It’s been at least twenty-three years since I performed at Science World. (Vancouver, Canada) I recall very little about that performance, other than that the format and content of that show reflected who I was at the time, very much the “Magic Mike” of television and 2,500 live shows previously. My persona was pleasant enough, and very much containing the kid-friendly family-show format that my agents loved, providing me with so many bookings over the years that I was able to purchase two houses, although not simultaneously. I probably had a karaoke machine mounted on a tripod stand with microphone on a stand and CD player attached to the whole affair running through the system as my “sound machine”, enabling me to amplify my voice and cue background music at appropriate moments in that show. That way I had complete control over my show without having to worry about techies who might miss music cues. I likely used my stand-up magic trunk on wheels in which all of my tricks were set up in a particular order, thus easily and readily accessible as the need for each arose throughout the course of my show. Over all, it was a portable, colourful, and effective show, with much audience participation. It was a VERY commercial magic-show, suitable for agents and family audiences alike! I likely wore a colourful, quasi, toned-down Renaissance costume sans knee-high brown suede boots, (my trademark) for the somewhat conservative audience.
Fast-forward several decades later, same venue: a new technology called Bluetooth and digital music (accessible from “Smart Phones”) now exists, enabling music and sound to be transmitted wirelessly through the venue’s sound system, thus eliminating the need for a Karaoke machine on a stand! Fast-forward several decades later, and my now grey hair is tied in a ponytail, held in place with an attractive gold, Celtic-pin. My costume now consists of a Goth-like black jacket with colourful vest and cravat; my black-leather knee-high boots, laced to the top now reflect a more confident persona, almost oblivious to the potential conservative family-based audience, although still a polite and pleasant personality exists. There is now an obvious intellectual and educated air to my persona, as I drop names such as Freud, Jung, and “The Bard” (Shakespeare) during the course of my show, as well as “Metaphysics”. Is it my age, education, (three Ph.D.’s) performance and personal experience that differentiates me from the performer of two or more decades previously? Perhaps it is the moniker “Dr. Michael (Majick Mike) Likey” vs. “Magic Mike Likey”? Perhaps it is the journey I took in order to elevate myself and my magic and thus gain entrance into the most prestigious magic organization in the world as “MMC”-Member of the Magic Circle in London, England? The fact that I am now a Mystic, (whatever ones definition of that is) not merely a magician?
Regardless of the reasons and personal and professional evolution I chose to undertake, there I was that day, near the end of December of 2022, at the exact same venue in which I stood two decades earlier; to me, the venue appeared completely unrecognizable from that previous occasion, again possibly due to my own growth and perception, and/or the growth of the venue itself, I’m still not sure which. Nonetheless, I had committed to my participation as one of several other performers within the local assembly of The Society of American Magicians, (Assembly #95) of which I am a member. Now, as First V.P. of the International Assembly of The Society of American Magicians, (#272) as well as International Development Coordinator at a National level, I have never felt more confident, after all, at this point in my life, I have nothing to prove anymore, neither on a personal level, nor on a professional level. I have long left behind me my career as a Graphic Designer, Illustrator, and Cartoonist/Caricaturist, for Metaphysical Minister, Clinical Hypnotherapist, and Doctor of Theocentric Psychology. Having retired from these as well, and now enjoying my career as an author of more than sixty-five hardcover and paperback books on magic and self-help/metaphysics, somewhere in the back of my mind, I regarded this appearance at Science World as just another paragraph, chapter, or sentence in my literal book of life/autobiography. Nonetheless, I noted in the back of my mind that I must give this endeavour (like all the other ones) my best effort. It must also reflect who I am now, and yet be entertaining and mystifying to the audience, young and old. This proved to be the first time I ever performed, that I would aim my presentation towards the adults in the audience, and not just the children, whom would naturally and as a result, be forced to elevate their expectations and thoughts! Unlike many other children and family-oriented performers, I would no longer be stomping about the stage, singing, screaming, dancing, and encouraging the children to shout out “magic words” anymore; I could no longer relate to that all anymore, again either due to my age and/or personal and professional experience; I would simply be myself, but more visually and verbally interesting, for the sake of performance art. I would be personally authentic, yet elevated, theatrically-speaking.
I had been rehearsing my new show for weeks, although many of the props and tools were not new: my Floating Table, my Tarot cards, a red velour bag housing my E.S.P. cards, and my Ghost Cabinet; only my crystal ball and stand, and my “walking”, disembodied hand were new. My carpet bag was new, although I owned several other, older ones and numerous leather doctor’s bags. The show would reflect a “look”: a period-piece, if-you-will, of the 1800’s, a time which fascinates me, (the period reflects a sort of “renaissance” of literature and mechanical inventions, some refer to it as “Steampunk”) and of which many of my props and costumes also reflect. This part was easy, the “look”. What was not so easy was the fact that all of the performers were to assume that as far as background music, technically, we were on our own! All that would be taken care of, we were told, was our voice-amplification, via wireless microphone, which they did provide. I would be forced to run my music via Bluetooth, through my phone, through a small amplifier which I brought with me, and which sat, unnoticed, to the side of the stage (Stage-Left) and rested upon my folding (Harbin) table, all of which (including the props except the Floating Table) fit nicely in my carpet bag. I therefore (for simplicity sake) decided to include only one effect (the Floating Table) which I would perform to music, also as my finale. This proved to be a huge success, although my speaker failed and the music was barely audible to the 200-plus members of the audience. Nonetheless, the music was somewhat audible, and did not “overpower” the effect! My lesson: buy a larger (but portable) Bluetooth speaker on a tripod which ran on wired power, in other words, one that plugged into an electric outlet; I would carry with me henceforth an extension cord. Another note: I carried in the trunk of my car two folding chairs, just in case the venue had none; I needed two chairs on stage, one to hold my carpet bag, the other to hold the props; the chairs stood back-to-back, and Stage-Right. My Floating Table (Centre-Stage) acted as a regular table throughout the twenty-minute set, and was only used by itself for the finale, as previously stated. The venue did have several chairs available, by-the-way, but why take chances? Another note: as per the photos, I love “dressing up” a stage, so I brought with me and set up behind me my two “roll-up” signs, available from any print shop, and which takes only minutes to set up! Light and easy to transport, they also match my business cards.
The Props
I have been including my Floating Table in my act, ever since I saw Harry Anderson perform it on the Johnny Carson show in the ‘80’s. It is the Abbott’s Floating Table, which I altered, and which contains the mechanics from the Klamm Floating Table. The combination of both suited me, because I found the Abbott’s gimmick to be too obvious for my use, and the Klamm table to be way too physically heavy, so the combination of the lighter Abbott’s table along with the deceptive mechanics of the Klamm table results in a perfect combination for me! I had the ring custom-made for me in Winnipeg, Canada, since the ones supplied were either painted an ugly flesh-color, and/or were too big for me. I have also witnessed The Amazing Kreskin perform this illusion as “table-tilting”, to reflect the practice of it in the late nineteenth century, into the early twentieth century; I use patter that reflects this “table-tilting” practice, so that when the table “takes off”, the surprised audience elicits gasps and applause. Note: I prefer using this old-looking, period-piece prop as opposed to the newer, smaller/rounded table (employing a completely different method) because of the look and the more impressive effect (in my humble opinion) that it has.
“The Tarot and The Hand of Fate” is my personal title (for reference only) for the disembodied, walking hand illusion. I first saw this prop in a Halloween shop, and fell in love with it, for its macabre and humorous appearance! Being a fan of the Addams Family, I always wondered how I could duplicate a reasonable facsimile of “Thing” from the show. To my surprise, there it was in the store! There are actually two versions of the prop, one of them looking too “bloody” for my purposes. Both are available from Amazon, and are battery-operated. My only concern was that the hand wouldn’t “walk” properly and merely tip over, but once I had the prop home, all was well! You have to get used to how long to hold it up once turned on, before setting it down on the table and it walking/stopping, (timing it so that it stops in front of (or thereabouts) a selected card/Tarot card) but that’s not hard to learn; the effect is both startling and humorous, and illicits laughs and gasps from the audience as well! I use a larger, fancy-looking (gold) Tarot deck for the trick, which I remove from an attractive, “period-looking” box to give the effect a “mystical” feel. I patter on about the Tarot being seeped in superstition, and in the same breath I speak about the famous psychologists Freud and Jung who felt that the Tarot, with its subconscious symbology, was a potential means to uncovering one’s subconscious symbols and feelings. There are numerous decks and boxes on the market, available from New Age shops and/or online, merely Google “Tarot Decks”. I got the inspiration, again, from The Amazing Kreskin, after I saw him perform a similar effect on his 1970’s TV-show, but utilizing a wind-up little yellow duck (I believe) rather than the walking hand. He also used a regular pack of cards, as opposed to Tarot cards. It’s all in the timing, once you force or keep track of a selected card.
“E.S.P. and Crystal Gazing” is my way of blending the mystical with the clinical! For example, during the presentation, I remove the clinical E.S.P. cards (which I printed in color, and on slightly oversized cards, approximately 7”x5”) from a mystical-looking Tarot-bag which is a deep red/maroon velour material, giving a “gypsy” feel to cards which were in clinical use in the early 20th century! E.S.P. cards were designed by Perceptual Psychologist Karl Zener and used by himself and his colleague Psychologist Dr. Rhine in the 1930’s at Duke University for measuring Extra Sensory Perception in test subjects. The fact that I also use a crystal ball during the course of the effect for a second participant to name the E.S.P. card selected by the first spectator/participant is, I feel, the perfect blending of science, metaphysics, and mysticism! Because the methodology is currently being marketed commercially as several other effects, I’m not at liberty to reveal the working, other than to hint at the fact that the crystal ball acts as a magnifier during the course of the trick, which I refer to as an “experiment”.
Experiments vs. Tricks/Illusions/Effects
A note here about my use of the word “experiment” in lieu of “trick”, etc.
I named this show “Dr. Michael’s Experiments of the Mind-Bridging Science and Mysticism” exactly for this purpose: to present the tricks not simply as mental “feats” which the performer accomplishes, but as a means of illustrating, using various props during the course of the show, the potential of the mind. As I state at the beginning, “Clinical studies have shown that we use only 2% of our brain’s potential.” I leave it up to the spectators to decide “If everything is accomplished via Extra Sensory Perception or through science.” The audience assistants are always the “heroes” who seemingly accomplish these mental feats themselves; unlike most bizarre and mentalism shows, the main figure (performer/magician/mentalist) is not the “hero”, but merely “facilitates” the occurrences, be they the physical “manifestations” at the beginning of the show, (the red ball returning mysteriously to the shot-glass) or the table floating at the end. Everything in-between is merely filler, disguised as pseudo-science and suggested mysticism.
The whole thing harkens back to a time (1800’s to early twentieth century) when experiments of the mind not unlike these were actually performed, by the well-meaning, scientifically-qualified, and charlatans alike. Thus, the “period”-feel, which I like regardless.
The First Trick/”Experiment”
I thought long and hard about this, as in my previous shows, I always did a quick, visual, magical-looking trick, such as “Rope-to-Silk”. This effect and similar ones no longer suited me, nor my look or feel.
In the July 2022 M-U-M issue (the official magazine of The Society of American Magicians) I published my re-working of a Stewart James effect, titled “Sefalaljia”, essentially a mini spirit-cabinet prop, with various “manifestations” occurring, such as a smoking cigar, a ball returning to a shot-glass, a small brass bell ringing on its own, and finally a “spirit slate” upon which is ultimately (and mysteriously) written the name of a famous, long-dead author who may or may not have been responsible for the manifestations! Although I built the prop from a small, wooden, horizontal audio speaker, I also purchased online (from Penguin Magic, I believe) what is known as a “Ghost Cabinet”, essentially an attractive, wooden square cabinet with a front that hinges open, unlike the Sefalaljia which has a curtain across the front. In addition, the Ghost Cabinet only produces the one effect of a ball, once removed from the shot-glass it rests on, and placed off to the side within the cabinet, returns mysteriously to the shot-glass, after the front door is closed and then once again opened. The challenge for me was, how do I present this as my quick “prover” at the beginning of my show without boring my audience with prolonged patter? After all, I was used to a quick and visual “prover”. My solution was this portable, relatively quick prop which accomplishes a miracle! My premise was this: after stating that we only use 2% of our brain, I open the cabinet, calling attention to the bright red ball resting on the glass, and then I place it a few inches away and beside the glass within the cabinet, I ask, “Can we use our imagination, visualization, or mind-power (referred-to as “Psychokinesis”) to move the ball?” I get everyone to visualize the ball rising up and moving over and above the shot-glass, and then dropping itself back onto the glass. I open the cabinet, and voila, a miracle has occurred, thanks to what? Psychic Power? Science? Visualization? The Power of the Mind? Nevertheless, the audience has seemingly accomplished this! This sets the pace (and premise) for the duration of the show.
Sure, for this Science World presentation/show, I could have easily performed the aforementioned Sefalaljia illusion, a whole show in itself, (only three to four minutes, by the way) but I was obligated to perform for 15-20 minutes, so the Sefalaljia would have to be only one of several illusions I was to perform. The Floating Table was a must-do, no doubt. The Sefalaljia is a heavy, bulky prop, requiring its own case/carpet bag; the Ghost Cabinet was the solution, fitting perfectly into (literally and figuratively) my show! It fit into the carpet-bag along with the hand, crystal ball, etc., and would accomplish that relatively quick and visual demonstration of the audience’s mind-power, thus setting the pace and theme of my show!
Thus my current show was born; I will no doubt plug-in a few more effects to lengthen the overall show from 15 minutes to 20-to-30. Already I’m planning a “ghost-like”/apparition theme for my Rising Cards effect, with a few more to follow.
How can you transform your regular tricks into something with a spooky/mystical theme? How about your props and costume?
The sky, or mind’s the limit!
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