www.seancarpenter.co.uk

BRITISH CHAMPION OF CLOSE-UP MAGIC 2003

What can I tell you about Sean Carpenter?

Quite a lot actually, as I AM him. I should get that into the open right at the start, as when you read in a magician's profile that "Billy Sparkle is a natural born entertainer", you can't help suspecting that Billy Sparkle is the bloke who wrote it.

So let's start at the beginning, my career plans changed at around the age of eight when I decided that I wasn't going to become a zoo-keeper after all, and that when I grew up I wanted to be Paul Daniels! This was, after all, the late 1970's. At the time Paul was the new golden boy of television - and nobody even suspected that it wasn't his real hair. It was for this reason that I bought my first magic book called "The Trixter's Handbook". I can't remember who wrote it - but that's possibly a good thing as I have a horrible suspicion that it might have been Giles Brandreth. I don't need to tell you what a terrible kick in the underpants for my credibility that would be. The book did, however, inspire me to write my first joke. I'm told that I shoved the it up the arm of my jumper and then walked up to my teacher and said - "look, I've got some tricks up my sleeve". This is very funny if you are eight.

As a teenage magician my main claim to fame was being the first person ever to be expelled from the BMS junior section! To this day I'm still not convinced that children's magic clubs are a good idea as they can often suppress originality rather than encourage it. I was also a finalist in the Magic Circle's "Young Magician of the Year Competition" when I was 17.

After school I studied drama for two years, and then turned professional when I was offered a summer season at an old people's home masquerading as a holiday centre in Devon. I enjoyed it so much that I've never worked on a holiday camp since - but I did earn the distinction of being the only member of the entertainments team not to be sacked! Since then all my seasonal work has been on ferries and cruise ships. The uncensored version of "The Scandinavia Letters", the Abra series I wrote with Russ Styler about our experiences on the Oslo to Copenhagen ferry, should be still available the circle library.

Since winning the IBM close-up competition (2001) I'm also planning on promoting myself more for magical events, especially over-seas. I've published quite a lot of original effects in different magazines, so I'm now working on a new lecture with a view to establishing myself in that market.

Finally, for all trivia lovers, my magical heroes and influences would include: David Williamson, Paul Harris, Bro John Hamman, Harry Lorayne, Jerry Sadowitz, John Bannon, Simon Aronson, Max Maven, Geoff Durham, Richard McDougal, Andy Nyman, Derren Brown, Brian Lee (the first magician I ever saw at the age of 5 - I can still remember laughing until I could hardly breath), and Paul Daniels for sparking my interest in the first place.

Sean's blend of magic and comedy has been described by The Stage and Television Today as "outstanding". He has appeared at many of the UK's leading hotels and conference centres, has performed very successfully across Scandinavia, and his performances on Cruise Liners have taken him to over thirty different countries from the Arctic to the Caribbean.

Previous clients include BBC Television, Central Television, Jaguar, BMW . . . . and the Three Cooks Bakery in Dudley.