"Do what you love, use what you have, and have fun"
"Do what you love, use what you have, and have fun"
That's the message behind every show from Mario the Maker Magician, now on Off-Broadway
Mario Marchese, aka Mario the Maker Magician, now has his show in an Off Broadway theater, SoHo Playhouse NYC, through the end of December. You can get more information on the show here. Make: has published two books (see below) by Mario, both of which share projects that create props for a magic show.
What makes Mario a maker magician is “show and tell.” He shows you the magic and then tells you how he made a robotic prop or used Arduino to create an interactive puppet. He encourages his audience to learn to make things and learn how to share them, as he does in a performance.
If you don’t know anything about Mario, I’m happy to introduce him to you. He brings such incredible energy to his show that even parents feel like kids again.
Here’s a talk on video of Mario from the virtual Rochester Maker Faire in 2020.
Mario worked with Make as the host of Maker Camp, while he was unable to do live shows during Covid. Then, in 2022, he and his family did a cross-country tour doing shows in theaters and schools. You might watch the video on his page for School Shows. I only wish that every kid in America could go see one of his shows.
As I wrote about Mario previously: “Mario’s real magic is holding the attention of several hundred children for over an hour, with all of them smiling, bouncing up and down in their seats, hands raised to come up on stage and being together to share that moment when a magician astonishes you by doing the unexpected. What good fun!”
His books could be used by teachers to get ideas for the classroom but they can also be read by students who will be inspired to find things they have at home and make up a magic trick. In his show and his books, Mario combines art and technology, magic and making, and it’s all crazy creative.
Link: Mario the Maker Magician website