magic is about honesty
everything here is true
except for the bits I made up
From a wonderful sold out show at The Rec Room along with Beyond Mental Borders. Here are some photos, courtesy of Luke Peters.
I have a hard enough time watching footage of myself perform. I feel for the poor audience that had to deal with a an eight foot portrait of me on the back wall.
Later this month, I will be appearing at The Rec Room in An Evening of Mystery & Magic featuring the mind reading duo Beyond Mental Borders. The Rec Room, located near the SkyDome (or Rogers Centre… if you insist.) It’s stocked with arcade games galore and multiple restaurant and bar spaces. This performance is in their main theatre which offers full dinner menu & bar service so you can come and eat as you enjoy the show.
Sunday, August 18
8:00 PM (Doors open 7:00 PM)
The Rec Room
(255 Bremner Blvd, Toronto)
“Located at Roundhouse Park in downtown Toronto, just steps away from the CN Tower, Rogers Centre, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Air Canada Centre and Billy Bishop Airport.
The Rec Room redefines the meaning of fun with over 40,000 sq. feet of great games, mouth-watering eats and amazing entertainment, all packed under 1 roof!
The Rec Room is the place to let go, be playful and experience something new and exciting. We’re Canada’s premier “eats & entertainment” hot spot, and we’re taking Toronto by storm!
With Canadian-inspired cuisine, virtual reality, video & redemption games, live entertainment, and more, The Rec Room is the ultimate gathering place to grab a pint, host an event, or just play.
Your new social playground has arrived!”
Judge Steffi Kay
Last night was Cheap Tricks 2, the nightmarish magic contest envisioned by Mysterion, Canada’s most awesomely coiffed, sartorially resplendent mentalist and half of the mindreading duo The Sentimentalists. Each contestant receives a series of constraints and has to create their act in just a few hours before performing on stage at Revival.
I appeared alongside John Roldan, Jim Byrnes, Beyond Mental Borders, Jonah Babins, Harry Zimmerman, Jacqueline Swann and Shamus MacGregor. The contest was judged by Steffi Kay of the Sentimentalists, Ben Train, Rayn, and the previous champion Chris Westfall. (I was a judge on the first contest in 2017, but agreed to give up my spot to Chris.)
My set of constrains was that i had 3 hours to build an act using a budget of $5 with only material procured at a the nearby A&W. I also had to present in the theme of a XXX-rated Adult Film…. magic for grownups indeed. I’m so glad I forgot to invite my mother to watch. I’m more glad that magic elder statesman Mark Lewis was in the audience to witness me debasing the art of magic.
But a contest is a contest and I played to win (much to Mysterion’s regret.) You can watch the full performance below — cheaply filmed and edited by the Cheap Tricks elves. Although there’s not necessarily any reason you would want to. And certainly don’t do it with your children around:
The tl/dw is that I won…. proud of it, but not proud of what I had to do to get it. Thank you to the judges and to everyone who attended the contest.
James Alan & Mysterion the Mindreader
L to R: Shamus Macgregor, Beyond Mental Borders, Harry Zimmerman, Jacqueline Swann, James Alan, Jonah Babins, Jim Byrns, John Roldan
I can’t wait to get back to doing normal magic!
It is the worst possible scenario for a variety performer. You arrive in another city to perform, but your props and equipment do not. (Thank you Airlines.) It’s a situation no one would want to be in, but we’re inflicting it on ourselves in Cheap Tricks. We tried this earlier in 2017 and are at it again, putting performers in awkward and unpleasant situations for your entertainment pleasure.
All participants are given a small budget, location to buy what they can find, and have to come with 10 mins of amazing material on the fly for the audience.
Featuring John Roldan, Poppa, Jimbo, Beyond Mental Borders, Jonah Babins, The Wanderer, Jacque Swan, James Harrison, Shamus MacGregor and some guy named James Alan. Judged by Ben Train, Steffi Kay & Chris Westfall (the returning champion from the first Cheap Tricks in 2017.) With a performance by The Sentimentalists.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
8:30 PM
Revival
783 College Street, Toronto
We hope you can join us for what is sure to be a very unusual night.
