Posters

This is a brief collection of some of my favorite posters throughout the years. I hope you enjoy. They are a select group from around the country. The White House poster is probably the earliest and was a commemorative flyer (poster) that was created after my performances at The White House. 

Magic Behind the Iron Curtain

In February, 1987 I traveled to the Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). At that time, Communism was in full force around the world and the Soviet Union, as it was then called was a real and present threat to the United States of America and western Europe. President Ronald Reagan and Premiere Mikhail Gorbachev were at times, locked in disagreement, but had been going back and forth throughout the decade with agreements and disagreements with a particularly bad disagreement in Iceland. It was under these global tensions, that I traveled to the Soviet Union with the intent of performing and touring. Of particular note, was my experience in a Moscow Police station in which I escaped close to a dozen sets of handcuffs locked onto by KGB officers.

Both of the posters above and the one below were commissioned for different audiences in the months after this escape in 1987 and are shown here.

While in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) I had entertained numerous times the people and especially children with all forms of magic, mostly close-up magic. Later, in Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent, I did the same--meeting children and adults and entertaining them with magic Playing cards, Ruble coins, ropes, silk scarves all were part and parcel of the magic effects I did for the Soviet people. One of my favorite coins was the large Ruble coin which was about as large as an American half dollar and had a side profile of Lenin on the coin.
But, this is the story of my handcuff escape on a Wednesday in February of 1987. It was while in Moscow, that things became interesting. My translator, a woman by the name of Irina, was a huge fan of magic and many days I would entertain her and some of the children she brought to me with all kinds of magic. Irina was aware that I was an escape artist and had made a casual suggestion that I escape handcuffs from the Soviet Police. Not thinking she was serious, I told her that if she arranged it, I would most certainly make the attempt, not really thinking this would be possible. Our interactions earlier with Soviet Police while coming into the country were less than enthusiastic--however I went with it. Much to my surprise several days later while in Red Square and having just made a short visit to St. Basil's and prior to that, Lenin's Tomb, Irina had asked me if I would be availible after lunch to follow her to a police station.

Irina and I and another young lady had made the trek through the streets of Moscow where she had hailed a cab and we ended up in another part of the city. I remember walking with her into a police station and meeting several officers. I began with some card tricks in which their signed playing card appeared in various parts of the deck and for a final appeared in my wallet. All the while, Irina was speaking to them in Russian and since I could not understand the language, my assumption was that she was narrating what I was doing.  At a certain point, one of the officers left the group and came back with about ten handcuffs and a few leg irons all connected on a large cylindrical ring. He started to take them off the ring and lay them out on a large wooden table in front of me. Still, Irina is conversing with them in Russian. I kept looking to her and then to them, trying to understand what is going on. Finally, Irina turns to me and says in English.

"They say you cannot escape Soviet handcuffs."

My response was to nod and say let's give it a try. I had taken off my leather jacket and began to roll up my sleeves when one officer stopped me. He grabbed my jacket and started to go through the pockets. He unzipped the lining separating it from the jacket, obviously looking for something and, not finding it, placed both onto the wooden chair behind the table. He then grabbed my sleeves patting them down and assisted me in rolling them above my elbows. Each set of handcuffs was placed onto my wrists locking them down very tight. These were not the handcuffs I was used too--western, machined restraints with oiled locks and smooth edges. These were rusted, old and crudely made, one I remember was being held together by screws. Another that had a bent shackle and took two police officers to lock it securely on my wrists. they had to force the shackle into the lock. Each set of handcuffs was locked onto my wrists and every set was made tighter than the last. The one that was highest on my arms cut off the blood circulation and were extremely painful. I asked Irina to ask if I may retire to another room to escape but they declined. Though I could not understand the language, I did see them all nod 'no'. I motioned to put my hands under the table but again they motioned for me to keep my hands in front. I sat down on the table and Irina mentioned to me they wanted me to stand. I got to a kneeling position and with their help, was able to stand up.

They brought me a folded ratty yellow blanket which had a musty odor and draped it over my arms to mask the restraints. In this position, standing on this table, Irina at the front and a group of Soviet KGB officials behind her, I escaped all of the restraints one at a time in a number of minutes dropping them from under the blanket to the floor.

With Irina brokering the deal,  I was able to trade a few items for the rusted barely working restraints used on me that day. I had triumphed over the KGB and I most wanted to keep these restraints as a memory of this event.  They are a study in the crude workmanship of locks and other restraints made during the Communist era.

I left the Moscow police station with the handcuffs in a plastic bag and with Irina took a cab back across town to where I was staying at the Cosmos in Moscow.

Mississippi River Handcuff Escape--St. Louis

Recently, for a Fourth of July celebration, I found myself booked with a one hour stage show of magic and escapes in St. Louis, Missouri. To publicize these events, I decided to incorporate an underwater handcuff escape in, nowhere else, but the mighty, muddy, Mississippi River; the river of a thousand short stories, the river of  Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

I created several different posters for the event but finally settled on a wonderful poster inspired by a Mondrian painting which I had seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. See below.

I arrived in St. Louis on July 3rd and immediately was driven to the site at the river so that I could see the location again and notice if any changes had taken place since my first visit. My first visit was done months before and at that time, the temperature was considerably colder. I was told that the City of St. Louis and especially the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers were under a flood warning as it had been raining for several days prior. In actuality, the Mississippi River was a full seven feet ABOVE flood stage (its normal at about 30 feet). Though at first, this appeared to be a curse, it was actually a blessing as the copious amounts of rain diluted the mud in the river and from a swimming and diving and seeing point of view, it actually made my escape easier.

Whereas I might have had to deal with very murky water, I instead felt as though I had dove into a lake.

At approximately, 11:10am, I was driven to the landing at the river. I was met with a crowd of about 200 and within minutes, I was handcuffed with four sets of regulation police handcuffs. The handcuffs were being provided by a local man and he was adamant about my not losing his restraints in the river. So, an added piece of chain was secured around the four sets on my wrists and secured to the life line so that they would not be lost. The river was crested very close to the edge so there was only a small gap between where I stood and the water. On my first scouting of this location, there was actually a drop off of about seven feet before I would actually come in contact with the water and over the ensuing months as I prepared for this event, that fact caused me much anxiety. I was actually glad to see that the river had risen so much.

It was about 11:35am when I finally dove into the river. As I hit the water, I noticed first the cold. Though it was July and the air temperature was in the upper 80's, the river still felt cold. I wore only blue shorts with no shirt and was barefoot. The river was noticeably cleaner than I expected, again due to the amounts of rain in previous days. The water was still cloudy enough that I could not see and that I had to do the release simply by feel alone. I worked quickly on the restraints at the same time trying to stay deep underwater and not surface prematurely.

Within a minute, I had released myself from all four pairs of handcuffs and surfaced to a cheering crowd. I was helped back up to the landing and the handcuffs were pulled out of the water on the separate lifeline I attached them too. I met with many individuals afterward, signed posters before I was able to get into a car and get back to my hotel for a hot shower and some lunch.

It turned out to be an easy escape, much easier than I had anticipated.

That afternoon, at 4pm I performed my stage show which includes magic an escapes for a crowd of about the same. Fireworks capped off my evening in St. Louis and I flew home on the 5th of July.

The March Eighteenth Rhapsody

On March 18, 2012, I performed an underwater handcuff escape at the New York Aquarium out in Coney Island Brooklyn. This event, which was almost six months in the making was sponsored by the New York Aquarium and the New York Police Department (NYPD). The NYPD would provide the handcuffs and the police officers who would handcuff me securely before I leaped into one of the outdoor tanks at the Aqua Theatre. The producer of the event, Gary Dreifus, did a masterful job in getting all the parties on board with this event.  He handled all of the publicity for the event, negotiated with all of the officials, those at the Aquarium and elsewhere and was the go-between between the NYPD and myself.
An excellent poster to promote the event was designed by my very good friend, George Allison whose talents are beyond compare.
Back in January of 2012, Gary and I took a Friday afternoon jaunt out to Coney Island to meet with officials of the Aquarium. It was a cold day only in the upper 40s and after taking the Q train from Manhattan to the New York Aquarium stop, almost the end of the line, I walked over the pedestrian bridge linking the Coney Island Boardwalk with the New York Aquarium where I met Gary and Patrick and several officials including the dive captain, the marketing manager and a few of her assistants, some other corporate types and several dive assistants. After shaking hands all around, we were ushered into a back room where we all took seats around a large rectangular table. The marketing manager first, with the help of Gary gave an overview of the event; the who, what, where, why and to some extent, the how of the event.
It was then the dive captain's turn. An older gentlemen, he gave the appearance of being extremely knowledgeable in every aspect of safety. He carefully explained all the potential dangers of the event starting first with the temperature of the water and how, if not carefully monitored could lead to hypothermia and death. The water that morning was topping out at about 44 degrees. All of the tanks were salt water, which would be a first for me in any kind of stunt. I've swam in the ocean before, but never did a stunt in salt water. Most of  my escapes were (are) in rivers and, as we know, they are fresh water. Nevertheless, it would be salt water since the occupant of this tank, a 400 pound harbor seal, named Duke would be moved out of this enclosure for my performance on March 18.
As for today, Duke was already out of his enclosure, so it would be possible for me to take several dry runs (wet runs?) in the water. The Aqua Theatre seats roughly 500 people and is essentially theatre in the round with the spectators having a view of the tank through the glass below. The picture below (taken during the actual performance on March 18) gives an exact look of what the audience would see. It was taken by photographer Dennis Galante who was seated in the audience and captured a moment in the escape as I struggled with the handcuffs.

As for our pre-meeting happening now, the dive captain then deferred to one of his assistants who explained what his role would be. Afterwards, it was off to the Aqua Theatre for a few run throughs in the water. I changed into my bathing suit. One of the divers went all out, completely suiting up in a wet suit. He would be joining me in the water should I run into trouble and need help. I climbed the stairs to the top of the tank and dove in. It was cold, very cold and at first my body recoiled from the shock. Even after years of doing winter escapes in the Hudson and other rivers you never really get used to it. Something else I was not used too, was the salt water. I swam in the water for several minutes, with the crew standing up on the ledge shouting instructions to me. I would then get out and then would dive in again. I was testing out the depth and the best possible vantage point for the audience. I was at the Aquarium for about four hours that day, dove in the water more than a dozen times. Afterwards, I changed and we met again in one of the executive's offices and I was informed that a local paper, The Brooklyn Daily, had just come out that day and did a big spread on the upcoming event. 

After our meeting, I was eagar to get home and take a shower. I had a thick coating of salt on my body and I could taste it. It started to harden on my sking and it felt like a layer of crust over my body. Our meetings ended aabout 4pm and I caught the Q back to Manhattan.

March 18, 2012 was the scheduled day of the event. It was a Sunday afternoon and that morning, I was featured in the Sunday Metro section of The New York Times with a big spread on that day's event.

I arrived at the New York Aquarium with my photographer about 12 noon and we met the rest of the crew at the entrance. The New York Police Deapartment was already there and we were moved into the location.  There was quite a bit of build-up to this event and we were told by the Aquarium that the event was sold-out. The New York Times article that morning greatly helped in the promotion and the crowds were already lining up at the entrance. reporters from the Daily News and The New York Post as well as several wire services were in attendance. I consulted with Gary who would be the MC of this event who, at this moment was speaking with all of the local officials who had shown up.

I changed into a bathing suit and placed this over this a sweatshirt and sweat pants. Gary would be introducing me and I would need to come out and speak before the escape.

Finally, I was introduced. One police officer stayed on the ground near me and he had two sets of handcuffs. Another police officer, who carried the other three restraints would be standing on top of the tank near where I would dive in. In total, I was to be handcuffed with five sets of NYPD issue Smith & Wesson handcuffs. I would then dive into the tank and free myself while underwater. Since the Salt water proved to be extrememly buoyant in practice, a thirty pound weight belt was attached to my waist along with two ten pound ankle weights. There was fifty pounds of iron, in addition to the restraints, dragging me to the bottom! (I better get out!)  Gary introduced me to the crowd and then introduced each police officer. One set of handcuffs was placed on my wrists and I allowed the audience to come forward and examine them. Then, while Gary narrated, I walked up to the top of the tank, staying in view of the audience the entire time. The second officer placed the remaining three sets of handcuffs on me. The above photogrsaph shows me seconds before diving.

From below, Gary led the audeince in a countdown------- 9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . .

2 . . . 1. . . ZERO . . . I dove into the the thirty foot deep tank filled with more than two thousand gallons of 40 degree salt water where I escaped all of the handcuffs underwater in little over a minute and a half.

All in all, it was a fun day at the New York Aquarium. 

If you want Cutting-Edge, you must be ready to bleed!

I just finished reading Frederich Nietzche's, Human, All Too Human and while I must say, that this book, published in the late nineteenth century is a difficult read within the prism of twenty-first century thought and ideas, there were several concepts that had me thinking and re-evaluating the misunderstood creative process as it applies to my work everyday.  First, the quote and its not direct, since I don't have the book in front of me, rather I am paraphrasing from what I can remember. Nietzsche says that  (paraphrasing now) -----artists have a vested interest in the believing of the flash of revealation, the so-called flash of inspiration shining down from Heaven. In reality, the imagination of the artist contuinually produces good, mediocre and bad things and it is the work of the artist, the true work of the artist that is trained not only in inventing but in the sifting, re-combining, transforming and rejecting of the "inspiration" that comes to us.----

So, in my life, I have various routines in various stages of development. Some are awaiting a final justification of the prop or have a deep mechanical problem that turns it from magic into a puzzle. Others, I am just not happy with--either from an aesthetic look or from a presentational approach. I have had some effects that have sat "on the shelf'" for years, as it were, because I could not solve some sort of problem to my satisfaction with it. People call me a perfectionist and perhaps I am overthinking some of these illusions, but to my mind, I just can't bring something to market until, at least in my own mind, it is the best it can possibly be.

Case in point, at present I have an illusion that I am working on with a brick, an actual paving brick that one would use to build a house, lay a patio. The effect is that a glass rod penetrates the brick. It sounds cool, amazing, impossible, etc., all of the emotions I strive for when creating and presenting magic or escapes.

Another very "well-respected" creative magician has suggested that the best way to accomplish this is to have the brick sitting on a table top. OK--at first it sounded like a good idea. But, there was something that always bothered me about this. Is this what magic would be? Hmmm. OK, so I aquiesced and spent an inordinate amount of money building a platform on which this brick would sit. All the while, as I am building and designing this, I am thinking that this is the wrong approach, that "if you could really do magic", you would not do it this way. It would be simpler, and within that simplicity, I believed I could conceal the modus operandi. 

Nevertheless, against my better judgement, I began to build someone else's vision. However, that inner voice that sings to you with inspiration, was still nagging at me, with two words, "Wrong way---Wrong Way! My all-time favorite quote from Einstein is that "God does not roll dice with the Universe." That may be true, but I do think He rolls dice with individuals, giving some ideas that are complete from start to finish to some and to others he gives ideas that are sometimes dead-ends, with the hope that we will recognize it, learn from it and instead, be led through circumstance to a solution or idea that was never on our radar or within our consciousness. 
So, I spend alot of time on this brick illusion, buy the raw materials for the prop, saw, plane, sand, and measure it. I make a few mistakes, scrap the materials, head back to Home Depot to re-buy them and start again. I work till two-o-clock in the morning, painting, lacquering, trying to make it just right. I'm still unsure about it, but I push those feeleings aside. Finally, I finish. Its built. I perform it in front of the mirror in front of a FLIP camera. I show it to layman, to magicians, even post a picture of it on Facebook. Finally, I decide to workshop it at an Open Mic Night down in the Bowery in New York City. I will tell you, for an artist, there is nothing like an Open Mic Night to workshop new material. It is the absolute best. You will find out very quickly how far your effect can and will stand on its own.  Things you thought were clever and unique, will fall flat on this audience, they may even boo you, call you out, shout things at you.  You must have very thick-skin because if the stars are not aligned properly, you will bleed. Boy, will you bleed.

Sometimes, you get lucky--what you thought was stupid, sophomoric, tasteless, obvious, "wouldn't fool Stevie Wonder" turns out to be well-liked, cutting edge, magical, mysterious, funny, a surprise and your audience loves you. So, its the proving ground of proving grounds. Nothing like it in the world . . .  that New York City.  I show up with the brick illusion, sign my name on the list at the door and go inside to grab a seat. I grab a drink at the bar and wait to perform. Another check of the list reveals I am number eight out of fifteen people. Seven stand-up comics precede me.

The audience seems a little tepid tonight. Maybe it's because it's a weeknight. Maybe Tuesdays nights are a little better for performers--or maybe this audience is all performers. That would certainly not be the first time. I sit through seven stand-up comic performances. Two women were really funny. The rest . . . OK. But again, this is the woodshed, and here, even seasoned performers may leave with their tail between their legs. I guess I'm ready. I've been through alot worse. As I sit, I push the doubts out of my mind, the thoughts of failure are getting harder and harder to neutralize. More drinks might help--but then I won't be able to perform . . . and besides the drinks here are double the cost on a regular night. I guess that's the price you pay for an audience.

Finally, my name is called. I had no idesa what time it was, guessing about 10:30 or 11pm. I walk to the stage, introduce myself and go right into the illusion. I run through the mechanics, the required motions of this new illusion. The audience, while not hostile, is not exactly dumbfounded either. I hear none of the usual feedback I get when doing a polished performance. Strangely, there is really no response. Go figure. Now, I have no idea what the fuck to do. I complete the illusion and leave the stage. However, its a comment after---that gives me my confirmation. A young guy, sitting on a barstool catches my gaze as I walk toward him. As I pass between him and a waitress, this guy, probably in his mid-twenties says to me in a British accent, "Cool trick, but why the table?"

With that comment, I felt a wave suddenly wash over me, as if I was standing waist deep in the ocean, unaware I was there and suddenly to wake me up, a wave cascaded over me. That was all I needed. In the final analysis, that was the problem and as it turns out, was exactly what I needed to hear. That inner voice kept saying it but I just was not listening. I continued out of the club. As I walked to Broadway-Lafayette, subway station to get the D Uptown, I took the tabletop and threw it into an trash bin at Houston and Sixth Avenue. It was a nice wooden tabletop that I handcrafted out of Maple, stained and put some beautiful moulding on. It might look good in your home, with a Sterling Silver coffee pot sitting on top--but it was out of place in this illusion, in this time and in this place.  Turns out, Nietzsche had it right afterall.

American Escape Artist

So, the 2011 Society of American Magician's Salute To Magic is now a memory. As I write, I am still sore with bruises on my forearms, wrists and knees. American Escape Artist is a tough show to do and while people tend to think that because escapes are part of magic that it is all theatre, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. While I do take liberties and use magic techniques, when all is said and done, I am still escaping irons, shackles, chains, knives and, in this case, a nuclear water storage tank. These items are real and can, and do, pose injury, even when everything goes according to plan. I will be getting an MRI later this week on my left knee that was injured in the water tank and which of late, is steadily increasing in pain. The tips of my fingers and the insides of my wrists are still painful, but are healing. But, these are the realities of this show and though it might sound like it, I am not complaining. I love the show that I do and love crafting magic and escapes based on the shared experiences of the audience. I would not have it any other way. We began rehearsals off-site more than a month before the show. I introduced several new escapes into the show that evening, including, World Without Oil, Amen which is my performance of a challenge lockable pair of sunglasses, also, I debuted The Tennessee River Water Faucet Torture Test another challenge device which consited of an aquarium that is filled with water and penetrated by 38 cutting instruments. An AC electric winch below is chained to my hands and when the winch is turned on, it slowly pulls me into the tank of knives unless I can escape beforehand. Performaing this in the show, I heard gasps coming from the audience. Another new attraction was the Red Tape Escape which was my rendition of a roped to a chair escape but done with red tape and all the symbolism and metaphor that brings with it. There were handcuff escapes as usual utilizing my Cabinet Obscura and my full view escape from an MTA New York City Subway Revenue Collection Bag. The stage set, which was a rendition of and inspired by my old attic rehearsal studio at my home in Maplewood, New Jersey was designed by George Allison and built the week before out on my driveway. We had priced a local scene shop to do the actual work, but because it was cost prohibitive, we decided to do it ourselves. So George and I spent a week outside measuring, cutting and painting the wood planks that when trucked to the theatre would be assembled on stage to give the appearance of an old attic. We built the set of stairs that I would ascend from below the stage up to the stage in front of the audience, giving the appearance that I was walking into my attic. Part of the platforms of the stage were removed and we crafted a dummy platform to fit over the space in which the stairs would be located. After cutting the wood assembling, and painting, everything was doused in fireproofing material and left to dry. George and I worked four days, eight hours a day out in the sun constructing the set. On Friday, everything was picked up and trucked to the theatre in pieces where it would be assembled on stage. We had eight hour rehearsals on Friday and Saturday with the show beginning on Saturday at 8pm. The set was constructed and assembled on that Friday and while George was supervising the workers on site in this task, I was preparing the magic and escapes so that we could do a run-through of the show that afternoon. Well, as things usually happen, we only had a bare bones run-through of the show late Friday afternoon, before having to leave (theatre rules) by 5pm. On Saturday, we had set a goal of two run throughs and one dress rehearsal even as Paul Hackenmueller and his lighting team worked around us. As Maia and Natalie and I ran lines, George was having the final stages of the set built, Paul was lighting the stage and Adam our stage manager was working closely with George and the technical director Rachael. Our first run through took five hours!!! We then broke for lunch--actually they did--I did not eat and then we did a second run-through and this time it was much faster coming in at 90 minutes. Our audience would consist that evening of many people from the construction field in New York, workers at the World Trade Center Memorial, wounded American soldiers who were guests of Fisher House/Hope for the Warriors and magicians, lots of them.

By this time, it was very close to showtime. We reset the stage and I went to my dressing room for last minute preparations before the premeire of "American Escape Artist."

Tickets on Sale--2011 Salute To Magic

Tickets for the the 2011 Salute To Magic will go on sale today. Ticket prices are $50.00 and can be purchased by going to the Society of American Magicians Parent Assembly 1 website at www.sampa1.com

Seating is reserved and is extremely limited. I do not do too many shows in New York City that are open to the public. Most of my events are for corporate or television and are not open to those not directly involved in the event. If you are in the New York City area on or about Saturday, May 14, 2011, please come down or up (depending on where you are) to see a great show in Manhattan. The theare is the El Teatro Heckscher Theatre and it is located at 1230 5th Avenue at 104th Street.

The official handout was released to the public yesterday.

God Speed

Yesterday, the group that I helped found, Patriotic Performers, USA, was commissioned to work at Fort Detrick, one of the largest Army Bases in the Northeast and a Level 4 Medical research arm of the United States military. My partner and co-founder, Adam Rand an award-winning writer and columnist and I made the four and a half hour trek from Northern New Jersey to Frederick, Maryland.

Here, at this base, a sprawling community and dare I say, "city" in semi-rural Maryland army researchers and scientists work to find cures for cancer in humans, as well as agricultural and crop diseases. The United States Department of Agriculture has a large building on the north side of the campus dedicated to research into farm animal and crop diseases.

Our show began at 12:00 noon sharp and went for one hour. The crowd was very appreciative and enjoyed it very much. With this show, Adam and I have now performed at several military bases/hospitals throughout the Northeast. At various times, we have worked for soldiers about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan or for soldiers who have retuned wounded from these same wars. Most heartbreaking were meeting the soldiers in the "Wounded Warrior Transition Unit" at Fort Dix in New Jersey. All told, these men and women remain some of the greatest groups of young people I have ever met. Doing a show for the military men and women who serve our country is really some of the most rewarding work a performer can get. We do not get paid, but instead donate our time to this most rewarding of performances I have ever done.

When you worked as many nightclubs and tough crowds as I have throughout my career, you sure notice an immediate difference from the moment you cross the threshhold of a military base. So, respectful without the usual bravado of a nightclub audience, these soldiers welcome your prescence there and are immediatelty engaged in what you are doing. I am a firm believer in karma and what these young people are doing in the service of this great country cannot, and should not, go unmentioned or unrewarded. Since the founding of this organization one year ago, we have performed at Fort Dix, Lakehurst Naval Base, McGuire Air Force Base, Fort Detrick Army Base, the United States Marine Base at Quantico, Virginia, and Walter Reed Army Hospital. We are slated to perform at Fort Belvoir on Friday, July 15, 2011.

Patriotic Perfomers, USA is always searching for new performers to join us. You are not obligated to work every gig, infact the whole idea of the troupe is its fluidness. Performers come and go as their schedules befit. You must be willing to give of your time--there is no pay. In the past, we have hired, singers, dancers, and comedians. Many performers work with us only for a short time until a more steady gig may arrive. Others, work for us continuously as their schedules become availible. Adam and I, because we are the founders, attend and perform at every show. Our goal is to bring joy, mystery, and happiness, through artistic expression to those who are fighting for our country.

Below is a picture with two commanders at Fort Detrick yesterday. To the right is a group show with soldiers inside of the "Wounded Warrior Transition Unit" at Fort Dix in New Jersey. As the title of this blog begins, "Godspeed to all those fighting for this great country." Your service does not go un-noticed. God Bless the United States of America.

2011 Salute To Magic

Hi all--so I have some very interesting news as of late. This is the first time I am sharing this, so here goes: The Parent Assembly number 1 of the Society of American Magicians (SAM) Board of Directors based in New York City has selected me as the sole performer for the 2011 Salute To Magic. (Cue: Champagne bottles popping) Apparently, they tell me----this is quite a honor. It is a show that has occurred yearly or thereabouts for more than 102 years. It began soon after the founding of the SAM in 1902 in New York City. Many of the greats of magic have performed or headlined at the Salute over the years among them: Harry Kellar, Harry Houdini, Frederick Eugene Powell, Sam Marguiles, Hardeen, Nate Lepizig, Josseffy, Doug Henning, Topas, Eric DeCamps, Paul Daniels, and most recently, Paul Gertner. Soon, I will be added to that list and sometime in the future, someone else may be writing a blog about THEIR selection and then will mention all of the great magicians of the past who worked it and my name will be included!!! Whooo hooooo.

Anyways, back to Earth. The 2011 Salute To Magic is being held this year at the Teatro Heckscher Theatre in Midtown Manhattan. (See pics above and below.) The exact address is 1230 5th Avenue off of 104th Street. I went to view the house when we were still in the negotiating stages and I must say, it will be one of the best places I have ever worked. The theatre seats 599 people. Most of the sightlines are good except for the front row. (Don't buy tickets to the front row!) I have included some pics of the theatre so you can check it out. The theatre is an old Broadway house directly across the street from Central Park and I believe was built in the 1920s. I will be performing my show, "American Escape Artist" which is a combination of my award-winning escapes coupled with magic. The show will run about 75 minutes and will be
unlike anything the SAM has done before. Many of you have asked but I will not be divulging any parts of the show here--you must come and see it. Tickets are $50.00 and they tell me are selling fast. There is only one show--so if you want to go, better make your reservations.

Seriously, I talk to alot of people on this site that I would characterize as my fans--(at least that is what they tell me, lol) So, now, I need the help of you all. This is your chance to see a great show.

The set design will be created by George Allison, a great friend of mine who has contributed much to my success over the years. Lighting is being engineered and created by Paul Hackenmueller, probably the best in the business. That is as much as I will reveal here. I hope to see you all there.

The Tao of the Magic Performer

So, I have been hired as of recent to create and design the magic for "The Cherry Orchard", a play by Anton Chekov that is playing Off-Broadway in New York City. The script is calling for several different illusions, which all happen in Act III of the play. The first is the appearance of a woman from behind a rug that is lifted and then dropped onto a bare stage. The others require teaching a character in the show finesse with a deck of playing cards. Both of the pics shown are of me teaching Julie, the lead actress in the show how to handle a deck of cards like a court jester. More important than the actual effects in the show is the ability for the actor(s) to handle the props of a magician as if they are/were "magicians." This is the Tao of Magic and is in many ways, what great magicians have achieved. It is the perception of magic rather than the naked effect that creates the illusion. As I often tell actors and other magicians, the magic really happens in the audience's mind. To that end, there are techniques, some very subtle that will convice the audience of a particular character's "magic." Actors in this role need to have the body language and the inner psychology of the magician. That is what I am trying to teach Julie in these photographs.

More on the production and the subsequent illusions I am creating as we move forward.

Stay tuned!

The Real Thing

The House of Cards made its initial debut this past Saturday, when I went to the T Schreiber Studio to coach the actor in the use of the card house, how to set it up, store it, and drop it on cue. (See picture at left). The show itself, The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard debuts on February 25. It is directed by Terry Schrieber. It is a really enjoyable play for anyone who is not familiar . . . terrific script and an excellent group of actors. The set, courtesy of George Allison, is brilliant as usual.

I was asked by set designer George Allison and producer Cat Parker to come in and work with the actor and the production assistants as we went through the order and mechanism of the card house. It does take some learning to make sure that the card house functions properly. In rehearsal, the actor with practice was able to handle it very well, but I suspect that after six weeks of performances, the cards will suffer a little from wear and tear. Afterall, they're only cardboard. The creation, methodology and psychology behind this effect is highlighted in an earlier post. Scroll down, if you'd like to read more.

Recursive Acronymns hidden in poster

All:
This is one of my new posters, highlighting my successful escape from a regulation straitjacket 150 feet above the street. Since I love word play and have, for years hidden messages in almost all of my posters, decks of cards, and other materials, this time I wanted something different. So, for you wordsmiths, and puzzle fanatics, I have placed within the text AND design several recursive acronymns.
Can you find them? I've placed a little hint, to make it slightly easier. Each acronymn is connected to another word, so look carefully.
If you have trouble reading the text, just click on the poster to enlarge it.
Good luck . . . oh and in case you hate puzzles or can care less about wordplay, I hope you can at least say you like the poster straightaway.

Peace

A House (of Cards) divided by itself cannot stand

I was recently hired to create a house of cards effect for an Off-Broadway show. The play, "The Real Thing" by Tom Stoppard is being presented by the T Schrieber Studio on 26th Street in Manhattan. My good friend, a very talented director, Cat Parker, will be producing the show with Terry Schreiber directing. This is not the first time, I have worked at T Schreiber and I always find what those guys ask me to create, a welcome challenge. T Schreiber performs some of the most cutting edge and unique theatre in the city and with their very talented in-house designer, George Allison, they have created effects here that, I kid you not, rival what's being done on Broadway and on television. Just a sampling: In "Night of the Iguana" they (we) created a rainstorm (yes, a real rainstorm, ladies and gents, with water) on the 7th floor in an old building equipped with the usual old plumbing and electrical systems. An incredible and risky challenge that was rewarded with standing ovations every night. It was incredible, to say the frickin' least.

So now, I was asked to create a "House of Cards" that would collapse on cue. George Allison, the designer, created a rendering of what he had in mind. (See picture) In the bottom right corner you see the actor stacking cards. The effect will be that this actor is stacking cards methodically, a door slams and the entire house collapses.

So, creating this posed for me several challenges. First, the card house had to be set-up quickly every performance yet had to fall on cue in a logical manner, the way a real card house would fall. Moreover, the audience would have to perceive the card structure as authentic which meant no obvious tape or other fastening agents or glue. People understand and have handled playing cards and so, these cards had to act and behave in ways that people know they should. Also, for all intents and purposes, the card house could not stretch the credulity of the audience, in other words, no cards hanging off the end or positioned in such a way that would fly in the face of physics. So, with George's initial phone call a month ago and with the above cavaets in mind, I began. Honestly, when I first heard of the effect, I thought it would be simple. Well, I thought wrong, this was . . . not by any stretch of the imagination easy. Three weeks of drawings and concentration, one complete roll of packing tape, two coat hangars, seventeen one inch metal washers, three pieces of cardboard and more than eight decks of Bicycle Playing cards later, I emerged with a prototype (pictures above and left). I'm proud to say, that after much trial and error, I came up with a combination tongue and groove/tape process that collapsed on cue in enough of a believable way to scare my dog (who jumped everytime it collapsed). The card house resembles a puzzle in that all pieces consist of two, three or four cards. The entire house is built upon one hinged, load bearing wall at the very bottom. A hidden wire, (see picture above of back of house) when pushed by the actor will knock over the load bearing wall bringing down the entire house in several seconds. I will have to train the production assistant and actor in the set-up of the house as it does require some practice. Once you know where all the pieces go the house can be put together in about 30 seconds.

One of the first problems, I encountered initially, was to get the house to fall in a believable manner. If you were to really build a card house, it would consist of single cards leaned on top of, around, or against each other, forming each story. Since a standard poker sized playing card is 3 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches, any cards that appear above other cards have to be justified in the audience's mind with a logical reason, in this case a second, third, or fourth story upon which cards sit. Often times, when I would initiate the collapse, several pieces would fall but others would remain standing. After much experimentation, I decided to conceal metal washers inside of the top steeple of the house as well as the top and side floors. These metal washers, taped inside of two sandwiched cards would add weight and bring the house down in a uniform manner sandwiching upon itself.

The second problem also arises in any disturbance of the house. When set-up, the house will withstand a herd of elephants walking past it as long as the table on which it sits is not nudged. A small tap or nudge of the table could bring it down prematurely. Since the rendering shows the actor at close proximity to the audience, it was decided that an usher would stand near the entrance as the audience arrives to make sure no would-be knuckleheads decide to topple the house. Strengthening the house in any manner, with wire or additional tape would prevent its rapid collapse thus compromising the overall believability of the effect.

Experimentation last night and dinner with George and crew has resulted in some minor changes to the prototype card house before the production begins.

Stay connected for more details.

www.thomassolomon.com---------steampunk

All:

As of 10pm EST last night, October 28, the new content on my website--thomassolomon.com--- has gone live. This remains only the second major overhaul of the design and content on my website since early August, 2001.

There are lots of new features incorporating a totally new look. Most of my work, since 2001 and prior, including the several television shows I have done is represented in some way with pictures or articles on the site.

There is a new flash intro with audio and a whole new look to the site, incorporating a newly flourishing genre, called "steampunk" which, I am happy to say, has been a hallmark of my act for at least ten years. It is only within the last year that other clever people have coined the term for this new genre. Before that, it was "just a look." Now, thanks to other artists following a similiar format, someone has given it a name.

Back to the website. There is a mission statement page that outlines my 'reasons' as they apply

to magic; a new gallery page with pictures that you can click on and download if you so desire, there is a re-written and streamlined biography and milestones page with links to my fan site where you can read press about my career as well as a link to this very blog.

The 24/7 store allows you to purchase posters and limited edition decks of playing cards in your pajamas at your convenience by a simple click of the button. (How great is that!!!) Posters remain availible but decks of cards are on a first-come first-served basis, since quantities were limited.

So, if you have time . . . put on a pot of coffee, mute the TV, shut off the phone and find a comfortable chair. Then, log on to----thomassolomon.com-----tool around the site, read the articles, order merchandise or just look at the pictures . . . hopefully . . . you like : - )

As always--thanks for your interest.

Peace

Official Thomas Solomon Deck of Cards

I'm proud to announce, they are finally here! For months, I have been responding to emails "When are they coming?" "When are they coming?" Well, as of July 1, the Official Thomas Solomon deck of cards is now availible. Made of high quality casino stock with Linoid and Air Cushion Finish, these cards have a back design I am most proud of. Working with my graphics guru, we created an unusual design for both box and cards utilizing one of my favorite publicity photos taken in New York City back in 2002. The actual photograph has been converted to art work and when viewed a short distance away has all the attributes of a photograph. In addition the Jokers have been replaced with Trixster cards with artwork converted from pictures of my upside down straitjacket escape performed in the rain in Portland Oregon back in 2006.
The Ace of Spades has also been retrofitted to fit not only my performing style, but the style of the cards.

The poker-sized, plastic coated, linen finish cards are a limited printing and are going fast. They handle well if you are a magician and will last eons if you use them to play cards. And, for all you poker and Black Jack players, these cards WILL win you the money, ever since I blesssed them with my special mojo. : - ) Ah . . . just kidding, well hey, a little faith can't hurt, right?

Email me if you are interested. They are $6.00 per deck.

This deck of cards has been designed to promote my upcoming History Channel show, "No Jail Can Hold Me."

Fedex and the magic of Inattentional Blindness

As a former columnist for The Magic Circular, the house organ of the prestigious Magic Circle in London, England, I wrote a bi-monthly column for five years titled "Escape Velocity." This column talked about my adventures as a full time professional escape artist and related some of the unusual experiences and challenges I have faced over the years. In some articles, I imparted knowledge about picking locks and crafting an escape act, others were strictly about my tales in the performing arena. If you're interested you can download some of these articles by going to: thomassolomon.com/fans and clicking on the Escape Velocity link.

In one of these articles, I talked about the phenomenon of "Inattentional Blindness", the notion that often times, though we may be looking at something, we do not see it. I related an experience in Chicago in which one night, performing my handcuff escape act, I inadvertently and unknowingly tapped into the Inattentional Blindness of the audience, which brought my act to a successful conclusion. This was not planned. I had no idea this even existed. Later, I reflected on what happened. I had convinced the audience I escaped all of the restraints. In reality, I escaped all but one. Again, to read further details about this escape please locate the article through the URL above.

Now . . . you might be wondering. What does any of this have to do with FEDEX? Years ago, I discovered a real-world example of Inattentional Blindness within the logo design of FEDEX. I was reminded of this the other day as I walked up Lexington Avenue in New York City. Among the lunchtime crowds and traffic gridlock were several parked FEDEX trucks. Look carefully at the logo in the photo above. Do you see the white arrow?

OK. Now look at the close-up photo to the right. Do you see it now? If you still don't see it, here's a hint. Between the red capital "E" and the small "x" is a geometrically correct right pointing arrow. It is formed by the precision joining of both the "E" and the "X". The beauty of this is that once you see it, you'll always see it. Now, go back to the photo at the top of this posting with the FEDEX truck in the distance. Easy to see now isn't it? Cool . . . right?

This is "Inattentional Blindness in the real world. Sobering to think of the many other things that are there, under our noses, just waiting to be "seen."

Zen . . . and the art of playing dead.

My last post talked exclusively about my Off-Broadway show, "Theatre of the Macabre" which played for three years in New York City. While I don't plan to talk anymore about this show, the thought occurred to me that you might want to know about one of the more unusual publicity stunts I did to generate buzz for this show. I make reference in the title to Zen . . . as I think that what I did, had a certain amount of Zen to it.

First, a little history. My co-writer Robin Reseen had an interesting publicity idea for Theatre of the Macabre. He wanted to have a dead women lying in a bathtub filled with blood in the lobby of the theatre (as a reference to one of our characters). We looked at different old bathtubs with which we could purchase cheaply. I looked at how much 'blood' would be needed and how long it could last. We toyed with the idea of hiring an actress or placing a fake body in the tub. Eventually the mechanics of having a tub full of 'blood' in the lobby of a theatre became a logistical nightmare. Robin and I talked about other publicity ideas which included outdoor underwater handcuff escapes. One night in Robin's apartment, we were throwing back and forth silly ideas when we came upon the 'corpse' stunt. It went like this: We would have a corpse on the street with a knife piercing a flyer for the show through the corpse's back. At first, it seemed ridiculous, but the more we talked about it, the better it seemed. Robin thought we should hire an actor to be the 'corpse' and we ran several ads but nobody we found, when they were told what they were to do, had the necessary courage. And so, we put the idea on hold.

A month later "Theatre of the Macabre" opened at the 13th Street Theatre on 6th Avenue in Manhattan. I spent an inordinate amount of time handing out flyers (see left) to the show and would stand on street corners in the East and West Village for hours several days of the week trying to drum up interest in the show. One time, I even worked the line at TKTS handing out my flyers to that evening's performance. We gave out half-price tickets, free tickets, I had posters stuck with wheat paste placed on poster boards throughout the city and I ran display ads in the Village Voice--all to get people to come to the show. Still, handing out flyers as I did night after night was exhausting. As any New Yorker knows, it is extremely difficult to hand out anything paper on the street. People are inundated with requests and most are savvy enough not to take them or if they do take them they usually end up as litter a block away. You must be very clever to reach a jaded New Yorker, with the old rule being that if you want someone to take your notice, your coupon, your announcement, your half-off ticket . . . you better include something to eat with it.

Anyways, we had a difficult time handing out flyers so Robin and I decided to make our 'corpse' stunt a reality. Since we could not find any actors with enough courage to undertake this, I decided to do it. The time frame from when Robin and I first talked about the corpse until its final execution (pun intended) was about two months. Here's how it would appear: You and your friends would be walking down a busy street in New York City on a Friday or Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. This could be West Fourth Street, Broadway, Houston or Astor Place. Suddenly, usually at a corner you would come upon a body on the sidewalk with a sword in its back. After your initial shock, one of three people would quickly hand you a flyer to the show and you took it, because you were curious.

This stunt got our flyers into the hands of thousands of people who in a different scenario would not have taken them. It worked better than anything we did to shock the jaded New Yorker with the end result being that every show was either sold-out or close to it. Below is a picture of me lying on the very busy corner of Houston and Broadway on a Friday night in the SoHo District of Manhattan.


The 'look' and mechanics were carefully crafted. I wore black pants, comfortable black boots and a blue, sometimes red sweatshirt. The back of the sweatshirt had a small hole cut in the center. Under the sweatshirt, strapped with Velcro to my body was a large iron plate. Welded to the plate was a half cut sword sticking upward perpendicular to the plate. The handle came off of the blade so that once the plate was strapped to my chest and the blade was fed through the hole in my sweatshirt, the handle could be placed on. I also carried a very small pillow that my girlfriend at the time had made for me. It was about three inches by three inches and was packed tightly with foam. I would place this under my head on the street and it would be concealed in my long hair which fell around the sides of it.

I had three people watching over me. My girlfriend, Francesca, her friend, Craig and our stage manager, John Graffeo. You are very vulnerable when you lay on the street and I depended wholeheartedly on these three individuals to prevent people from stepping on me, shining light into my eyes, pulling my hair, kicking me, trying to grab the sword, etc., etc. In fact, if you look at the above picture closely, you will see I have curled my fingers under my hand. I did this after having them intentionally stepped on so many times before. As for Francesca, Craig and John Graffeo, I could NOT have done this without them. They were the ones who did the real work while I just laid there . . . usually for 90 minutes while the three of them 'watched my back' and gave out thousands of flyers.

To do this effectively, I entered a Zen-like mediation concentrating on only this moment in time. Since I am not that good at complete meditation, I could hear and was aware of the boisterous reactions of people on the street who encountered my 'lifeless' body. Occasionally, people got down on the ground at eye level with me to try and make me blink. My modus operandi was to blink when others were not looking at my face. When people were staring at me, I stopped blinking. With my side view of the street I saw their footsteps inches from my face. I learned to recognize the shoes of my helpers and it gave me great comfort to see those shoes near me as I knew they were watching over me. I remember one girl getting down on the pavement next to me and putting her face so close to mine, I could feel her breath. She wanted to see if I was real. I did not blink and kept my eyes wide open until she gave in and stood up.

I had people trying to step on me and grab the sword. Most of this I was unaware until told about it later. Sometimes I would hear Craig or Francesca or John arguing with people who were trying to touch me. It was quite a surreal scene and I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of the Crate and Barrel on the corner observing. One time, as I was lying there, I heard a police siren. Francesca ran out into the street to talk to the police. Apparently they had asked her "if I was all right." She informed them that it was a publicity stunt and they laughed and let it go. This was Houston and Broadway in SoHo. Our dealings with the NYPD in Times Square however would not be so friendly.

One time, I decided to perform the 'corpse' as we later called it on Astor Place. The only person working with me this night was my stage manager, John Graffeo. I laid down on the corner at Astor Place and Lafayette and left it up to John to hand out flyers and keep people from touching me. Well, that proved extremely difficult. John had to protect every side of me and it was a daunting job. I remember a group of kids riding their skateboards very close to me trying to run over my hands. John would shoo them away and they would come back with more friends on skateboards. Some kids even showed up on bikes. Pretty soon, they started jumping over me. I could hear the wheels on the pavement and feel the wind as they moved over me. It was the longest 90 minutes of my life and was probably the same for John.

In Times Square, things were considerably different. On one 'corpse' night I was laying there when a police officer walked over and kicked me. Francesca and Craig who were working with me this night screamed at the officer. He kicked me again and then I moved. This time, the NYPD did not take kindly to the stunt. After all, tourists were there and 'what would they think of a dead body lying in the street, with a knife in its back' no less. This was the new Times Square, the amusement park Times Square. Didn't want to scare the tourists.

So, we abandoned the 'corpse' stunt for the short run we had in Times Square, but brought it back when we moved back down to SoHo and the Village. All told, over the three year run, excepting the seven months we were on 48th Street in Times Square, I performed the 'corpse' stunt more than a hundred times and due to the excellent work of Francesca, Craig and John Graffeo, I can fondly remember this difficult event enough . . . to recall it here.

Heath Ledger was right . . . sort of . . .

Recently, I was reading one of the last interviews with Heath Ledger where he talks about his role of the 'Joker' in the upcoming "Dark Knight", Batman film. He described the Joker as a 'disturbed, murderous character with zero empathy' and further states how it became a difficult role to shake off once filming wrapped. According to Ledger, the persona of the 'Joker' remained with him and, as of the date of this interview, contributed to his inability to concentrate and sleep. His subsequent death weeks later, his autopsy and later toxicology analysis revealed that he had died of a mixture of otherwise harmless medications. Sad to say, this guy was on pills to relax, to give him energy, to keep him awake, and help him fall asleep. The deadly mix is what got him and its kind of troubling to see a young person, movie star no less, that feels he needs pills to get through daily life. But aside from that, I do believe Heath Ledger was accurate about being troubled over the character of the Joker. I too, experienced the same thing.

In 1995, I starred in an Off-Broadway show, titled "Theatre of the Macabre". See the picture below taken during the show.

I co-wrote this show with a partner of mine, Robin Reseen. Furthermore, I designed and engineered all of the magic and escapes within the context of the show. Theatre of the Macabre was conceived as a very dark show revisiting the lives and deeds of some of history's worst killers, and extracting what little dark humor we could from those stories. There were elements of Grand Guignol Theatre within the context of it. It was a bloody show, but alot of fun to do. It ran for three years playing three times a week (at one point four) at the 13th Street Repertory Theatre, the Kraine Theatre in the East Village, the Trilogy in Times Square and the Wings Theatre off Greenwich Street in the West Village, respectively. Three quarters of the shows in the three year long run were sold-out in advance. Two actresses, one with a speaking part and the other without, joined me in the show. Over the course of three years we had maybe a dozen or so actresses. All were very good in their own way and lent their unique personalities to their roles in the show. Theatre of the Macabre played at midnight with a matinee on Sunday at 3pm and get this, the ticket price was only ten dollars!

The initial conception of and subsequent writing of the show took more than a year. Before any writing, there was the months and months of research. Every afternoon, I would sit in the reading room of the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue with books spread out before me on those large oak tables and yellow legal pads filled with notes from materials that could not be removed from the library. It was here in the quiet, away from the noise of the street, I studied and read about history's greatest crimes and criminals. I made much use of the copier services and reference center and took alot of notes (all before the internet made researching at home in your pajamas a reality). From 10am--3:15pm, when I headed off to my night job, I studied the lives of some really terrible people; despots, sadistic rulers, all to find a base of characters for the show. Ted Bundy, Henry Lee Lucas, John List, the Hillside Stranglers, the Zodiac Killer, John Wayne Gacy, Peter Sutcliffe, Caryl Chessman, Gary Gilmore, and Richard Speck. On microfilm, I read the newspaper accounts of Albert Fish, the serial killer of the 1930s who ate the children he murdered, Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler" who gained admittance to women's apartments by saying he was an electrical repairman, and Ed Gein, the lonely "momma's boy" who made soup bowls out of the skull's of his female victims and on whom was based Hitchcock's thriller "Psycho." Elizabeth Short the victim known as "The Black Dahlia", Leopold and Loeb, the two rich kids who, in the 1920s killed a classmate 'just to see what it would be like' and Dr. Sam Shepherd who horribly murdered his wife in the 1950s became characters in the first draft of the show. Political criminals; Heinrich Himmler, Robespiere, Vladimir Lenin, Pol Pot and much later, the unknown person with the moniker of Jack The Ripper all were considered.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Robin was doing his own research. We would then write seperately away from one another's influence. Once we completed our scene's we would meet up and read to each other what we had. Often times, Robin would suggest an element to my scene that I had not thought of and vice verse. To this day, I still feel it was the best way to collaborate--it brought out the best in both of us.

Later, we completed the first manuscript on a Remington electric typewriter in Robin's 54th Street studio apartment sometimes re-typing an entire page to make one sentence change.

Most of the characters in the show; Elizabeth Bathory, the queen who bathed in the blood of murdered girls, Vlad the Impaler, the Romanian Prince who impaled his enemies, and in some cases, his friends on wooden stakes, then ate at a banquet in front of them; Lewis Payne, one of those who conspired to kill President Lincoln; Peter Kurten, the "Dusseldorf Ripper" who sadistically murdered young girls, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, who lived well but died horribly; Anne Boelyn who suffered and was later beheaded in a gruesome fashion by her husband; Dr. Ignatius Guillotin, inventor of the Guillotine who eventually lost his head in his own invention. Dick Turpin, the dashing seventeenth century English highwayman who danced with women along the road before he robbed them of their jewels . . . were real people whose lives and deeds we dramatised and added dark humor too.

Other characters were created by us such as Guy Keltick, the incompetent hangman of Hyde Park who ended up torturing his victims because he couldn't learn the proper mechanics of hanging; the Duval Bros, consisting of Claude, imprisoned for counterfeiting, Francois, for forgery, and Alain, for anarchy all who escaped the medieval dungeon they were chained into; Mr and Mrs. Samuel Walcott, whose bodies were consumed by the roots of an overzealous apple tree; Ellen Davenport, the master poisoner who, after killing each husband, had them buried in the fireplace in her home, were characters we had entirely made up based on amalgamations and dramatizations of real-life occurences.

Each story was concluded through magic illusion or escapes. The setting was the drawing room of a mansion where skulls exploded, pictures moved and the slitting of my assistants throat took place as she sat in a chair. I, was the lonely, duplicitious, unctuous, trecherous, evil host who made these things happen all while I told the stories of others. I brandished a sword and was not above slicing my assistant if I felt like it. I wore alot of make-up and concoted this role of a dark, sadistic, trecherous character. I laughed at the pain of others and glorified in the most depraved and sadistic of their deeds because . . . that was my role and I played it convincingly. I worked on the presentation. Costumes and make-up were designed to help me get into the role. 2000 performances over the course of three years were done and like Heath Ledger, I had a hard time shaking the persona. Many people have wondered why a show that was repeatedly sold-out is not still playing. Well, that was one of the reasons. I felt the role slowly changing my life, I was becoming this person.

When I performed other shows I found it hard to step out of the role. Even without the clothes or the make-up, I could still feel that voice coming back. It was tough . . . and I know completely what he meant.

There is truth to the fact that roles can overtake you. Even still, I think trying to conquer this problem by mixing and matching medications is not the answer.

Celebrity Death Match: Jesus vs. Atlas

There are alot of strange juxtapositions in the great City of New York that, unless you live here, and walk the streets day in and day out, you usually miss them. I have lived and performed in New York for close to twenty years and have discovered, mostly by accident some of them . . . but

the great thing about New York, is that it still holds wonderful, interesting and most importantly new surprises that can make you laugh, cry . . . or in this instance . . . just wonder.

So here goes . . .

My brother and his wife were visiting New York City last week on Easter Sunday and one of the places they wanted to go to was St. Patrick's Cathedral. Being that it was Easter Sunday, we attended a 5:30pm church service. Now, St. Patrick's Cathedral is on Fifth Avenue in the heart of midtown Manhattan between 50th and 51st streets. The main doors of St. Patrick's, the large iron doors that are thrown open before and after mass lead directly out to Fifth Avenue. Rockefeller Plaza is across the street running between 48th and 53rd Streets and from 5th Avenue to 6th Avenue.

Across the street from the Cathedral is a section of Rockefeller Plaza that hosts a large, beautiful iron statue of the Greek God, Atlas (see picture) From my reading of Greek mythology, I remember Atlas as the Greek God who was punshed by Zeus and made to hold up the heavens. Because the image of "the heavens" is not really tangible, he is often pictured supporting the world on his shoulders. This iron statue supported by a concrete base stands on the Fifth Avenue side of Rockefeller Plaza facing the cathedral. Its an amazing statue, probably reaching twenty feet high. Its been pictured in movies, in books, and on television.

I'm sure you know where this is going.

I have always been aware of the Atlas statue AND St. Patrick's Cathedral but never both in relation to each other that is, until this past Easter. So we attend Mass. The church is crowded-standing room only. We are lucky, we get the end of a pew on the main aisle about halfway up toward the altar. After the Mass, we leave the pew and following the crowd we turn around for the slow, crowded procession down the aisle toward the exit and out onto Fifth Avenue. The large iron doors are open at this moment and what is the first thing you see, framed perfectly within the opened doors??? It is the pagan Greek God, Atlas.

How bizarre. We have just spent and hour listening to the Word of God and the stories of God Made Man. Of course, the monsignor's homily on the Resurrection of Christ and the effect it had on those who were witness to the event implies the idea of one God. One God, who 2000 years ago walked on the Earth as a human being.

I thought more about the Atlas statue later. Framed perfectly within the open doors at St. Patrick's, its not right or left. You do not have to strain to find it. If you wearn't looking for it--it would hit you in the face. Its there--easy to see with almost no effort. One wonders . . . was this planned? Interestingly enough, it was John D. Rockefeller Jr. not his father, that built Rockefeller Plaza and even though he was Christian, a Baptist I believe, I think it was the architects who commissioned the various works of art around the plaza, including the more famous, golden statue of Prometheus (see picture below) another Greek God which resides down in the sunken plaza in front of the ice-skating rink.

So, I think the conclusion here is that it is just a coincidence, not a symbolic stab by the Rockefeller family at Christianity . . . which, truth be told . . . might have made a better story.