The Astonify Show at The Secret Parlor Theatre

The Astonify Show is now playing every Saturday during the month of October at the new Secret Parlor Theatre in Chantilly, VA. Last night was a showcase of sorts, where I showcased part of The Astonify Show and my friend Rick, who owns the Secret Parlor Theatre, showcased part of his show. The results were, well, astonifying!

We started the show at 8pm and had a nice audience. The venue only seats 24 and we didn't quite have a full house. Some friends of mine that purchased tickets were no shows. I hope everything is ok with them, because I know they were excited about attending.

Astonify, is my interpretation of a 19th Century Parlor Magic Show. I do take some liberties along the way, but they are more for the appeal of 21st Century audiences. Basically, I speed up the presentations slightly. The magic is the type you'd see if you were alive in the 1800s. No modern technology is used in the show, no iPhones, smart phones or that sort of thing.

My set ran about 33 minutes. I did half of my magic portion and half of my seance portion. My take on the traditional Victorian Seance is different. But I have an edge over most people.....this theatre actually has a ghost! He has made himself known twice now, once during this show, and once during dress rehearsals the night previous. We heard footsteps coming from the back of the audience, right down the side isle to the front and then stopping.

The photo to the left you can kind of make out my Spirit Dial that is a feature of my show. I chose this specific trick because many 19th Century era magicians used it. And wow, does it ever deliver. It's basically a glass clock face with no inner workings. A dial is spun and always lands on the number that people call out. Strangely, it even lands on a number secretly chosen by a spectator, even though, NO ONE knows the number until the dial stops spinning!

There is one thing though that I must point out because it is something that I must be firm on in all future shows, this show is NOT FOR CHILDREN, so don't bring them and especially don't bring a baby. Yes, this is exactly what happened Saturday night. A clueless woman brought her 4 year old and infant baby and the baby cried and the kid wandered around. After the show numerous members of the audience complained. They said they really enjoyed the show but the experience was ruined due to the crying baby. I have to agree. No offense to people with kids, there are plenty of activities for kids, and hey, there are magic shows FOR kids, this one is just not one of them. This was designed for adults.

The next performance is October 20th at 8pm. You can find out about tickets via Astonify.com

Astonify At The Old Jail Museum in Warrenton VA

The Astonify Show was presented August 11th at the Old Jail Museum in Warrenton VA as part of their Sleepover at the Jail Event. I presented an hour long version of the show which was kind of customized to the venue. Due to the small performing area, I created a show that utilized many audience members, in fact, all but two routines were audience participation.

I began by sharing a couple 'ghost-like' stories from my travels. And then told them about the incident that already took place at the jail. My brand new iPhone X stopped working. I was in the midst of taking photos and it just locked up. I tried to reboot it, but no matter what I did, the phone would not turn off. (when I left the building after the show, the phone worked fine)

Two audience members told me they heard a voice say, "get out" during my show. All the jail cells are haunted apparently. In fact, there was a mannequin inside of a glass cabinet at the back of the room whose head had moved directions DURING my show!!!!

This version of ASTONIFY had several card routines, a wonderful rope routine that looks impossible, a very surprising effect with a borrowed ring, a routine using Spirit Photographs, the 19th  Century classic The Spirit Dial, and finally I bring out an actual Spirit Trumpet which can be examined and then we use it to contact a spirit.

As with every show I've done at a haunted location, there were issues with things. These, thankfully, were minor, but it did cause me to drop two routines from the show. As it turned out, I didn't need them, as I still went slightly over an hour according to my clock.

I will admit to being a little nervous during the Spirit Trumpet routine as I feared a voice other than Anna Eva Fay's would be speaking through the trumpet. That did not happen, but damn if the spirit didn't decipher and reveal something that no one in the room was aware of. Crazy!

The folks who attended my show, were going to partake in a paranormal tour following the show, so I can't imagine what happened during that activity! Then they all were sleeping over at the jail. I don't think I could have done it!!!!

Magician Doing Magic In Jail!

The Astonify Show will be one of the features of an upcoming Sleepover At The Old Jail, in Warrenton VA, on August 11th. This event is a fundraiser for the Jail, and my portion, The Astonify Show is only part of the overall festivities. There is also a paranormal tour, and of course the actual sleepover at the jail!

My show, ASTONIFY, is a perfect fit to get things started off. If you're at all familiar with the show, we end with a light seance. Given the fact that this jail is already known to have paranormal activity, this should be really interesting!

I am told that they expect this event to sell out, and I'm not even sure how many tickets are left. But I wanted to mention it here on my blog! Here is the information on tickets https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-night-at-the-old-jail-a-sleepover-for-adults-tickets-46850348654

I hope to see you there!!!