I’m Evan Reynolds, 50. I have a son, Xander, 14 and a daughter, Piper, who is 12. My mother moved in with us recently – she had been living in Virginia. We also have a cat named Buttons who is very affectionate and fluffy. Very fluffy. Unavoidably fluffy. I have given up having clothing without cat hair on it. We live in a 100-year-old house in Queen Anne that I love. We have an all native yard, and if you watch around the bird feeder you’ll not only see birds and squirrels but several mice, all collectively named Mrs. Brisby by my daughter.
Where might Seattle parents run into your family around town?
We love playing games at Blue Highway Games. The Burke Museum just reopened with a café from Off the Rez food truck, and they very abruptly became my favorite museum (Sorry Museum of Flight!) We also love the Pacific Science Center, especially the giant chess set, but now that my museum rating scale goes from one to Indian Tacos, I’ve become very biased. Except for the Woodland Park Zoo, because they have penguins. I’ve had to really keep an eye on my kids at the penguin enclosure lately, though. I probably shouldn’t have taught them to pick locks.
Tell us about your variety show!
I had been doing some corporate events and got to meet and see some performers I really thought were fantastic – jugglers, acrobats, etc. I wanted my kids to see them, too, but corporate shows are private, and theater venues usually serve alcohol so aren’t that kid-friendly. I figured I couldn’t be the only parent who would want to see some of these performers with my kids, so I took a shot and started a family-friendly variety show.
We kept prices low (they were “pay what you can," and are currently totally free) to make sure everyone could attend, but the Syrian refugee crisis made me think a lot about that – I’m half Syrian – and we deliberately made the show more about accessibility of the arts to everyone, not just families. We also ran a few shows that served as fundraisers for the International Rescue Committee, mostly because they are actually doing the stuff to help people that I wish I could do.
Somewhere in there we ended up with a grant from the Neighborhood Matching Fund and the show became totally free, which is amazing! They have a focus on building community, and that lines up perfectly with what we are trying to do. We also have a wonderful relationship with our venue, the University Heights Center, as their goals also line up beautifully with ours!
The show usually has a different band that plays each month and different performers – we’ve recently had an electro-swing band, Good Co, and next month have a bluegrass band named High Seagrass. Recent performers include a magician who came down from Canada, cruise ship performers, Cirque du Soleil performers, the Alchemy Tap Project, and lots more – all free, all child-friendly – but these aren’t kid shows. Just kid friendly!
What is one of the most meaningful things that has happened at one of your magic shows?
I recall taking my daughter to elementary school on the first day of school. I left her in the playground and then passed a crying kid and his mom … I’m a kids entertainer. I did something magical. Distraction sometimes can just sort of pop a kid out of that mode. Two years later his mom approached me at a magic show and told me they’d just moved into town, it was his first day with everyone being new and he had just lost it and she didn’t know what to do – but that trick just turned the whole day around. If that mom reads this: Thank you for telling me.
What did your family dress up as for Halloween?
This year my daughter went as Bellatrix Lastrange and looked fantastic. My son wanted to go as a crusader, which took more hardware – so we 3D printed a helmet and I taught him to make chainmail. We also started making gauntlets from soda can aluminum – and then he broke his finger and couldn’t work on it. (I’m an indoor, "Let’s read a book or play a game" kind of guy, I was NOT prepared for a sports injury!) Next year I’m laying down a “no breaking bones” rule. As is, this year I ended up making a lot of chain mail.
What’s something that Seattle parents would be surprised to learn about you?
My intern can solve a Rubik’s cube faster than I can (I take about 90 seconds, he takes about 45.) I’ve built a full sized functioning R2-D2 that is actually movie quality, drives around, lights up, and talks.
I have a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee Space Institute where I got to do rocket science. (I see a car driving around Queen Anne with a UT bumper sticker and one day I’m going to be able to say hello to you!) But oddly, no one has yet asked me ANYTHING about fluid dynamics during a magic show. Not that I remember that much at this point …
Where do you like to vacation as a family?
Mostly when we go anywhere it’s a cabin or something, or to visit family. My son is up for pretty much anything that has a hot tub, really. But answering “to a hot tub” to this question feels like a dodge. The last trip we took was to Las Vegas. My daughter joined a bridge club at school. Then she brought home a trophy. Then she asked me if she could fly to Vegas to enter a tournament. There was a very fast mix of emotions that went from “you want to do WHAT?!” to “wait, Las Vegas?” in about two seconds. It was a great trip and we all had a blast – there was a hot tub.
Is there anything you are working on that the Seattle's Child parent community can help you with?
The Variety show is totally free but it always needs volunteers, help in just telling people about the show – and of course the dream is to find a corporate sponsor or two, as well as getting another grant once this one expires! And we want to invite families, immigrants, refugees, families in crisis, special needs kids and their families – everyone is welcomed and wanted. I would love help reaching and inviting people that can’t usually attend shows like this. We are fully funded through a good chunk of 2020 and will go back to “pay what you can” after that, which includes free. But funding is nice, so if anyone has advice or contacts to help get a corporate sponsor or anything else I would LOVE to talk to them!
Have an idea for how to support Evan in his mission to make magic accessible for all? Email us and we'll get the message to him.
