Comedian and magician John Cassidy brought laughter, fear and everything in between to UTM’s latest 909 comedy performance.
Children and students alike shouted vigorously when the world’s fasted balloon artist would ask who wanted his next spectacular balloon creation. Cassidy was more than happy to oblige, and tossed hundreds of balloons into the audience, leaving no one empty-handed.
Cassidy’s show called for an incredible amount of audience participation; the most memorable of which was when he allowed two eager toddlers to come on stage and then treated them to balloon butterfly wings and hats made on the spot.
The audience members that took a balloon home are likely to have them for quite some time; when asked how long Cassidy’s balloon creations stay inflated, he said, “Longer than you want them to.”
Cassidy even joked that he had been burdened by balloons that refused to deflate for up to two weeks. This leads to a lot of balloon popping, which Cassidy admits has affected his hearing over the years.
Cassidy’s shows are meant to entertain everyone, including himself; one of his favorite things to do with his volunteers is scare them with several startling gags. These gags, such as spring-loaded snakes and popping balloons by remote control, sent Cassidy into a fit of giggles when done successfully. There was no harm done though, as the audience and the volunteers alike laughed along when Cassidy satisfied his urge for a practical joke.
Despite constantly inflating balloons and running back and forth on stage, Cassidy performed for roughly an hour without getting winded. He admits that he has run out of breath on stage before, but not since the ‘80s. He does make balloon animals specifically for his act while on the way to a show, but only in order to save time.
Cassidy’s wife Jen aided in his performance offstage; an arrangement that has worked well for many years. Jen’s job involved playing music for comedic effect and taking props offstage once the stage had become full, and this was just during the show. Based on the amount of work that had to be done before and after the show, Jen’s contribution to the performance was bigger than the audience is aware.
When Jen first saw the performance schedule time for 9:09, her first assumption was that it must be a mistake. When the couple noticed that the name of the comedy program was 909, Jen’s next guess was that it was a reference to the song “One After 909” by The Beatles, Jen’s favorite band. Whether this is an accurate guess or not is unknown at this time.
