Mysteries of the Mind

My new weekly show "Mysteries of the Mind" presented by the Chicago Magic Lounge opened this week in Chicago! We've been preparing for this for a long time and finally took the plunge.

It's going to be an adventure to keep performing every Wednesday on top of my busy travel schedule for corporate and private events, but I'm thrilled to take the stage every week with my own take on a contemporary mind reading show. Click here to buy tickets

WGN News took notice and invited me on the morning show to talk about "Mysteries of the Mind" and read the host's mind. This was my sixth appearance on WGN! You can watch the full appearance below:

We Did It!

Last night, I hosted the "Be Happy" variety show in Chicago in response to the election results. You can read about the impetus for the show in this post.

I was blown away at the support for the show. Nine of my favorite performers happily donated their time and energy to the night, The Public House Theatre graciously donated the space, and we had over 80 audience members who packed the house for a night of comedy, magic, and mind reading.

At the end of the night, we totaled the donations and discovered we had raised over $1500 for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois! My original goal had been $1000, so I was ecstatic to know we had surpassed my expectations.

The demands of putting together a show is different than my usual job of just being an entertainer, so I was much more nervous/stressed out than usual. I am a perfectionist about little details and lost a ton of sleep making sure this thing came together. I'm exhausted and won't come down from last night for a few days - but I'm so happy that we did this.

A special thank you to the remarkable performers: Junior Stopka, Dennis Watkins, Adam Burke, Soli Santos, Sameena Mustafa, AJ Sacco, Bill Bullock, Cody Melcher, and Prateek Srivastava.

Also, thanks to my friends Byron and Sasha Hatfield, who run The Public House Theatre, and my wife Stephanie for taking pictures during the show.

Mind Reading

Cody Melcher

Sameena Mustafa

AJ Sacco

Bill Bullock

Adam Burke

Byron Hatfield

Signed Poster Raffle

Dennis Watkins

Prateek Srivastava

Soli Santos

Junior Stopka

The Ensemble

The goal of the show was always to help people forget about the shitty parts of 2016 and "Be Happy" for a night. I was wearing so many hats - producer, host, performer, ACLU spokesperson - that I didn't have a chance to thank everyone who came last night.

So if you were in attendance, from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

It's so easy to stay home and pretend that a retweet is equal to activism. Thank you for getting out of your house, doing your part, and getting involved. Thank you for supporting live theater. Thank you for being part of something good. Thank you for doing something.

Last night was everything to me. I hope you're as happy as I am.

Chicago Fringe Festival Recap

The Chicago Fringe Festival is over. What an experience!

I performed three shows in four days. My first show was about half-full, but the last two shows had packed houses. I was thrilled to be able to SELL OUT the show, considering I did all of my marketing and promotion myself. It was a huge undertaking but I'm glad I did it.

The festival was fantastic. I watched as many other shows as I could and met dozens of incredible artists from around the world. For once, I felt part of a community in Chicago that was comprised of my favorite people. I was rubbing elbows with writers and actors and magicians and improvisers and theatergoers. I couldn't get enough.

My goal has never been to be a salesman. I dread cold-calling and despise having to constantly sell myself. (I still do it because it's better than waiting tables, but that doesn't mean I can't also abhor it.) The goal has always been ART.

The Chicago Fringe Festival finally gave me an outlet to do a version of the show I've had in mind for a while. It wasn't fully formed or completely there yet, but I was happy with what I did. I'm already writing my new show for next year.

As always, I put together a video of the festival so people who weren't able to attend could get a feel for it. I hope you enjoy it!

Live At The Chicago Fringe!

I can finally announce that my show was selected for this year's Chicago Fringe Festival!

I'll be performing three shows:

September 2nd - 7pm
September 3rd - 10pm
September 5th - 2:30pm

Tickets are $10 with a one-time $5 button purchase.

This show really means a lot to me and I would love to see you there. Click here to buy your tickets now!