User:Kazoo23
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KAZOO23 is a moniker used by character magician and creator of Indy Magic Monthly at Theatre on the Square in Indianapolis, Taylor Martin. Taylor is a well known entertainer in Indianapolis, Indiana and has been a fixture of the Indy Fringe Festival since it's beginnings in 2005. His Andrea Merlyn Magic Shows and other performances have ranked very high in the festival. He is a member of the Society of American Magicians and currently a longtime member of Assembly #31.
Taylor's moniker comes from the fact that he worked for Merry Minstrel Singing Telegrams for 10 1/2 years and played the kazoo nearly everyday. The '23' comes from his interests in Robert Anton Wilson's and Robert Shea's "Illuminatus Trilogy" which featured '23' as a central theme. He was introduced to the novels by improv guru Del Close, after Taylor met him at a improvisation workshop at Indiana Central College in 1978. Taylor credits Del, along with the music of Frank Zappa as the 2 major influences on his performing life.
Taylor has been a magician for over 45 years, having been introduced to magic by his father, John Martin. "Jack" as he is known, worked for the Wurlitzer music company and traveled extensively before opening his own store for pianos and organs in Hartford, CT, in 1963. Clinton's Piano was a major supplier of keyboard instruments for Southern New England well into the 1970s. When Jack was a district sales manager, Tannen's Magic, at the time the world's largest magic store, was over the Wurlitzer store in NYC. Jack brought home professional magic and Taylor was smitten with the magic bug at the age of 8.
Taylor is billed as a character magician. He performs not only as Andrea Merlyn, Queen of Magic, but also as a family of magicians that are based on historical periods. The "Rodney Dynasty" of magicians includes "Rodney the Younger, Conjurer" from the Colonial American period, "Rodney the Elder, Escomateur", from the Renaissance and Medieval period and "Prof. Cecil Rodney, Wondermaker" from the 19th Century. He has performed all over the United States as his various characters. "Rodney the Younger" has performed at Somerset, PA for 18 years at Mountain Craft Days. This is held at the Somerset Historical Center every first weekend after Labor Day.
Taylor's 2008 show for the Indy Fringe Festival (indyfringe.org) is Andrea Merlyn's Magic Show: Glamour Redux. It will feature a new character named Esmerelda, a gypsy magician, who will be performing a routine with a magic guillotine. Don't have Royal Blood if you volunteer for this illusion.
Taylor has been married to Deborah Martin for 30 years. She is a teacher for Morristown High School in Morristown, IN.
[indymagicmonthly.com]
email: kazoo23@aol.com
