friends Moonlite and Sparky did a great cake gag ending with Sparky sitting on Moonlite's birthday cake. The room was filled with smiles and laughter....what better way to spend the day.

As a parent this weekend was very special for me on many levels. We have helped fund raise for this camp in the past and have known about it and the people involved in it for years but you can NEVER appreciate what other people and families go through unless you get there and get involved. Each one of my kids spoke to me after the camp and expressed to me the appreciation and respect they had realized for the campers and their parents and the entire project...it made my wife and I very proud.

After the show and one or two last group songs, (about 11pm) we said our goodbyes, packed up the car and headed for home. The campers were going out to play! And the night was still young.
This camp experience was very special and I look forward to working with this camp and these folks again in the future.

Brookdale Hospital Health Fair a Hit....

What a great weekend. Saturday was spent at the annual Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center's Health and Wellness Fair. The whole hospital turned out in front on Rockaway Parkway in Brooklyn to meet staff, get health related screenings and see what local vendors had to offer. As always they had a bounce house for the kids and this year the DMM Foundation team brought our brand new ToothZone-GolfZone! 6 holes of mini golf for the kids to play and play they did. Along with the play came questions about teeth and  practicing good oral health care. We all had lots of fun.....
And as an added  bit of good news, for those who have been following the history of the Foundation, the Magic Van made it there and back this year. No breakdowns to report!
That's it for now....keep 'em clean

WOW what a great day-Walk for Autism

The team went to clown at the annual Walk for Autism Speaks Sunday morning and what a cool event. First, the weather was perfect, the attendance was the best ever and we had a blast. Clowning with the crowd was not to be beat. The music was great and we danced with families and their kids. Phineas and I juggled and everyone Pupperdoodle went near got a sticker. The enthusiasm of these families to support their kids was energizing.

Next it was on to nephew's BarMitzvah where Phineas was asked to perform his street act. He juggled the egg, bowling ball and rat trap! The egg made it without a scratch. Next he did his knife juggling routine that won him first prize on the boardwalk at Coney Island last Summer. The kids loved it.....
A great day for our troupe......
Until next post....Keep 'em clean

School Show Success

We had two great shows at PS26 in Queens today. Circus Bicuspid performed some of our best routines and we added some great magic to go with it. The only last minute change in the program was the the dog act, FourPaw the clown, aka Otto the dog couldn't do his act on stage. He was great during training in our living room but we got him onto the stage for a run through and the poor puppy just froze there. He couldn't handle the new surroundings. So we gave him his special peanut butter treats anyway for trying so hard but he just couldn't get the courage to do his act on a new stage.....so its back to the drawing board for FourPaw. Maybe he'll make it into the next show.
We did get to add some new circus skill to our performance, hat throwing! Across the aisles over the kids heads, and across the auditorium from me to Phineas' head. The kids got to try it also into a hoop across the aisle. A great show and we, as usual, had a blast....see you at the next show.

Phineas is stepping up.....

Phineas has submitted his application to the Society of American Magicians National Convention's Stars of Tomorrow show! We put together his promotional video and his long list of accomplishments for his 13 years and send it in. He is applying to be in the show as a performer and act as the MC.
We'll update the world when we know. Hopefully he'll get in and then we are off to Pittsburgh, PA this July!

Remember we are now on Twitter, so follow us @drmolarmagic

Our next School show....

We've booked Circus Bicuspid to run 2 shows at Pupperdoodle's elementary school in Queens. She is very excited that the whole school will get to see the amazing little Hula. She's been working with her coach Venessa Vortex and her routine is cool. The rest of the crew will be doing some new magic and juggling. Phineas and I will even be passing 6 clubs....(I hope I don't drop, darn gravity).
We'll try to get some video to show the world. Follow us on YOUTUBE, you can even subscribe to our channel.
Also....now I'm on Twitter. Follow me @drmolarmagic.

Otto's getting ready.....

Well thanks to the hard work of Pupperdoodle Otto's training is going very well. Not only can he sit and almost stay...he has learned the first part of his act. Given some time, we will be featuring our first animal act...introducing "Four Paw the Clown". Check out the video to see how he's doing....

WHAT A MONTH.....!

Circus Bicuspid Almost on Broadway WAS A HIT! We sold out all 54 seats in the Crown Theater in the Producer's Club on March 2nd. The show was fun and the audience had a great time. Lots of work getting a show like that together with a group like ours but well worth it. Check out the photos on the main website www.drmolarmagic.com, just look for the link for "Circus Bicuspid Almost on Broadway".
Then just as we finally finish putting all the props away and getting the rehearsal studio (better known as the living room) we had to get the acts together for our participation in the annual Diabetes Research Institute's Carnival for a Cure. Sunday March 13th at the Metropolitan Pavilion. We spent the day juggling and clowning while throwing in some balloon animals on the side. This is always a fun carnival and one of their main fundraisers. Check out the Website for photos from that too.
So what's next you ask? Saturday night March 19th we were asked to perform at our Synagogue's Purim celebration....never a dull moment. We also have regularly scheduled Clown Dr. Visits the next couple of Sundays.
Keep 'em clean....

CIRCUS BICUSPID....ALMOST ON BROADWAY

We finally did it.....our show is coming to the stage! We will have a one night benefit performance to raise funds for the programs of the Dr. Molar Magic Foundation. Wednesday March 2nd at 7:30 at the Producer's Club in NYC (44th off 9th Ave) Circus Bicuspid hits the stage with Magic, Juggling, Hooping and comedy!
All tickets $25 and seats are limited (there are only 64 seats in the place)
For tickets call (917) 359-2620 and speak to Cindy. Advanced sales only....

www.drmolarmagic.com/CBAOB.html

NY Goofs Winter Intensive January 14-16th

Anyone looking for incredible clown training or to just "work out" with the pros, Sign up for the NY Goofs (my clown school alma mater) Winter Intensive. This years guest teachers are Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone. I studied mask with them a few years ago and it was great. Lots of fun and learned a lot. And of course working with Tiffany and Dick is always cool. I use what I learned from them at every performance. I always remember the advice Dick Monday gave me..."for me the apple would have been enough"
Check it out.....www.nygoofs.com