School Shows, School Assemblies, P.T.A. Functions, Library Programs

A good portion of my year is spent performing for schools, libraries, and PTA/PTO groups. I offer a fun & memorable 45-minute program suitable for kids and adults. I work very hard to present an energetic program capable of holding the ever-decreasing attention spans of even the most rambunctious crowds. Though I do not specifically "teach" anything, students watching my show learn about juggling & the history behind the art and see the physical & mental benefits of taking it up as a hobby.

Performing for these markets has changed dramatically in the 20 years I have been a professional entertainer. Perhaps the biggest change has come in the types of programs offered.

I was raised to understand that education is not just confined to the classrooms. My father, a teacher for over 30 years, was quick to make sure that his kids and students saw the opportunity for increasing personal knowledge simply by taking keen notice of the surrounding world. Whether I was at school or taking a walk in the park the potential for gaining valuable knowledge and insight was always there.

When I was a kid and some sort of special program came to my school, more often than not the show was entertaining. If the school had an arts council or simply had money in the budget for some type of specialized assembly program, I could count on the program being entertaining. Sometimes the presentations were about history. Other times they were about science or the performing arts. Rarely was the focus of the program education. After all, why would you expect a man who has spent his life becoming a master puppeteer to be a qualified educator, unless you wanted to learn about marionettes.

We all learned something about the person on stage as well as what they were doing simply because it was interesting and presented well. These days, the vast majority of the programs offered to schools are saturated with a focus on "edutainment" and perfectly good magicians, jugglers, musicians, and so on are expected to somehow be substitute teachers at the schools. So many high-quality acts have become diluted because they feel they HAVE to have some sort of educational slant in order for the schools to even consider booking them. The result is lesser-quality performers trying to be school teachers. Some acts, barely qualify as either, adding a token, "Stay in School" message somewhere in their 45-minute show. This change in the industry has always been troubling to me. There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but far too many good teachers are forced to sit one out while some expert in the field of circus performing is expected to teach kids about staying in school.

I have the utmost respect for teachers. The amount of time and schooling spent earning their teaching degrees should not me minimized by some magician who took a decent illusion show and added a "Just Say No to Reading Books About Doing Drugs" slant to it. I would never lower the value of a high-quality educator nor insult the profession by pretending to be one myself. Teachers spend their lives becoming teachers. I spent my life becoming an entertainer. I am hopeful that biology teachers don't plan on becoming professional entertainers and I am confident that they don't want me as a biology teacher. That's just fine with me.


As I stated before kids do learn a lot from watching my program. I can customize any program to fit the needs of a school and if asked I can always suitably add messages about safety or even "Character Counts" talking points.

Generally I let the kids learn by watching and enjoying the show.

• They learn about the history of juggling and other performance skills, realizing that they can go to a library and find a wide assortment of books about the subjects.
• They gain an appreciation for the arts by actually seeing the arts in action and they often end up asking many questions about what I do for a living.
• They are reminded about being respectful to others by having to remain quiet while I am speaking.
• They also learn valuable lessons about life when I make a mistake in the act. If I drop an object and there's a snide burst of laughter, they receive an explanation about how everyone makes mistakes, and while some mistakes may have comical results, laughing at someone's errors may not be the best course of action (after all, they could be the ones making the mistakes next). After making the point the students come to the realization that perseverance and dedication, even in the face of failure can lead to great successes. In essence - you can learn from your mistakes.
• Students learn about safety & personal responsibility when I perform things like fire-eating, bowling ball juggling, and even the plate-spinning act.

All of these are lessons that can be gleaned from watching a show that never once purposefully tries to teach a darned thing. Never will you find an Andy Martello sporting a wide-eyed expression as he slowly over-pronounces every word and talks down to the children. When I perform, there are no outrageous rainbow-colored outfits and no assumptions that kids are stupid just because they are kids. I am a fully grown adult and I talk to the kids like younger people. If they don't understand something, they ask me about it. If they don't get a joke but see their teachers laughing they ask their teachers about what was so funny. By not talking down to the kids I help facilitate a good dialogue between the teachers and the students, and I don't need to look like a popsicle to do it.

If you simply MUST have some kind of message I do give out a free souvenir collector's card to all the students in attendance. To promote reading, I do make a point of mentioning just how good these cards are as bookmarks. I told you I don't do a whole lot of preaching nor teaching. LOL!

If you have the unenviable task of having to book talent for your school assembly, PTA event, or library, I hope you will take a good look at my website and decide for yourself how valuable fun for fun's sake can be in the eyes of a child.

With a little luck, you have learned something about me today.