Uncle John's Traveling Musical Puppet & Magic Show

Personnel

John Slevens: Full Time Professional NJ Puppeteer

Influences

Uncle John draws upon his many years of observing others and noting what made them funny or what made what they said funny. Uncle John is the youngest in a family of four children and according to birth order books, the youngest kids like to be the center of attention and the class clowns. Uncle John loved mingling with the guests at his parents boarding house in Jewett, New York, and he found a lot of humor in some of the characters he encountered. Some of the more memorable ones were the hunters from the Bronx who caught an owl and thought it was a "chicken with big eyes." The other was a guest who's dog was bitten by a skunk and he had to take him to the "vegetarian"....

What to Expect

Typical Gig Duration: 120 - 180 minutes

To save my viewers time and effort, here is what I do:

I perform puppet shows for birthday parties, preschools, daycares, camps, fundraisers and numerous other organizations and use muppet style puppets, including TV & movie characters that the children at the party already recognize, not unknown "marionettes."

The show is in a stand-up comedy format and the puppets make the effort to know ahead of time who's who in the audience so they can joke with them during the show.

For birthday parties, I have the birthday child do some classic magic tricks my magician friends have shown me. Then I introduce the kids to my animal puppets, then do the puppet show followed by a kids dance party (why hire a DJ?)

A similar format is followed for schools, camps and libraries but with a health and safety theme.

Kids never tire of a show that uses over 40 television, movie and cartoon characters. The show moves so fast, that it takes multiple viewings to catch all the humor and silliness that you may have missed the first time!

Stage/Setup Requirements:
110 V AC Power source, 6 Square feet of space, Dry location (for electronics & LED lighting)

Additional Notes:
Uncle John has discovered the secret to keeping the short attention span audience (little kids) engaged and mesmerized. He uses characters that are familiar to them. Hershey the Chocolate Lab Retriever is a favorite. He's dressed like a kid and dances with them after the show. Additional appearances by television, movie, storybook and nursery rhyme puppets give the children a thrill since they've seen the characters before. A DJ quality sound system, custom puppet theatre & professional LED lights are also used in the show to enhance the experience.

Set/Song/Sequence List:
For those who want to know what the show is about, Uncle John says, "it's about nothing"....just like the popular long-running Seinfeld show was. By following stand-up comedy format, Uncle John has more choice in custom tailoring the show to the audience. Uncle John has found that Characters that are familiar to kids will hold their attention longer. Also, his puppets carry on conversations with the audience all throughout the show. This approach pleasantly surprises everyone since they don't expect the show to be interactive. Soon the adults and children alike are carrying on spirited conversations with the puppets and everyone forgets the puppets aren't real.


The show is in a stand-up comedy format and the puppets make the effort to know ahead of time who's who in the audience so they can joke with them during the show.

For birthday parties, I have the birthday child do some classic magic tricks my magician friends have shown me. Then I introduce the kids to my animal puppets, then do the puppet show followed by a kids dance party (why hire a DJ?)

A similar format is followed for schools, camps and libraries but with a health and safety theme.

Call Uncle John at 908.508.9292 to reserve your date today! Some dates & popular weekends are booked solid 2-3 months in advance.

Available for Your

Birthday Party, Church Service, Festival, Fundraiser, Private Party, Wedding Reception

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