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Free Magic Secrets Revealed by Mark Leiren-Young (Harbour Publishing $26.95)
At some point in most male teenager's life, a girl will be the motivating factor for some completely harebrained scheme. For 17-year-old Mark Leiren-Young, that girl was a long-time crush who had placed him in the dreaded friend-zone.
In a candid, often painful, but always amusing memoir of post-pubescent ambitions for fame and love, Free Magic Secrets Revealed (Harbour $26.95), Mark Leiren-Young recalls how he set out to win the heart of-or at least the attention of-Sarah Saperstein, by producing his own rock & roll magic show.
It is established early on that our lanky protagonist is definitely not one of the cool kids in school. While the self-described "built to be beaten up"; Leiren-Young fails to achieve the lofty status of jock-dom, or the fantasized Nirvana of rock-dom, he does have one redeeming factor: he can write.
Our nerdy hero manages to become the writer and director of Black Metal Fantasy (the company he dreamed up with friend and magician, Randy Kagna) for a production that a big-name promoter, Rainbow, is going to take on.
Everything is bright and rosy. A prospective financier is in place and, better still, attractive females have been cast for the roles. Fame and fortune beckon from the proverbial horizon. Rainbow promises them a tour.
Meanwhile Leiren-Young is working part-time by dressing up in costumes for children's parties, often as a gorilla or a rabbit. These bizarre gigs give him a taste of theatre, or at least entertainment, but they border on humiliation He always keeps his rabbit or gorilla head on his shoulders, not wanting to be unmasked. Once he speaks and someone suspects his identity, he makes a hasty exit.
While mounting Black Metal Fantasy, Leiren-Young soon discovers the harsh realities of show business, such as the difference between a promoter and a producer. It turns out Rainbow is strictly a promotion company and they won't pay the bills. Meanwhile Mr. Rabbit Head's troubles with the fairer sex continue.
A girl comes to his house, bringing wine and almond oil. Leiren-Young informs her he is allergic to nuts. She tells him the oil is not for eating. A massage session ensues. "I was about to go right there,"; he recalls, "when we heard the key in the lock. It was Randy. The only time I'd ever put out the coat hanger and the selfish bastard ignored it.";
Amid other cringe-worthy anecdotes of frustration, confusion and failure, teasing and mixed signals abound. Throw in the unceasing presence of drugs and alcohol, and Leiren-Young perfectly captures the awkwardness of teenage lust and peer-group shenanigans.
None of the humour in Free Magic Secrets Revealed is of the mawkish, laugh-out-loud variety; rather this is a continuously endearing confessional in keeping with the playwright's preceding memoir, Never Shoot A Stampede Queen (Heritage 2008), winner of the 2009 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.
978-1-55017-607-0
Eric Wilkins is a post-pubescent non-magician who attends Douglas College.
In a candid, often painful, but always amusing memoir of post-pubescent ambitions for fame and love, Free Magic Secrets Revealed (Harbour $26.95), Mark Leiren-Young recalls how he set out to win the heart of-or at least the attention of-Sarah Saperstein, by producing his own rock & roll magic show.
It is established early on that our lanky protagonist is definitely not one of the cool kids in school. While the self-described "built to be beaten up"; Leiren-Young fails to achieve the lofty status of jock-dom, or the fantasized Nirvana of rock-dom, he does have one redeeming factor: he can write.
Our nerdy hero manages to become the writer and director of Black Metal Fantasy (the company he dreamed up with friend and magician, Randy Kagna) for a production that a big-name promoter, Rainbow, is going to take on.
Everything is bright and rosy. A prospective financier is in place and, better still, attractive females have been cast for the roles. Fame and fortune beckon from the proverbial horizon. Rainbow promises them a tour.
Meanwhile Leiren-Young is working part-time by dressing up in costumes for children's parties, often as a gorilla or a rabbit. These bizarre gigs give him a taste of theatre, or at least entertainment, but they border on humiliation He always keeps his rabbit or gorilla head on his shoulders, not wanting to be unmasked. Once he speaks and someone suspects his identity, he makes a hasty exit.
While mounting Black Metal Fantasy, Leiren-Young soon discovers the harsh realities of show business, such as the difference between a promoter and a producer. It turns out Rainbow is strictly a promotion company and they won't pay the bills. Meanwhile Mr. Rabbit Head's troubles with the fairer sex continue.
A girl comes to his house, bringing wine and almond oil. Leiren-Young informs her he is allergic to nuts. She tells him the oil is not for eating. A massage session ensues. "I was about to go right there,"; he recalls, "when we heard the key in the lock. It was Randy. The only time I'd ever put out the coat hanger and the selfish bastard ignored it.";
Amid other cringe-worthy anecdotes of frustration, confusion and failure, teasing and mixed signals abound. Throw in the unceasing presence of drugs and alcohol, and Leiren-Young perfectly captures the awkwardness of teenage lust and peer-group shenanigans.
None of the humour in Free Magic Secrets Revealed is of the mawkish, laugh-out-loud variety; rather this is a continuously endearing confessional in keeping with the playwright's preceding memoir, Never Shoot A Stampede Queen (Heritage 2008), winner of the 2009 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.
978-1-55017-607-0
Eric Wilkins is a post-pubescent non-magician who attends Douglas College.
Submitted on September 10, 2013 in By David.
