Greetings-

Just thought Id drop you vents a line to let you know about
Darren Carr who was a invited special guest at the 30th New Zealands Magician
convention here in Auckland over 4 days last week

Darren gave 3 shows which included MC for the night & performance spots in the International Sellout stars night including Whit Haydn, John Carney, Paul Daniels & Debbie McGee and Paul Romhany which
as a show was world class to see

Darrens act was as Brilliant a performance in the main shows & Gala Banquet Dinner , had the audience in
hysterics with his stand up comedy as well as when the doll was out, A polished performance at its best
Darren was a huge hit in all the shows and had the audiences in the palm of his hand especially with the mask routine with an audience member that was so clever & very funny-a real highlight!

Darren also gave a 90 min lecture that initself was thought provoking from a perfomers point of view
as well as he didn't pull any punches about faults in show business acts & agents etc etc that harm us all....

A real highlight of the convention to see a true Pro win over Magicians with his Professionalism
and easy approachable manner-Darren is a top act & Australia should be proud to have a vent of world class
standing....

Cheers

I too had the pleasure of attending the NZ Convention and seeing Darren Carr. He is absolutely fantastic. At the Banquet on the last night of the convention everyone was pretty exhausted and it was hard to concentrate on the entertainment. As soon as Darren walked on stage he had everyone listening and laughing and he even got a standing ovation!

It was a fantastic convention with so many wonderful, talented headliners, but Darren was definitely the highlight for me and I think for a lot of other attendees too.

Couldn't agree more Sarah

Even Backstage running the 2 main public shows I thoughtThe performers were great
and Darren was great fun

Thanks for your comments

Great you could make it & look forward to seeing your act sometime!

Cheers

Oh, dear.

I love discovering new vents whom I've never heard of before and finding their performances on YouTube. But...

I'm afraid that Mr. Carr has done some significant "borrowing" from other vents. For instance, he titles himself "The Two and Only," which was the title of Jay Johnson's Tony-award winning Broadway show. The out-of-sync Japanese movie bit is Kevin Johnson's. The old man hearing aid bit is taken directly from Dan Horn.

And as far as being Australia's "top ventriloquist," I think David Strassman (although an American ex-pat) is more deserving of that title.

Sorry to be contrary. No offense meant.

Bob

Darren didn't use any of the above mentioned routines in his act from old you tube clips
so I can only comment on what I saw Live as a Producer of 3 shows but all performers
copy & alter other acts to some degree as no doubt you do as well as myself.

Strassman Ive seen Live as well many times here in Auckland and from a
purley lay audience reaction & comments point of view being in the Industry-Darrens corporate act is
is the better of the 2.

But they are both fabulous entertainers so kudos to them.....

Darren Carr is leagues above Strassman. Another class of entertainer entirely.

Copy? You mean steal. I don't think so. Alter - maybe but not without permission to use the initial idea whenever possible.
I have to agree. What I saw of Darren Carr was a lot of copying, but to be fair, maybe he has stopped since.

Strassman is original, innovative..truly in a league all his own. His commercial success overseas for the last 20 years speaks for itself. Just my .02.

Matt, I agree with you about Strassman. I think he's one of the five best in the world, a real original and a great actor to boot.

I agree that Strassman is one of the best. His shows are theatrical in every sense of the word. I can see that Darren Carr would be a terrific corporate entertainer, but I think Strassman is--forgive me--an artist. Chuck Wood and Ted E. Bear have more than personality, they have character. Strassman works hard to give his characters an off-stage life, and he succeeds remarkably well. Unlike many ventriloquist's figures, Strassman's creations are unique, consistent, and unforgettable.

And, Brent, I do not "copy and alter" other's acts. If I want to use something I've seen another performer do, I always seek his/her permission and pay a fee if requested to do so.

You are forgiven Bob, 'artist' is the word I'd use to describe David Strassman also.

Agree entirely!! but each to their own as performers so good luck to them, there both very good!

At least other perfomers can work with & tour with Darren!

Strassman-I wont even begin to tell you of the problems that's he well known for ...........

Also Bob-perhaps copy was not the right word previous post as we all know its not the ethical thing to do!
but creating your own act to your own style based loosely on the previous masters etc...
In magic we don't copy vernons rings but its a guideline to create your own masterpiece-

Cheers