News from Mark Mitton

Russell Richardson is a British filmmaker and the Executive Director of the Indie Programs in Boiceville, NY, up in the Catskills. He and his colleagues teach at-risk high school students how to make films, and many of these student films have won awards at festivals. In fact, some of their films will be shown at the 2007 Woodstock Film Festival in October. Last week he came over with his camera and made a little film of me doing sleight-of-hand with a cup and some other simple objects. It was fun to play around with this medium. I hope we can show you the film soon.

Last night I performed at the Ronald McDonald House on the Upper East Side. Although I have performed in many hospitals in the past, for some reason I had never been to a Ronald McDonald House. It turns out that this one in New York is the biggest one in the world. They are located right near all the major hospitals, and a lot of the kids staying there are being treated at Sloan-Kettering. They fly in from all over the world with their parents, and the House provides an affordable place to stay while they undergo their treatments every day. At night there are all sorts of activities for the kids.

The night that I was there, they had a “Prom” theme, with pizza and “cocktails” and music. I started out by performing at the tables, while the kids were eating with their families, and I went around the room. Later, they all gathered around and I did a show for the group. One little girl named Chloe kept wanting me to pull little sponge bunnies out of her shoe. It was wonderful to see the kids laughing and smiling, and the parents had a lot of fun too.