Unusual home working jobs – the magician

Home working but different.

I can honestly say that when thinking of home working, a magician has never sprung to mind! Until Careena Fenton got in touch, that is:

Hi Careena, how did Picklelily Circus come about?
It was when I began to book parties for other entertainers.  I used to just be a solo worker, Picklelily, but as I got more and more popular I couldn’t do all the parties that came in myself. So I developed an entreprenuerial streak and started booking parties for my friends and co workers, as well as devising new party formats and themes.

Tell us about the kind of jobs you can do while home working
I write new scripts for storytelling parties, I write bespoke treasure hunts and plan parties over the phone with clients, and of course, home working includes practicing magic for at least two hours every day.  I try and spend half my day on the business and half my day on the “show”.

To me, being able to keep children entertained is magic in itself – what’s the knack, do you think?
I think the knack is that I don’t talk down to them or patronise the children. Plus I have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for them to have as much fun as possible.  I also genuinely like people!  If I’m doing a magic show for children I do a lot of “proper” sleight of hand magic with comedy and fun as I would do for adults but of course the delivery and presentation is entirely different. 
Nothing annoys me more than entertainers who go on and on miscalling colours or using sucker tricks that make the children look silly. It’s really outdated.  I can remember watching a magic show like that as a child and being really bored, so I stay well away from winding up the audience!

Do you do those great, classic tricks like making a rabbit appear from a hat?
I get really busy on weekends so no, it wouldn’t be fair to transport a poor rabbit around in the car with me all day, especially in the summer months.  I do perform a lot of classics of magic such as the miser’s dream where coins appear from the air and behind peoples ears in a continuous stream of magical coins into a champagne bucket. That’s the sort of magic I love, it appeals to a family audience rather than just kids or just adults!

What’s the most memorable event you’ve organised?
I’ve organised a few now, but one of my favourite has to be the launch of a shopping centre in Bury St Edmunds where we filled the centre with street theatre and free runners. 
Another one was devising and producing a Halloween scare attraction called “Seance – Spirits unleashed” at Warwick Castle.  Having said that I love organising birthday parties as well!  I have a varied home working career!

What gives you the greatest satisfaction from your work?
Happy faces, a room full of kids having fun and happy parents at the end of the party!

Careena runs picklelilycircus.co.uk, providing magical entertainers for parties and events for all ages from tots to teenagers.

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