Reporter Amy Steele, The
Times
Mike Norden's
two Chihuahuas are named after famous
magicians, Carter the Great and Alexander
the Man Who Knows, and he got married on
Houdini's birthday.
Those are just a couple indications of how
central magic is to Norden's life. The Maple
Ridge resident has been making a living at
it for the past five years, predominantly as
a children's magician.
He describes himself as a "late bloomer" who
didn't get into magic until he was 24.
During a trip to Disneyland he decided to
spend a day in a magic shop. At the end of
the day he'd bought a magic kit and was
hooked.
He started doing magic for his nieces and
nephews and one of them told a teacher they
had an uncle who was a magician. He was
invited to come to the school to perform
some tricks. Norden didn't know anything but
card tricks at that time so he had to go and
buy some props for children.
After that his career was launched through
word of mouth.
"It just spiraled. It just went crazy," said
Norden. "Everybody's always put children's
entertainment at the low end of the magic
rung but it consistently gives me work
throughout the year and it's what I love to
do."
He knows he could make more money doing
magic for adults on stage or at corporate
events but he loves working with kids.
"They're there to believe. They believe in
Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny so when I do a
trick they believe," he said.
However, he also acknowledges that some
bratty kids can sometimes be challenging to
work with.
He's been kicked and had things thrown at
him. The worst situation was when a kid
knocked all of his props into a pool.
"That made the rest of the show difficult
and of course what do you want to do? You
want to take the kid and throw him into the
pool too. You can't do that mind you," joked
Norden.
"Usually when you have a party you have 20
kids and I'd say eight out of 10 times I
perform at a party and everything is
beautiful and wonderful," he said.
There are memorable moments when he really
connects with a kid. His favourite story is
how he bonded with a kid with a stutter. One
of the shticks in his shows is that he can't
pronounce the word balloon. The kid with the
stutter approached him afterwards and taught
him how to say it properly. His mother then
came up in tears because she told Norden
that her son didn't usually participate or
communicate in public because he was
embarrassed by his stutter.
Norden's work week tends to be busiest on
the weekends when he does children's
parties. He also performs at schools and
daycares during the week.
He runs an anti-bullying program in schools
and a literary program at libraries, which
he incorporates magic into. Norden also does
magic at weddings and does a gospel magic
show at churches with a friend.
He has several websites, including his own
and the Vancouver Magic Circle's. He
estimates he spends a couple hours on
weeknights working on marketing.
Magic is wound into most aspects of his
life, including vacations. He and his wife
usually go on working vacations such as
magic conventions in places like Vegas or a
cruise to Mexico.
He admits there can be slow months when
there's not much money coming in but says
making a living as a magician is entirely
feasible.
"It's the greatest job in the world," said
Norden.
Norden dreams of being the inspiration for
even one kid to become a professional
magician in the future.
Norden has won numerous awards for his
magic! he can be reached at 604-916-9879 or
visit his website at www.magicshows.ca
