Hi Guys,

Not sure if this post is in the right place or not, oh well here is the deal!

I have a corporate dinner party coming up for the national Diabetic foundation and they would like me to theme some magic or jokes around a diabetic theme or linked to diabetes?

I have a couple of ideas but this is proving to be a tough one for me! The key is to be entertaining and have the audience on my side, but to do this without poking fun at the illness, it is a bit of a fine line!

Love to hear your thoughts on this and any ideas you may have for diabetic themed magic!

Cheers,

Matt Johnson

Insulin Needle through the Arm...lord I apologize for that joke.

If you burn Joe, at least you'll know that "I'm" laughing. LOL

Well, Matt, I don't know what kind of magic you prefer doing but I'm a diabetic myself so maybe I can shoot a couple of ideas your way. Of course, you have to decide for yourself how to use them (if at all).

And just for the record: a good joke about diabetes is always welcome! People don't like to be reduced to their "disabilities"! Many a "disabled" person will laugh loudly at a good joke about his condition, whereas a "normal" person will only titter shyly because he thinks he's being politically incorrect...

So, here are just a few ideas:
- mental act: "predict bloodsugar level" -- sorry, I don't perform mental acts, so I'm not sure how to do this. But I guess something along the lines of "I'm faster and more accurate than your maschine!" might work.
- make an insulin pump melt into your body (i.e. vanish/reappear) -- saves room and doesn't get in your way (believe me I know what I'm talking about!)
- a "Miser's Dream Special" -- produce masses of diabetic equipment. You'll get phonecalls from diabetics wanting stuff they otherwise can't get. You've no idea how expensive this stuff is!
- "cigarette up nose" with injections -- special place to keep them
- actually many cigarette tricks might work with injections! Only problem is injections are going out of fashion among diabetics.
- the "injection through arm" thing Joe suggested doesn't sound too bad either! -- makes you hope you'll never be a diabetic if the needles go right through you.
- spongeball routine using spongeballs in the shape of sugar or sweets or whatever -- useful if the bloodsugar is too low

Strangely I never thought of any routines involving diabetes. Guess it's because I live with it daily and don't pay much attention to it anymore. It only then registers when I start feeling a low bloodsugar coming during a performance. Or if my insulin pump gets in the way of my moves...

I've known I was diabetic for about 15 years, now. Maybe I can give you some pointers.

First thing -- read up on the subject. That way, you won't make any really stupid mistakes. Be aware that there is more than one kind of diabetes.

Find out what the actual theme of the party is. Every convention these days has a theme -- use that as a magic word. Or use the name of the association as a magic word.

One thing you could do is have some object that represents diabetes, and make it disappear.

Otherwise, just do the show the way you would ordinarily work. We laugh at the same jokes everyone else does. Heck, some of us even write them!

But you don't need to go overboard with jokes about diabetes.

Remember, being diabetic means never having to worry about whether your bladder still functions.