Well at least I’ve got the name of this column figured out. Let me tell you that was no easy task! Years ago I remember receiving my New Tops magazine once a month as I would get home from school. The first thing I would read was Subject: Illusions by David Seebach. Little did I know years later he would be my friend and have such a huge influence in my magic career. His columns were always insightful and a great resource for a budding illusionist. I will always look up to David’s work. He’s one of the best in the business.

Enough about David; what exactly is my column about you ask? Good question; I’m trying to figure that out myself. I guess we can start from the beginning with a brief history about myself. I was bitten by the “magic bug” at a young age when I received a Marshall Brodien Magic set for my birthday. At the time I was presenting puppet shows in the basement for some of the neighborhood children. Yes... puppets. I guess it could have been worse, but not by much. Performing was in my blood. Everything about magic just made sense to me. I always had a very curious mind and the pieces of the puzzle just fell into place. I drove my parents nuts from a young age... my mother always knew I was different, even before the spandex and snakes.

One thing at a time though... your head might explode if I go through it all. I would say my expertise is in the field of illusions: the design, the construction, and repair of these props. I’ve worked on just about everything from Abbott’s Super-X Levitation to the massive Windshear illusion by Bill Smith’s Magic Ventures. From one extreme to the other, I’ve deconstructed many of these props to see just how they work. To fully understand an illusion you should know it inside and out. Preventive maintenance is key to a successful run with any show. I’ve always said: you’re only as good as your equipment.

As you will discover, I’m not a writer although I have a lot to say. Back in high school I dismissed Typing 101 as a joke. Who knew years later it would be an essential skill to survive in this world? I think my teacher would be quite impressed with my words per minute at this point in time. The personal computer was just coming of age back in the early 80’s. I guess I was too busy rockin’ to pay attention to all the advances that would come. I still don’t know what I’m doing on this thing.

As I try to make my deadline, I’m watching tonight’s episode of Masters of Illusion. Overall I think it sends a very positive message to the viewing audience. Many of my friends have actually appeared on the show including Dan Sperry and Brett Daniels. It’s great to see magic on prime time television once again.

Working on television can be very difficult. Some illusions only work well in a theater setting and you have to keep that in mind if you’re ever asked to perform under less than ideal conditions. A story that comes to mind is of an incident from a few years back. My good friend Marshall Brodien asked me to perform on WGN’s Morning News. We were promoting an upcoming show and it would help our turnout. Little did I know it would involve being at the studio at 5:30 a.m. To say I’m not a morning person is an understatement. I still live like a rock star and wake up at the crack of noon. This was a big sacrifice for me, but I’ll do anything for Marshall. Believe it or not I arrived on time... not sure how I pulled that one off.

We were all set to perform Jim Steinmeyer’s Audience Acupuncture with one of the morning hosts. For those of you not familiar with the illusion, it involves an audience member and a bed of spikes. The volunteer reclines on the prop, a sort of table with an open-fronted enclosure below the subject’s body that contains eighteen 24” stainless steel spikes. They are in plain view. These spikes point upward and a large lever, operated by the performer, can force the spikes up and out of the prop through the perforated surface that the victim is lying on. Once she is in position a shell-like box is placed over her. It was this piece that I feared might not accommodate my subject.

It’s only natural to get television personalities involved in this type of illusion; the producer just loved the idea. Marshall reassured me that our volunteer would fit in the prop. I of course was a bit uneasy about the whole thing as I’m used to sizing someone up for that particular illusion. Did I mention that this was all going to happen “live” so there was no pressure? No... none at all. I went into the next studio to see what Marshall’s idea of an “average” build was. Of course they were all sitting behind a desk on the set, this was no help. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

The second studio was all set and looked great with a fiber-optic curtain as a backdrop. The camera crew was getting situated for the shoot and I was getting really nervous. You see, they had a hand-held camera moving in... really close. Not every illusion can hold up under this type of scrutiny. I of course was prepared and avoided any exposure. You can’t think of everything, but it’s always good to have a few options on hand. It was almost show time and the cast joined us in the studio. Now I was standing next to my volunteer... actually I was looking up at her! This was going to be interesting; man I hoped she fit! Like I said before, we were live; there was no time for rehearsal. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Marshall played right along with the routine and we squeezed her into the box. Once the latches were in place, I was home free. Everything went just fine and the actual footage looked awesome. They were really pleased with our spot and I still get comments about it to this day.

This just goes to show you that it’s important to anticipate what can happen under adverse conditions. Here I was really concerned with the lighting, but I had already devised a solution ahead of time. The volunteer on the other hand was a risk I would be cautious about in the future. Can you imagine the embarrassment if she didn’t fit in the prop? I was really concerned about that more than anything else. Time of course did not allow us to walk through the illusion. Everything happened so fast, and I was still a little light headed from my lack of sleep from the night before. I think someone above was looking out for me that morning; it could have been a disaster.

At least I slept like a baby the next night...