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.

Your watching . . . No Jail Can Hold Me . . .

I can't believe it's March already--where does the time go? I have been hard at work the last two months working on new material--magic and escape material. I am very proud of some of the new escape effects I am working on.

The television pilot, "No Jail Can Hold Me" that I spent the better part of last year shooting is now complete and, as we speak, still under consideration for a possible series by The History Channel. It would be a weekly show comprised of an hour in which I would tell the story of three historical escapes and would then, in the course of the show recreate them. For the pilot episode, I told the story of Harley Caswell, an endurance driver in the barnstorming 1930's who was hired by a promoter to test how long he could drive a 1931 Chevrolet without stopping. To insure that he did not cheat by getting out of the vehicle Harley dreamed up the effective idea of having himself handcuffed to the steering wheel. All is fine for the first day as Harley drives around Glens Falls, New York greeting the mayor, the press and the townspeople who came to see him. When later it began to rain, Harley sought shelter inside of a large barn. In the 1930s hay was not baled so instead the floor of the barn was covered in several inches of loose hay. The catalytic converter, hot as it would be on any running engine came in contact with hay and in seconds started a smoldering fire under the car. With an entire barn filled with the stuff, it doesn't take a genius to understand that soon the whole undercarriage of the car is ablaze- with Harley still handcuffed inside! I won't tell you what happened to poor Harley but I can tell you that I recreated the stunt with two sets of handcuffs on either wrist and a 1990 SAAB which pyro guys set on fire. Despite having the oil pan, oil filter, carburetor, gas tank and struts removed, the pyro guys mapped out exactly where and how the fire would travel around me. But alas . . . the best laid plans Of Mice and Men . . . it was not to be. Since we had to do this outside on a racetrack (fire marshals prevented us from recreating it inside a barn) we were at the mercy of a gusting wind which several times sent the roaring fire in the direction of my face! It was crazy and I just made it out before getting burned.

Other stunts included escaping from a cell at Eastern State Penitentery where both Al Capone and Willie Sutton were imprisoned. In fact, we re-created Willie Sutton's tunnelled escape from the prison by digging a 40 foot tunnel of our own and filling it with water and rats, while I was inside. I have the bite marks to prove it. Fun . . . fun . . . fun. On a tamer note--I visit a locksmith shop and demonstrate some lock picking skills, we go to the streets where I escape various police officer's handcuffs, I throw myself out of a moving car onto the hard pavement--and in actual filming--did this a number of times--breaking my hand in the process.

Finally, we head out to New Mexico to tell the story of Billy The Kid's imprisonment there and I perform a few more escapes. Keep your eyes peeled for this show as plans will be for it to aire soon.

On another note, I am continuing my work on my live show which I should be bringing to New York City in the very near future. I am also toying with the idea of bringing back some of the outdoor publicity escapes I used to do years ago. I have always wanted to do an escape at Coney Island and this may be a reality later on this year. Truth is, with each passing year some of these escapes become more difficult to do. I don't necessarily mean physically, as I am in very good shape and actually can escape faster than I did twenty years ago. What I think is different with me is the level of risk-taking that I am willing to put my mind through. The escapes are dangerous and whereas it did not bother me as much when I was twenty--it starts to become a reality later. I don't know--maybe mortality is setting in.

Its something we all face and it is only mental--but like anything--it is important that your thoughts be as sharp and as positive as any physical skills you need for success.

Keep the faith.

Happy Holidays

I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy and healthy, holiday season. Will be pretty busy with the usual spate of shows over the holidays going into the first part of 2008.

Two Thousand Dollar Poster

Hi-

This poster is also currently unavailible. The good news is . . . that due to the many requests received this one will be reprinted. I will post again when it is availible.

Meanwhile, there are other posters for sale if interested. Log on to: thomassolomon.com and click on "Store"

Thanks for your patience.

Most Requested Poster

To the right is the original poster for my upside down straitjacket escape performed last December in Portland, Oregon. I wrote about this in a posting last year. Since that time, I have received a number of emails asking if there are any left. Unfortunately, there are not. There were 2500 printed initially (a small number) and they went fast.

Thomas

Broken Hand

I'm back.
Sorry. I have been away for awhile----shooting a television special. This special will aire on a "major network" early in 2008 and is filled with many types of escapes (handcuffs, jails, locks, etc., etc.). There will be a retrospective on my twenty-five plus year career in the escape field at the beginning of the show. We were shooting on location in New Mexico, Texas, Pennsylvania and Maine and when I mention "we", I mean myself and the wonderful production company that has been behind me on this. Escapes and magic are difficult to shoot for television (being a live performance art) and admittedly we made several stumbles in the run-up to this production, but nevertheless I think we have finally found our groove. Myself and the writer (an Emmy award winner) come from different backgrounds and while it was a challenge to find out how to work together in the beginning, I think, through this process we have come out more informed, and better artists. It was a Trial by Fire so to speak. He has made me see things in a new light, I'm sure the same is true for him. We finished our initial shoot in June and then had to go back and re-shoot new scenes in September. On the shoot in September, I had broken my left hand in one of the stunts. Since this happened on the second day of a four day shoot, I had to manage the last two days working with a broken hand. My hand was not severely broken, but rather was a "longitudinal fracture of the fifth phalanx of my left hand. " I was able to carry on for two more days before it was X-rayed and then splinted.
Currently, two editors (one in Califonia and the other in Maine) are hard at work taking over 30 hours of raw footage and funnelling it down to an hour show of hard-hitting escapes. That, as far as I'm concerned, is the real magic.

Also have been busy writing several articles for the new "Encyclopedia of Escapes" that is being updated and re-printed this year. This book is on sale only to the magic community, but in it, I have decided to tip several of my methods for this new edition. First published in 1965, it was, when I was a kid one of the very few books on escapes. Hungry for information, I read it spiral bound cover to spiral bound cover many times and recall learning almost everything in the book. Meeting the author recently was a humbling experience and I readily agreed to be part of this new edition.

To all who have sent well wishes and/or read this blog, thank you. The best to all of you this Thanksgiving. I for one, have much to be thankful for.

Peace,
Thomas

07.07.07, 07.13.07 and Robin Hood the Magician

Tomorrow is July 7, 2007 . . . commonly written as 07/07/07 unless you are in Europe . . . then it is written 07/07/07 (!!!) and next week . . . is Friday the Thirteenth!!!

Seven is the luckiest of all numbers so tomorrow, should be a good day, while next Friday . . . well, we'll see . . .

I tend to be a superstitious person--believing that success is often times set in motion by certain days, hours, times and locations and one's place within them. I believe in the magic of numbers--although I don't live my life by them. I think there is something to the zodiac--esp. Sun signs--although I also agree with Thomas Aquinas' assertion that those who do not believe in the zodiac--have its attributes fit them like a glove. (Believing its possibilities--he thought--allowed you to exert free will, thus negating the controlling power of the zodiac). I also believe in sympathetic magic in all of its various forms esp. that a parallel person's success will almost always lead to mine. Various times in my life I have traced my particular success in something directly to another person's success. I know its strange and I'm not entirely sure its real . . . only that I tend to believe in it.

One example I can relate of karma or sympathetic magic working in my favor occurred many years ago on the streets of NYC. This is probably around 1990--1991 after I quit working cruise ships. I was desperate for any success as a magician. I worked tons of dive clubs, sometimes I wasn't paid. One time I had some coins I used in my show stolen off a table at a trade show I was working. Another time I was stranded in Philly because the organizer stiffed me and I had no train fare back. It was just horror show after horror show and somehow, miraculously, I lived through it all. Well, a good friend of mine, Polaris, an excellent magician, was doing street performing in NYC about this time. He would work usually all day on the weekends and at the end of the day could make some pretty good cash.

I thought street performing might be good and lucrative. So, I created an act . . . magic incorporating escapes and for about a year I worked everyday at lunch hour on the streets of New York. My favorite places to work were in front of the Plaza Hotel right under the General Sherman statue and along Sixth Avenue from about 47th to about 53rd. In the warm weather, the sidewalks in front of the McGraw Hill and Time Life Buildings were filled with people and it became my daily audience.

I kept some of the money myself but gave most of it away. I did pretty well. I met many people and got alot of business cards. Roughly three months into it, I met someone who was a promoter. (He shall remain nameless). We became friends and he often took me out to dinner. Over food, he would tell me of the outlandish pranks he had conceived over the years--how he had fooled the NY Times into publishing his obituary and on and on. He was an interesting guy.

We talked about what I was doing on the street and he offered a suggestion that he thought would take me to the next level. He said that I should play the character of a wealthy business man who did not need to work and instead wanted to make people feel happy by performing magic. At the end of my set, instead of soliciting money from people, I would give it away. (You heard right). I would produce money from an empty top hat and before leaving would give it away. If anyone tried to tip me, I would refuse it. He suggested I get some business cards which read: Robin Hood The Magician--and hand these out if anyone asked questions. People who wanted further information were to contact my manager, him.

Well, it sounded interesting--and within a few days we had an agreement. But I must tell you, the prospect of giving money away when I had so little, absolutely killed me. Many days I went without eating after a day of performing in which, playing the wealthy "Wall Street Executive", I gave away money. Somedays, all I had left was the "Robin Hood" business cards. Well, I did that for five months--I figured I had given away about $1000.00 keeping just enough money to pay my rent and get some food. Everything else was gone. In the picture to the right, I have just concluded my act and have produced money out of an empty hat, which I gave away to stunned spectators.


Eventually, the "manager" and I had a falling out and we parted. Soon after, I quit the Robin Hood thing. I pursued other work from people I had met on the street--for awhile working as a regular at The Front on Seventh Avenue South in the Village, then Cafe Bonjour on 53rd and Lexington. I even got booked at The White House!!! I soon forgot about street performing and the brutal Robin Hood image. Whenever, my mind went back to that crazy time, I thought about how much money I had given away and would always wonder when I would get it back--since my belief in karma always said that money freely given will be received back doubled.

Well, about a year afterwards, I was contacted by a researcher for a publishing house who was doing a book for Harvey Mackay on business practices and the unusual lengths people would go to secure a dream job or to boost their business. Someone, she informed me had been watching day after day--as I performed and then gave away money to astonished spectators. They thought it was a wonderful method of standing away from the crowd and marketing oneself. They listened to people wondering out loud who this mysterious figure was--why on earth was he giving away money? Is he crazy? Who is this?
Remember, this was before websites and the proliferation of email and camera phones--so the word of mouth would spread thus increasing the mystique. I would see some of the same people every day--oh but with ten new friends they had brought. I began to wonder if they even cared about the magic or the escapes--or if they just wanted money.
Anyways, this person followed me--she noted the reactions of the spectators and must have seen the crowds as they increased everyday. Most importantly she remembered me and kept the business card I probably gave her. About a year later, the publishing house she worked for contacted me and offered me $2500.00 to publish my "Robin Hood" story in HarveyMackay's next best-selling business practices book.

Ripley's Believe It or Not!!!

I have been away for awhile--lots of new things to tell you--some I will post soon, others will have to wait. I've received more than a few emails from people asking--where have you been? Are you dead? More on that . . . the dead thing I mean, later. That in itself is a story. Again, lots to say and will be making more frequent posts updating everyone as to what's happening.

I was notified recently that my work as an escape artist is being profiled in the new Ripley's Believe it or Not!!! The Remarkable Revealed in stores on August 7.

These are annual hardcover compendiums put out by Ripley's with its usual fare of the unusual and the bizarre. They are large books about 8 1/2 x 11 size.

I feel sort of honored since I use to read the small bantam paperbacks of Ripley's back in the day-- when I attended grade school and we would go to the library every Wednesday morning. One of the books had a picture on its cover of a penny with a needle going through it. In small print down at the bottom right corner of the cover it said: "to learn how to do this turn to page 41." So, over on page 41 there was a diagram that showed how it could be done. You were to get two wooden blocks of wood that were longer than the needle. Placing these on the workbench standing upright, you would then get your penny and place each edge on one side of the block of wood. So the center of the penny would not be resting on the wood, only the edges. Then you were to get a cork and push the needle into the cork until the point started to come through the bottom. Then, you would set the cork on the penny. Taking a hammer (and here was the hard part) you would, with one straight downward blow strike the cork which would push the needle straight through the penny. When I first saw the diagram, I was intrigued. That night at home on my father's workbench, I broke alot of needles until I learned that you had to strike the cork squarely and sharply with the hammer. There was no second chance--otherwise the needle would bend and then break. Well, after about an hour and many attempts --it worked--exactly as the book had mentioned. I was so excited--I kept it for years--as an oddity I had created from the pages of Ripley's Believe It or Not!!!

Back to their annual book--The Remarkable Revealed--I have not seen the article done on me and am not sure what the layout is--I don't know if it is a full page spread or one column. I was told there are some pictures and a bio detailing my work on both English and American television. Mention is made of my escape from a locked safe under thirty feet of water and of my many escapes from handcuffs.

So, if you find yourself near a bookstore after August 7, run in and check it out. You don't even have to buy it (unless you want to, of course). But, I get no royalties for this.

Also, I may be performing escapes as part of the book launch--and may be doing some media around the country--possibly in the Chicago area. As soon as I know, I will post the information here. So, stay tuned.

Peace

"Artistic" Madness Gone Awry?

No matter where you live in the country, I'm sure I am correct in assuming you've heard of the street shooting occurring here in New York City several nights ago. It happened in Greenwich Village on a series of streets (since the gunman was running) that included MacDougal and Bleecker which are bounded by Sullivan and Houston Streets in the heart of Greenwich Village. My first Off-Broadway show played three years at a theatre that was literally down the block from where the shooting first began. We spent many a night in and around the West Village, eating at its restaurants, looking in its stores, sitting in Father Demo Park, and gorging on Marzipan and Canoles at the italian patisserie shop around the corner. We've eaten in DeMarco's Pizzearia (where the murder spree began) and carried pizza out of there several times. Tragically, four people, including the gunman were killed. (An employee of a Pizzeria--probably the initial target, then two Auxiliary and unarmed "civilian" police officers that gave chase and finally the gunman.)

I was reading the newspaper accounts of the killing spree AND the killer. Apparently, the killer was something of a filmmaker--actually probably the wrong phrase--he was an aspiring filmmaker. He had self-financed several different short films and by the account of one of his actresses had almost started a fight during one of his street shoots. Most who knew him well said there was something not right about him--a hidden anger if you will. One of his surreal film scripts involved a US Marine who goes on a shooting spree(???!!!) Interesting since he was asked to leave the Reserves after several years.

Those who knew him in a professional sense, his colleagues from the Wall Street Journal where he worked as a typographer said he was quiet and that there was nothing overtly unusual about him. Besides his short films, he had conceived of a Goth reality series entitled "The Darklys" and was apparently shopping this around. He told people he was a Pulitzer prize winning journalist. Some suggested that while the gunman craved recognition and had some talent as a filmaker and writer, he was unwilling or unable to put in the work to achieve success.

Now, I don't mean to trivialize what has happened. All artists live with frustration, depair, disappointment--but if you truly love what you do--as Picasso said--you cannot be doing it for the money. If you do it for the love--then the money and recognition will come. That's the thinking. Of course this takes a tremendous amount of faith in oneself. The fact that he was unwilling to 'work' for what he wanted suggests to me that he really did not 'love' what he was aspiring to do--rather he wanted fame, notoriety.

A search of his apartment in the Bronx found disguises and more guns including a speed loader and over a hundred rounds of ammo. The night of the shooting spree he carried a backpack that contained another semi-automatic with another 90 rounds of ammo. This was clearly someone who was planning damage . . . lots of it . . . and more of it.

This individual was a landmine . . . sitting . . . sometimes unnoticed . . . just waiting to be detonated. How many more people we see and interact daily are like this? Simmering . . . just waiting for that moment.

You know, its not the large things that send a man over the edge. Rather its the continuing series of small tragedies . . . a shoelace that snaps with no time left . . . a cancelled train when trying to reach an appointment . . . a firing from a job . . . a rejection from a lover . . . that do you in . . ."

Mozart's and Beethoven's

For several months now, I have been working to solve two creative magic problems. My rehearsal space (read: attic) in my home is filled with various props and notes/drawings in all stages of development. Many ideas I have are simply waiting for a presentation to be created. Sometimes I have the presentation, but no effect. Other times, I spend all my money to build a prop that works in my head . . . only to find out . . . that's the only place it works . . . in my head! It can be very daunting. At this moment, I have two excellent effects that need motivation, meaningful presentation and a better method. I know they're excellent because I've shown them, in their bare bones state to several people and have received great reactions--Still, I'm not happy with them. To me, they are more than just a "Wow! That was cool." These could be meaningful and powerful effects beyond their visual if I could only find 'what that something is.' Leaning back in my chair trying to solve this problem reminds me of a theory I have had. I'd like to share it with you.

(drumroll)

It is the Mozart--Beethoven Theory.

It goes like this.

Creatively speaking, there are two kinds of people in this world, Mozart's and Beethoven's. "Mozart's" are people who have the gift of creativity flowing within them. Their creative output appears effortless and can seemingly be tapped at will. They seem to be devoid of any of the struggles that overtake artists and--to boot, their output is always the best--never a hint of mediocrity. "Beethoven's" on the other hand are people who must struggle for their creativity, they must suffer the rejection, shield the self-doubt and mask the despair of disappointment. They may have many wonderful ideas, only a few may ever be recognized.

Mozart if you remember was a prodigy. He could play the harpsichord at age three (imagine?) and was writing compositions at age four. He wrote his first opera at 13 and was said to be possessed of almost perfect pitch ( a feat never equalled). His companions were amazed when Mozart could learn minuets and trios in a half hours time. His short life produced an incredible body of work (600 compositions). Even more incredible, Mozart had no musical influences, making him one of those rare creative artists who was completely original. His observation that his music came to him completed, already in his head only waiting for his transcription is, at its very worst, astounding.

Beethoven is a different story. He was also considered a prodigy but with a completely different method of creativity. His talents were recognized early by his father, who nurtured these abilities (when he wasn't drinking) with the goal of turning him into "a little Mozart." (shades of John Stuart Mill) Beethoven was forced to tutor under a variety of musical teachers in his early teens including Hadyn. Within a few years he had produced a number of piano sonatas and Symphony 1. His magnum opus, the Ninth Symphony took him four years to write. Beethoven's early life was wracked with abuse at the hands of his father. In life, he was plagued with self-doubt at the same time he dealt with depression, loss of his hearing and severe financial hardship.

Still, Beethoven and Mozart's influence are lauded today with musical compositions that are performed around the world.

Creatively speaking, Beethoven had to work, and work hard to find and then nurture his now recognized genius. He often struggled over each note, each pause, re-writing and re-writing over and over again, never truly happy with what he created.

And so it is--music has parallels in all the creative arts, including magic. I often think of Beethoven and how aspects of his life mirror mine. I constantly struggle over this presentation or that presentation to the point of distraction and . . . despair.

If I could ask for one thing . . . I would ask to be a Mozart.

Fair Lawn, NJ and the mystery man, George

Fair Lawn, New Jersey is about a thirty minute drive from my home in Maplewood, NJ on the Garden State Parkway (provided there is no traffic). This show was this past Sunday February 4, Super Bowl Sunday, and thankfully there wasn't too much traffic on the roads. My performance was scheduled for 3pm but as usual I arrived about thirty minutes prior to set-up and familiarize myself with the surroundings. A very nice couple was throwing a birthday bash for their ten year old daughter who loved magic. In all there were about thirty people in attendance and the performance took place in their living room. These I find are some of the best shows. There is something about performing in someone's home that makes everything better. Perhaps it is that people are usually on their best behavior when in their own (or their friend's home) or maybe its just the energy that is prevalent when someone is within their own space. Nevertheless, there were about 15 adults and 15 children--ages ten to about 16. Adults ranged in age from late 30's to mid 70's. An excellent group. I performed a variety of magic (no escapes) choosing various pieces from my repertoire which included playing cards, coins, silk handkerchiefs, fire and money. There was alot of food catered for this event and I was invited to stay (after the performance and partake in the food festivities) but I declined. After the show I met with many of the adults and gave out my entire stack of business cards, hopefully securing some shows for the future.

As of this writing, I continue to hone the script for my stage show, The Escapist. I am adding more of my personal experiences (lockouts, safe cracking, etc.) that I encountered in my years as a locksmith in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I hope to open The Escapist somewhere (preferably Las Vegas) in the near future. My partner George, one of the best idea men and certainly the best graphic/set designer I have ever met will provide the visuals. He will be storyboarding sections of the script and provide illustrations for the lobby display and some of the effects.

More about the mystery-man, George. In every artistic endeavor, I think it is important for the artist to be able to bounce ideas off of someone else, to have a partner in their creativity. George is such a man--many of my ideas were only half ideas until I told George about them and then he breathed new life into them. Several times, he re-designed and rebuilt props I had been using for years, making them better in the process. He has created posters and flyers for events I have performed around the country. George is a great guy and is one of the most talented people I have ever met. George also knows everybody--well, not everybody--but enough people in the industry--that also are able to help. George created the segments that you can see on YouTube as well as The Escapist logo and key art animation. One interesting story about George--on one of our many meetings, I had mentioned that I needed to shoot a brief host segment for a Discovery Channel pitch. I was thinking of just taking a hi-8 camera and shooting myself on my driveway. George heard me say this and like the masterful director that he is--sprang into action. We were not going to do this on my driveway--he informed me. So George started making calls, right there in the diner where we were having lunch. Inside of an hour he had a theatre space, a camera crew and a design for a set that looked better than anything on television. So, can Vegas be far off with George at the helm? I think not.

I have a few shows scheduled out-of-state in the next few months, including one in Fort Lauderdale Florida.

Peace