Corporate Event Entertainer Jeff Civillico Highlighted in “Magic Magazine”

Corporate event entertainer Jeff Civillico here… After graduating from Georgetown University in 2005, I focused on becoming the best corporate event entertainer I could be. I really began to tailor my show to corporate events. I was fortunate enough to put my skills as a corporate event entertainer to the test by hosting the touring production show, It’s Magic. It’s Magic is an extremely well-known touring show in the live entertainment industry. I first got linked up with It’s Magic after performing at Hollywood’s Magic Castle in 2008. After emceeing many shows for It’s Magic on the West Coast, I was thrilled to get this opportunity to travel with the production to the East Coast. At Mohegan Sun I shared the stage with seven magicians, each highly-respected in the field. I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of great performers over the years, but THIS show was really special for me.

Check out what Magic Magazine had to say about my skills as a corporate event entertainer:

It’s Magic Goes East

The Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, house a 10,000- seat arena rated by Billboard magazine as the fourth best venue in the world. It regularly hosts top acts including Billy Joel, Elton John, and Bon Jovi. On April 24, 2011, It’s Magic joined that list, and the show’s first east coast appearance in its 54-year history featured an all-star lineup.

The arena was divided in half to accommodate a proscenium stage and an excellent lighting, sound, and video projection package to make everything “play big.” Easter Sunday’s 3 p.m. show began with the entrance of emcee Jeff Civillico, who wasted no time introducing the first act.

Appearing onstage via the Flambe illusion, Peter Gossamer launched into a high-impact opening set that included a fiery Blammo Box, Daniel Summers’ Cutting Edge illusion, Peter’s signature Chair Suspension, and a Multiplying Bottle routine, before Gossamer became the victim of a cylindrical Stretcher.

Civillico burst back onstage for his act. Aided by two men from the audience, he managed to mount a six-foot unicycle, ride it while juggling two clubs and a knife with a marshmallow impaled on the end, and then ear the jet-puffed snack, mid-pattern.

Next up, David & Dania performed their quick-changes to a tremendous ovation. No strangers to Mohegan Sun, they are a favorite half-time act for the WNBS’s Connecticut Sun that has made the venue its home since 2003.

Kevin James was next, performing his Bowl-A-Rama, Chaplin Box, and Operation. James finished his set of original material with his signature Snow.

Once the precipitation passed, it was ‘Stage Magician of the Year’ Dana Daniels’ turn to get big laughs in a huge room. Luigi the parrot’s “vanish” completed the ten-minute set, and Daniels received a well-deserved ovation.

Jeff McBride opened his set with his iconic mask act, followed by Miser’s Dream aided by very effective camerawork on the large video screens. McBride’s act featured glowing Dancing Canes, fans, and a mask from which he hypnotically plucked dozen of golden lights. He closed the set with his award-winning card productions, building the audience’s applause to a climax.

Mark Kalin began the closing act with his Eclipse illusion, engulfing the prop in flames before the Ginger burst into view. Their chemistry-driven Fire Spiker and Wakening Sawing followed, receiving audible gasps from the crowd. Their presentation of the Pol Levitation and Mark’s pilliar ball routine received some of the biggest reactions of the afternoon. The show closed with a cleverly staged Substitution Barrel.

Kalin left and enthusiastic audience of 5,000 with “See you next year,” and the hope that this world-class venue will be part of this world-class show’s touring schedule for the foreseeable future.”

-Matt Roberts

Thanks to It’s Magic for allowing me to me the Master of Ceremonies! Please be sure to check out more of my corporate event entertainer videos.

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“Make Your Company’s Challenges a Thing of the Past”

No matter where you work these days, chances are your company is facing one or more various challenges: a shrinking customer base, increasing competition, lower profits, high turnover, etc. In today’s economy, no one is immune from setbacks and obstacles. So what makes one company able to rebound and recover in the midst of adversity while other companies throw in the towel and give up? It all depends on the company’s ability to work through the challenge as a team.

Despite the proliferation of team building advice available, the fact is that most people don’t work together to accomplish something good for the company. Even though many workers give lip service to the idea of teamwork, they really still want to be seen as the hero – as the Lone Ranger who tackles the problem, figures out a unique solution, and gets all the credit. Compounding the problem is the economic meltdown. Since many companies are cutting costs and laying people off, no one wants to be seen as useless or dispensable. As a result, they take every opportunity they get to stand out and appear more knowledgeable or more skilled than anyone else.

While such an approach may enable someone to stay on board for another pay cycle, it does little to solve the company’s challenges. In order for true problem solving to take place, everyone needs to put pride and ego aside and truly work together to come up with viable solutions. In order to do so without feeling threatened or vulnerable, instill the following guidelines in your organization.

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Tags: Corporate Team Building Exercises, corporate team building leader
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“Being Healthy is Easier Than You Think”

The United States is one of the unhealthiest countries in the world – with more obese people than anywhere else on the globe. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), obesity in adults has increased by 60% within the past twenty years and obesity in children has tripled in the past thirty years. A staggering 33% of American adults are obese, and obesity-related deaths have climbed to more than 300,000 a year, second only to tobacco-related deaths.

So what’s the root of the problem? Quite simply, many Americans are eating too much and exercising too little. Between quick and easy processed foods with little nutritional value and an abundance of sedentary jobs and leisure activities that enable people to go literally hours without moving more than their fingers, it’s no wonder so many people are so overweight.

While changing your diet may seem like the obvious fix to losing those extra pounds, diet is only half the equation. In addition to cleaning up your eating habits by skipping the fast food and consuming more whole foods (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains), you also need to get moving. In other words, you need to exercise.

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“Maintain Your Market Value During Tough Economic Times”

Every entertainer has a perceived market value – the amount of money people are willing to pay for your services based on their past experience with you or their name recognition of you. Unfortunately, during tough economic times many entertainers feel they must reduce their fee in order to get the gig. They think short-term and become a “gig pig” rather than adopt a long-term philosophy of protecting their value. Whatever your perceived market value is, you must protect it, nurture it, and grow it despite the current economy. Lowering your price in the short-term economic recession hurts your long-term profitability. Granted, you need money now to pay your bills, so it might be easy to justify lowering your rates. There are other ways to make some short-term money to fill in any gaps in income, such as a temporary part time job. Even better, start saving some money so you have a cushion to fall back on when times are tight. Whatever you do, if you want to build your reputation, you need to turn down gigs that could hurt or inhibit your long-term pricing. As you work your way through the current recession, keep the following best practices in mind.

1. Don’t change your price; change who you market to.

If your current target market can no longer afford your fee, offer your services to a new market who can afford you. If you are a corporate entertainer, for example, and your fee is $5,000, that’s a lot of money for a company who paid $1,500 for the holiday party entertainer last year. For a company that paid $10,000 for their entertainment, however, $5,000 is a steal. If you work fairs, don’t waste time and money marketing to one- and two-day events. Go for the three-week fairs in Texas, California, and the massive Calgary Stampede Fair in Canada. These are the ones with bigger budgets who can afford your fee. Likewise, if you work birthday parties, target wealthy neighborhoods. If you work schools, target wealthy school districts. Economic pain is relative. So shift your focus to the target markets that consider your current fee a great deal.

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Tags: Corporate Entertainers, Corporate Event Entertainment Budgets, Perceived Market Value
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“Want Healthy and Active Kids? Give Juggling a Try!”

If you’re tired of your kids sitting around and playing video games all day and wish there was a way to get them to be more active and involved in a less sedentary pursuit, you may want to introduce them to juggling. The fact is that today’s youth are inundated with countless sedentary hobbies. The days of playing tag outside or riding bikes for hours seem to be fading away. No wonder the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cite that16 percent of children (over 9 million) 6-19 years old are overweight or obese – a number that has tripled since 1980.

Learning to juggle has many benefits for children. It enables them to engage their mind and body into a fun activity, it’s something “cool” that they can do to impress their friends, and when kids learn to juggle with their parents, it gives them a new way to connect and interact with each other.

By all accounts, juggling is a powerful hobby for today’s children. It provides the perfect disguise for teaching many useful life lessons in a way that is lively, engaging, and different. Here are a few of the essential life lessons both kids and adults can glean from juggling.

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Corporate Entertainment Testimonial- HR Florida State

“Thank you so much for your referral of Jeff Civillico as an entertainer for us. He was a big hit at the grand opening of our Expo Hall at the HR Florida State Conference on August 18. Jeff had the audience in the palm of his hand from the moment he started his act. We are sorry that Jeff could only do a small portion of his whole act due to our timing constraints and the need to accommodate our vendors. I’d gladly invite him back to do an entire full length routine for us!

Our conference, attended by 1200 HR professionals this week, just celebrated our 31st anniversary. It is a challenge to come up with new and different ideas for entertainment options that appeal to our entire group. This clearly was a great choice and I am still getting comments about what a great event we hosted. Jeff was a great choice for the Expo Hall. I am certain that several of our HR attendees from various organizations will be calling you to get booking information on Jeff for their local and regional events.

Thanks for making such a great referral to us. The service we’ve received from Expert Performers has been flawless and we’ve clearly raised the bar for HR Florida events going forward!

Sincerely,”

Marc Grad, SPHR
HR Florida State Conference Entertainment Chair 2009
Senior Director Recruitment & Retention Services
VITAS Healthcare Corporation

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Las Vegas Show – KA

Las Vegas Show KA: A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Cirque du Soleil is an entire language of its own. With seven successful shows scattered along the length of the Strip it still remains Vegas’ most sought after entertainment troupe.

“KA” strikes out in brand new territory, discarding the broad concepts and versatile interpretations of a more traditional Cirque Las Vegas show in favor of a more cohesive and utterly enchanting storyline.

The story revolves around Imperial Twins who become separated during an assault on their Far Eastern Palace. The tale is bold and visceral on its own, but it’s the storytellers that magnify the concept into the grand adventure that unfolds.

The Las Vegas show is facilitated by one of the most awe-inspiring stages ever constructed for a single purpose. With a $200 million budget and the visionary guidance of the world’s premiere emotional explorers, the “KA” Theatre was constructed to immerse the audience inside of an entire world, rather than have them sit just beyond its borders. The performance takes place in front of, below and above the audience, using a mobile stage and a complex network of rafters and beams that enhance and constantly shift the vantage point.

Through this elaborate structure the twins travel separate paths to a reunion, striking through stunning landscapes and encountering vivid and lifelike characters. The Vegas show retains all of the innovative and inspiring production elements that make Cirque du Soleil so special, including acrobatics, dance, unparalleled aerial stunts, adaptive orchestras, and the simply mesmerizing set pieces and costumes that brand the troupe as this generation’s pioneers of living fiction.