Hi Victor
Here’s where I’m headed with the 2010 story
Thanks again for the help
RON
MIDDLEBURY, Conn. – It will truly be a family affair this summer when Victor Kent, his wife, Mami, and seven children perform at amusement parks, fairs and festivals across the United States.
“It will be great to have the entire family on the road,” Victor said from his home in Oroville, Calif., where the Kent Family Magic Circus has been rehearsing for its 2010 tour.
As the veteran showman discussed the upcoming excursion, he was extremely excited to announce that the couple’s 12-year-old son, Titus, would be part of the act this year.
“Titus is disabled and will be joining the show on tour for the first time,” Victor pointed out. “He loves it (performing) and is doing an all-school show this week in our hometown in front of his special ed class and other students.”
The Kent Family Magic Circus returns Aug. 2-15 to Quassy Amusement Park’s Lakeside Theatre after a highly-successful, two-week run at the park in 2009.
“Mami has not performed as a regular with the family for 13 years,” Victor asserted, as she stayed home to care for Titus. She will be doing some juggling as well as an audience-participation “haunted house illusion” in the new production.
A Little Vaudeville
Also new to the Kents’ repertoire is an opening segment in tribute to Vaudeville legends Eddie Foy And The Seven Little Foys.
“It’s basically a short opener for our 2010 show,” Victor said of the production. Foy was a soft-shoe comedian in the glory days of variety entertainment during the early 1900s and worked with his seven children as well.
“We found some old footage of them performing, so we’ve incorporated a little dance and some jokes – not to mention a ton of money on authentic costumes and music from the era,” Victor explained. So we would get it right many hours of research were involved.
The Kent Family Magic Circus kicks into high speed from there with the tempo and style of shows audiences have raved about.
“We’ve simply added more talent and some new stuff for this year,” Victor continued. “One new act is the $100-100-foot rope challenge, which is one of the funniest routines we have.”
Escape Artist
Up to four audience members – children or adults – have the opportunity to tie up 9-year-old Victor Kent Jr. with 100 feet of rope. If the young escape artist can’t get out the mangled series of knots encasing him in the time allotted – the same time it took to tie him up – the Kent family will pay out $100 to each participant in the rope-tying act.
“I haven’t spent a dime as yet, except for the rope,” Victor quipped.
The other Kent children taking the stage this summer are: Jim, 20, Cynthia, 18, Miles, 16, Amelia, 7 and Olivia, 4.
Both Jim and Cynthia became members of Victor’s magic show before they were 5 years old. As for Victor, he has been performing since he was 7 and became a professional entertainer as a teenager.
“As each of our children joined the show, it meant leaving a toddler crying at the door when we left to go perform,” he said of incorporating the youngsters into the act. “It broke my heart leaving them behind, so I found ways to put our toddlers in the show. Some of them took to it like fish to water, while others were a little goofy onstage.”
‘Jugglin Jim’ – A Phenomenon
While performing at a summer fair, Jim, 10 at the time, met a juggler who started teaching the youngster some routines.
Enthused about his newly-discovered art, Jim worked up an act of his own and began performing in the family’s show in 1999, bringing variety to what was generally a magic-only performance.
Today he is known as “Jugglin’ Jim” and wows audiences with a variety of stunts using pins, flaming wands, spinning tops and a unicycle.
Quassy audiences were awe-struck last summer when he balanced a wheelbarrow and six foot stepladder on his chin. (This year they will have a 10' ladder with them.)
Between shows, Jim entertained the park crowds as a stilt-walker and juggler, engaging guests along the walkways and in the restaurant with his unique talents.
The Kents will again bring their unique walk-around style of entertainment to the park again this summer with, stilt-walking, juggling and costume character appearances in between the stage shows.
The Act Is Born
In 2003 the Kent Family Magic Circus was officially born, making a transition from what was formally known as the Kent Family Magic Show.
“By the time the kids turn 10, they each decide which direction they want to go with the show,” Victor reflects.
Cynthia turned to clowning but is also an integral part of numerous illusion acts. The current production is billed as being a “magical, Vaudeville, variety, circus-like show.”
Meet ‘Indiana Miles’
Then there is “Indiana Miles,” who has become a master of the bullwhip by snapping a finger trap out of Victor’s mouth with a single stroke.
“He has caught me accidently with it (whip) on occasion,” Victor said of the act.
The most memorable incident was when the fall of the whip hit Victor on the head.
“The fall (the long part that connects the whip body to the cracker) came around my head and face, and as the cracker made its ‘crack,’ it hit the finger trap. It was a once in a lifetime shot and quite hilarious.”
A startled Victor was uninjured by the miscue though the cracker of the whip – traveling 900 mph – left some “road burn” on one cheek.
Victor, Jr., Amelia and Olivia all have their place in the show as they assist with illusions and some of the circus-style acts.
“Because the kids have grown up knowing we have to be on the stage, they are ready when it’s time to perform,” Victor said of the children.
No DVDs or iPods
The family performs around 300 shows a year, with a huge schedule usually piling up during the summer months at amusement parks, fairs and festivals.
And while countless hours are sometimes spent in the van between stops, the children are not entertained with DVDs, video games or iPods.
As a result, Victor says, they are forced to do “old-fashioned” things such as keeping journals, reading, drawing pictures and occasionally listening to old time radio shows on cd.
Cynthia, an AP student, has had a massive amount of summer homework to take with during recent July and August tours. The other Kent children are also expected to keep up with their studies in between shows.
“Our children attend a Christian school from kindergarten through grade six,” Victor said of their education. They are home schooled during grades seven and eight and then go to public high school.
“They go to high school for different reasons,” he pointed out. Jim went for band, while Cynthia, a natural hurdler, attended for sports. Miles, on the other hand, is the athletic captain for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at school.
Academically, the Kent children are all 4.0 students.
“We have what we call the first-time obedience rule in our household,” Victor noted, “so if I’m counting out loud the kids know it’s too late.
“As a Christian family, we base our beliefs and attitudes on our faith. In large families such as ours, the older kids help a lot when it comes to taking care of the younger ones and the young kids learn to respect their older siblings. That makes traveling a lot easier.”
During the extended periods away from home, Victor calls Mami at least three times a day.
The family also collects butterflies during its summer tour – acquiring them in as many states as they can.
Numerous families they have met throughout their travels have also adopted the Kents through their Web site blog.
What To Expect
The Kents will be rotating three different shows during their 2010 Quassy appearance, allowing guests to return to see different illusions and circus-style acts.
“It doesn’t matter what you perform, so long as you entertain the crowd,” the veteran performer noted. “Someday we’ll settle down in one location as the kids develop outside interests. I’ve learned to constantly adjust and accept wherever God takes us.”
For more information about the Kent Family Magic Circus visit www.kentfamilymagiccircus.com.
For more information about Quassy Amusement Park visit www.quassy.com
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