Uncertain Confessions (Part 1)

My new show, The Uncertainty Project is approaching very fast (June 18). While I am keeping very tight lipped about the contents of the show (what good is a show about uncertainty if you know in advance what's going to happen?) I wanted to share a bit about what's behind the show: where it came from and how it developed. Randomness and probability have always held a deep fascination for me. When I was younger, I was introduced to the Infinite Improbability Drive of Douglas Adams and also to Chaos Theory as described by the inimitable Jeff Goldblum in Jurrasic Park (Even when I'm supposed to be learning about velociraptors, I still somehow gravitate to non linear dynamics.)

My love of randomness — that sounds a bit perverse, maybe "interest" is better — is coupled with pathological indecisiveness. Under no circumstances should you try to present me with any kind of options like "What movie would you like to go see?" It's not pretty. So in order to escape from the black hole that is decision making, I invoke random chance wherever possible. This means that unless I'm performing in a show and the order of the tracks actually matter, every music-playing gizmo that I own is set to shuffle on a permanent basis.

Unfortunately, that means this exact scenario actually happened to me once:

Buy tickets to The Uncertainty Project here. Or, if you're the guy this happened to, contact me and I'll arrange a free ticket for you.

More uncertainty coming soon....

Contest for The Uncertainty Project

Over at the Canada's Magic Blog, there is a contest going on where you have the opportunity to win tickets to The Uncertainty Project, June 18-21 at the Wychwood Theatre in Toronto. The contest is based on a random draw, so anyone can sign up for a chance to win. There are four pairs of tickets up for grabs which will be distributed on May 30. So go try your luck. Enter now.

Regular tickets for the show are available at www.uncertaintyproject.com/tickets.

Some Extra Awesomeness

This is what an Award of Awesomeness looks like.

I was recently awarded this Award of Awesomeness from the SOULO Theatre Festival where I spent most of my weekend submerged in one-person theatre. I think I'll hang it next to my Larry Award.

It was a wonderful experience to be part of. I have no doubt that embarrassing and unusual photos will surface in no time. In the meantime, here are mine:

(For the juicier ones, head over to Instagram #soulo)

Early Bird Tickets for The Uncertainty Project

Special discounted early bird tickets for The Uncertainty Project are available for the next twenty four hours. After Victoria Day, prices go up $10 so purchase your tickets now. I am absolutely thrilled to announce the dates for my new one-man show, The Uncertainty Project, which will be premiering next month at the Wychwood Theatre in Toronto (map). Tickets are $30 at the door, $24 online, with discounts available for larger groups.

If you had the opportunity to attend my last show, Lies, Damn Lies & Magic Tricks, this is an entirely new production which approaches magic from a very different direction.

We will be performing for four nights in June. (I say we because I will be joined by a special guest artist, about whom more will be revealed in time. For now, savour the uncertainty.) I invite you to learn more about the show by exploring our website: www.uncertaintyproject.com (www.theuncertaintyproject.com also works). You can learn more about the creation of the website here.

And help us to spread the word; it's going to be an unforgettable experience!

Better than an infinite number of monkeys

There is a theory which states that an infinite number of monkeys typing away on an infinite number of typewriters will eventually churn out the collected works of William Shakespeare. The theory behind this is quite simple to explain, if difficult to wrap a finite brain around. The assumption is that the keys that the monkeys are tapping are being tapped in a random order. When the length of that sequence becomes infinite, then you will find, somewhere inside, the full text appearing in the middle, surrounded by gibberish. The odds of this happening are easily calculated once you know how many keys there are on a keyboard and whether or not the monkeys are allowed to hold down shift for capitals. You will also find an accurate biography of yourself, and every person you've ever met, along with several trillion inaccurate ones. Needless to say, this theory breaks down for picture books!

While working on The Uncertainty Project, we discovered that while monkeys may have worked for printed books, if you wanted to produce online content, you need cats!

Fortunately, we happen to have one on staff. Hu is everything you would hope for in a member of the production team. He is dependable (he never misses a production meeting), affectionate, adventurous, courageous, and he has a refined sense of aesthetics when it comes to wardrobe and magic tricks. (see below). Most desirable, he is a trouble maker!

So we decided to make Hu earn his keep and test out the monkey theory all at the same time. During one meeting we left him to climb on a laptop for a while with a blank word processor open. After two hours, we return and found an entire website coded and waiting for us.

You can see the results at www.UncertaintyProject.com.

True story!

Okay, fine. We added the photos afterwards, but the rest of it was Hu. And we had to do some proofreading, cause his punctuation is dreadful, even for a cat. But the rest was him, we swear.

Tickets are now available for The Uncertainty Proejct. Save $10 on special early bird tickets until this Sunday.

Out of Character

If you're in the mood for something extremely strange, I participated on a panel discussion on Michael Coren's The Arena on Sun TV last night. I was a panelist on "Holy War" discussing Michael Sam and Piss Christ. (Don't ask me why those were the topics of discussion. I suspect it's a kind of television logic beyond my understanding.) I have never done anything like that and it was an interesting experience. As you might have noticed, it did take me a couple minutes to figure out that if I wasn't willing to interrupt, I wouldn't have been heard. Although I do think I approached making a point on more than one occasion.

I was either the voice of reason, or the liberal wing nut, depending on your point of view.