What is real magic? I can tell you this from my personal experience: When I perform sleight of hand magic, folks know I am the source of trickery behind the illusion. Often the reaction to this type of “skill-magic” is shock, amazement and applause; also, appreciation of techniques I have mastered and a respect for skill I have attained. But when I perform mentalism, the effect on the audience can be quite different. Often there is a stunned silence, a questioning of reality…was it real? I do regret not starting to study mentalism earlier in my life. Only after I turned 30 was this field of magic important to me. But I do have great teachers that have helped me catch up on my learning. When I asked Max Maven to teach a course on “21st Century Mentalism” with Eugene Burger, he said yes, but he would call the event “Handling Humans”, because that is what mentalism and close-up magic are really all about: managing people during a performance. Last year’s class was incredible and I’m expecting the one this March to be even better!
When you come visit us in Las Vegas, I want to show you around our 5,000 square foot multi-media magic facility. As you enter I will say to you, “Welcome to the WONDERDOME!” A few years ago my friend Gary Stadler had an idea to help me create a new kind of magic theater. We ran with the concept and developed a light-weight portable dome theater and took it to the Burning Man Art Festival to try it out… it worked! That idea led to the WONDERDOME! Last week we hosted an open house party for the all the magicians in Las Vegas who attended the World Magic Seminar. Inside the Wonderdome that night we mixed magic with a live DJ, shadow-dancing, techno-tribal drum and dance, and grand illusions with live synched video projection! If you wantto see some fun photos go to our media galleries.
For the past 15 years I have been attending and facilitating at many conferences on the history and mystery of our art. I find events like FIREDANCE, Mysterium, Burning Man, Rites of Spring, Starwood, and our own Vegas Vortex festivals to be places where I get inspiration to journey more deeply into the mysteries of magic, and add new dimensions to my performances.
Abbi and I have just returned home from our winter tour. After our South Korea tour in November we flew to Istanbul, Turkey, to videotape a few segments for the “HOKUS-POKUS” magic television show. We had a few days to travel and explore the Turkish bazaars, mosques and cathedrals. Istanbul has some of the most magical monuments I have ever seen. I look forward to returning to Istanbul with our full evening show, in the near future. The final leg of the tour took us to Mexico, Honduras, Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean. I have been off email for 3 weeks (bliss!) and am getting caught up with all of my letters. We feel very blessed that we get to travel around the world and share our magic with other people and return home to our magical community here in Las Vegas. This week I will be on the Las Vegas Strip at The Riviera Casino for the World Magic Seminar, where I will be working with Eugene Burger and Lance Burton, hosting a special conference for teen magicians…the future of magic.
I have been a student of Eastern philosophy most of my life. I started studying martial arts when I was 8 years old, and have been influenced deeply by Asian culture. Not only have I collected magic and masks from the East, but I also love to collect magical wisdom, quotes and aphorisms. The following is one of my favorites: “The one who can do the most magic with the least amount of stuff wins!” I am blessed to have good teachers in my life, guides who have prevented me from making costly mistakes. When I first started performing, I had a big show to do and little inspiration. I was feeling insecure with my ability to deliver the goods. I would throw lots of money at props and high tech gadgets to puff up my show. I have learned over my many years of performing that you need not fill the stage with props and boxes if you can fill the audiences’ hearts and minds with real magic. Much of my inspiration for magical minimalism has come, in part, from a few of my friends and teachers. Eugene Burger, Max Maven and Jonathan Pendragon all have something in common. They are all masters of the magical arts. All of them can work huge theaters with the minimal amount of stage clutter. They make the magic. They ARE the magic; not their props! This has a lot to do with the attention they have all put into other areas of theater. I am a student of their work and they are an inspiration to all of us who seek magical artistry. I am fortunate to be able to spend time with Max, Eugene and Jonathan; they are in my special inner circle of friends and magical heroes!