David McElroy

Penn Jillette never expected to be a star. He also had no interest in doing magic. In the late ‘70s, he and Teller were two-thirds of an act called the Asparagus Valley Cultural Society. As part of that group — and then later as Penn & Teller — they played carnivals and renaissance festivals.

In a recent interview, Jillette says Teller brought the idea of doing magic to the duo and they started incorporating it into their show. But they were still essentially a carnival act trying to figure out what they were — what sort of art they were making and who their audience might be. They had been making a living — barely — for most of a decade and were still trying to figure out what they were.

They got the idea to take their show to theaters, so they committed to a full year of theater shows to see whether they could make it in that world. But as they started performing to small crowds, Jillette panicked. He said they were selling 10 or 15 tickets in a theater that seated 90 people — so he started trying to line up carnival gigs again.

Then something happened — and I can’t stop thinking about how this lesson might apply to me.

Keep Reading

For years now, I’ve been talking about wanting a home video studio. I have a strong desire to make a more direct connection with you — and this is the best way I know how to do that.

This is an introduction to the rudimentary home studio which I’ve recently put together. My technical capabilities will improve over time and I hope to be more entertaining in the future. There are still a lot of issues to be worked out, but I hope you’ll take a look at this four-minute introduction to what I have so far.

Keep Reading