Jamie Anderson

At an age when most kids are starting to learn to tie their shoes, Mike Bliss of Branson, Mo., began practicing the art of magic.

“I started doing magic when I was three-and-a-half years old,” said Bliss. “I saw a kid cut a string in half and restore it.”

From there, Bliss began to hone his skills with the help of his parents and books from the library.

“I always worked on it in grade school,” said Bliss. “When I got to junior high, I started working on being funny and making people laugh. Laughing is a key connection with people.”

Bliss – a professional comedian/magician/juggler who has been living in Branson for 17 years – is originally from Carthage, Mo., and attended College of the Ozarks. Bliss lives in Branson for about six months a year full-time and then does shows across the country. He has been voted Branson’s Specialty Act of the Year, and in 2007, he and his two boys appeared on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent”.

Mike Bliss and the Incredible Bliss Brothers will be at the Swiftel Center on March 27. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are on sale now. Adults are $12 and children $10. The performance includes comedy, magic, juggling and fun.

“(I perform) a lot of university and church events,” said Bliss. “The Swiftel opportunity came up because I haven’t been there. It will be a great, fun family show in a venue like that. You get a wider range of people.”

Bliss has five children, and as they have gotten older, they have begun participating in the show, as well. Bliss’s sons, Zachary, 10, and Stephen, 9, make up the Incredible Bliss Brothers part of the performance.

“Zachary was only 4