By the pricking of my thumbs... something Wicked this way comes.

It is strange to be a part of the 21st Century, but live in the Victorian time period.
The work and toil to create a New World is almost complete,  Prof. Crookshan's Traveling Medicine Show will soon be unveiled for all to see. Whimsical, strange and mysterious, this show has all of the trappings of a Edgar Allen Poe / Lewis Carrol story.

A stranger has come to town, bringing with him mysteries from the far reach's of another time and place. A purveyor of wonderment, that promises you the world... for a price.

The excitement builds as I draw closer to unveiling this New Production and Attraction. So much time has gone into building and creating this colorful, alternate reality. Years of study and practical experience have gone into this New creation of a World that I once played in when I was a young man.

 Prof. Crookshank's Traveling Medicine Show began as my first real production in 1979. I was fascinated with the Vaudeville time period and had witnessed in 1977, Sid Lorraine perform his 'Amazing Fraznia' routine at my first magic convention with my grandfather. The idea that a man, a stranger, could peddle medicines and unusual inventions to the public, seemed both amazing and sinister.

 In 1979, I went to Los Angles for my first time and witnessed at Knotts Berry Farm, a full stage production of an old time Medicine Show, complete with a Showman's Caravan as a backdrop. The performer was hilarious and reminded me of a mix between Willy Wonka and the Great Oz from The Wizard of Oz.

From that moment onward I had it in my mind that I would create my own Medicine Show, to travel to carnivals for entertainment. I ran my Medicine Show from 1979 to 1991 and played at the Calgary Stampede and many other Carnivals and Fairs all over Western Canada.

Flash forward to 2011... Prof. Crookshank's Traveling Medicine Show is almost ready to hit the road. The website will be up in under a week, and the Showman's Caravan I have spoken about in previous posts, will be finished. This production will be huge in size and scope, bringing with it opportunities to build even a larger world as time goes on.

In my next blog, I will talk about the building of the Showman's Caravan...